The European Confederation of Iron and Steel Industries (EUROFER) has welcomed the decision by Australian mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton to end plans for an iron ore production joint venture in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
"Today's announcement by BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto to give up their plans for a joint venture of their iron ore assets in Western Australia is a victory for competition in the international raw materials market," commented EUROFER director general Gordon Moffat.
"We very much welcome in particular the efforts made by the European Commission and German cartel authorities who have once again demonstrated their competence and authority in competition questions," Mr. Moffat added.
As SteelOrbis previously reported, the BHP Billiton-Rio Tinto JV, proposed in December 2009, looked to achieve integration of the companies' entire production activities in Western Australia, a venture worth US$116 billion.
Japan Fair Trade Commission, Korea Fair Trade Commission, the European Commission and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission were among the institutions investigating the merger.