The Australian iron ore exploration company Murchison Metals Ltd (Murchison) has announced that its 50 percent-owned iron ore mining business, Crosslands Resources, continued its regular iron ore shipments from the Jack Hills mine in Western Australia during the fourth quarter of 2008, despite the challenging market conditions affecting the iron ore industry.
According to the company's release, the continuity of supply reflects Murchison's excellent relationships established with customers over the initial years of operation at Jack Hills and the high quality of Jack Hills' ore. Moreover, due to the decrease of Chinese ore stockpiles, spot prices started to show some improvement from the lows reached in the first half of the fourth quarter, and Crosslands continues to book forward sales with customers in Asia.
As Murchison's CE Paul Kopejtka said, with approximately $160 million in cash and no debt, Murchison has an excellent position to deliver on its growth strategy, and remains confident in the successful long-term development of its iron ore mining and infrastructure businesses in Western Australia.