From the AFR:
J Capital’s query lies with Fortescue’s inventory. It noted that Fortescue’s iron ore holdings at port more than quadrupled to 9.7 million tonnes as of June, up from from 2.1 million tonnes in June 2013. It says Fortescue’s port stockyard can only physically hold 3 million tonnes and that Fortescue has stated it has 3 million tonnes at that port. J Capital argues the rest, through its calculations and ground research, is being held in China.
“We recently visited Caofeidian Port, the largest iron port in China, and found 3 million tonnes of FMG iron ore held in the bonded zone. Similar checks in April at Jintang Port, also a major port, found around 3 million tonnes of FMG iron ore in the bonded zone,” J Capital says. “Ownership of the inventory held in the bonded zones is unclear. It appears that the bonded zone logistics company has possession of the stock but on a consignment basis.”
