Iron ore resumed trading yesterday and promptly resumed falling, down 1.3% to $121.
In news, it’s all about big Clive today and his victory lap following a high Court win over CITIC and a dispute over who owns the port opposite the long-troubled Sino Iron Ore project. From The Australian:
…released after the court win, Mr Palmer said Citic seemed to “think they can take our resources without paying for them”.
“Mineralogy stood as the last sentry at the gate protecting freedom of exploitation in Australia,” the statement said. “Regardless of the cost to Mineralogy and my reputation, I have stood firm against these Chinese-owned companies. I will not stand by and see Australian interests raped and disrespected by foreign-owned companies.
“I predict this will be the first of many judgments to come our way in the next 12 months. Foreign-owned businesses operating in Australia must comply with and respect Australian law.”
That’s quite a spray and one we’ve not seen before directed at Chinese interests from the Australian Parliament. Clive might want consider that he has two jobs and they are not always in simpatico.
The AFR has more:
Citic Pacific president Zhang Jijing made a rare public appearance in Australia on Thursday and suggested the court case over the level of royalties Citic should pay Mr Palmer could have wider implications for China and Australia’s trade relationship.
“Most other Chinese companies are watching our legal case . . . this is very important,” he said.
A Federal Court judge ruled on Thursday that Mr Palmer’s company, Mineralogy, is the legal operator of the Cape Preston port used to ship magnetite from the Citic mine, which is located on land owned by Mr Palmer.
Citic and the federal Department of Infrastructure contested ownership of the port in what Mr Palmer described as “a grab by the Chinese government for an Australian port”.
Little by little and cut by cut we’re doing our best to piss the Chinese right off. That’s not an appeal to kowtowing but a little magnanimity in victory might be appropriate. At some point all of this aggro will come back in the form of an unannounced and mysterious drying up of an export market.
