Still no iron ore price for yesterday I’m afraid. Not sure if anyone has seen it? But Dalian futures have reversed course today, down 6 points or 0.8%. Rebar futures are also down half a percent. That’s dragging down the major iron ore equities which suddenly look quite weak again.
Meanwhile, Rio has announced:
Rio Tinto has ramped up production at its West Australian iron ore sites, brining on an expansion two months ahead of schedule.
The miner announced it had reached the annual run rate milestone of 2690 million tonnes from its Pilbara iron ore system of mines, rail and ports.
Rio first announced plans for the $3.1 billion expansion in 2012, with $2 billion going towards extending the life of Nammuldi iron ore mine and $1.1 billion used on works to expand the company’s Cape Lambert port and rail facilities.
The company will now focus on the second phase of its expansion which will increase iron ore production to 360 million tonnes per annum by the end of 2015.
That may relieve slow the building supply congestion for a little bit. But not by much and not for long. Chinese output is at its peak for the year right now and I expect Rio to add another 30mt by year end!
