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BHP wins US$9b China deal to supply iron ore Anglo-Australia resource giant BHP Billiton has won a US$9 billion deal to supply 12 million tons of iron ore annually over 25 years to four Chinese steelmakers, the company said on March 1.
BHP will also set up a joint venture with the four companies under which the four will take a combined 40 percent stake in a sub-lease for BHP's Jimblebar mine operations near Newman in western Australia. BHP Billiton Chief Executive Chip Goodyear said the joint venture with Wuhan Iron and Steel (Group) Corp, Maanshan Iron & Steel Co Ltd, Jiangsu Shagang Group Co Ltd and Tangshan Iron and Steel is a unique venture that would ensure stable and long-term iron ore supplies to a group of Chinese steel makers. The company said it would immediately begin shipping an additional four to six million tonnes of iron ore a year to the Chinese mills, approximately doubling its total sales to these customers in 2004. China has become a huge customer for BHP Billiton in recent years, with the country's 8 percent-plus economic growth -- and higher rates in sectors such as automotive -- driving demand for Australian iron ore, copper, coal and nickel. |
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