Centrex finalises Chinese iron-ore deals

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

27 Feb 2009

Adelaide-based iron-ore-miner Centrex Metals will finalise its $220-million iron-ore deals with China, over the next two weeks. Centrex would be finalising the documentation in relation to the Eyre Peninsula iron-ore joint venture (JV) with China’s third-largest steel producer, Wuhan Iron & Steel (Wisco), the company said on

Friday, adding that the discussions would take an estimated two weeks.
In December, Centrex announced that it had signed a heads of agreement with Wisco, covering the establishment of a JV over its southern and south-central magnetite deposits, in the Eyre Peninsula, in South Australia.
Under the agreement, Wisco has agreed to pay Centrex $0,18/t for inferred magnetite resources of up to one-billion tons, or a maximum of $180-million in staged payments for the acquisition of a 50% participating interest in the iron-ore contained in the tenements.
Wisco has remitted a $500 000 nonrefundable deposit to Centrex.
During its two-week stint in China, Centrex would also meet with representatives from that country’s Baotou Iron & Steel, with the aim of finalising the Bungalow JV transaction documents.
Baotou has previously advised Centrex that it had received all the necessary Chinese government consents and permits to enter the JV, and that it had engaged an Australian law form to prepare the submission for the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board.
The Bungalow magnetite JV requires Baotou to pay Centrex up to $40-million to cover the cost of all activities required to complete exploration and resource drilling, as well as a bankable feasibility study covering the development of the magnetite deposit, also in South Australia.

Source: Mining Weekly