Not all iron ore is created equal

Much has been made of the advantages of direct shipping iron ore  over the past few years, but the fall in iron ore pricing has squeezed margins for many. Iron ore products that pay a premium over fines, such as lump ore and pelletised production trade at bigger premiums to the benchmark pricing and particularly in the case of pellets which aim at more specialised end user markets, the drop in pricing has not been as severe.

So much so, that  Grange Resources in Australia has felt compelled to put out a press release to try and differentiate themselves from the general sell off in iron ore stock. <http://www.grangeresources.com.au/clients/grange/downloads/item226/grange_resources_-_market_update_-_16_march_2015.pdf&gt;

Gold is where you find it – as they say

Another huge nugget from Victoria showing there is still gold in them thar hills.

Lucky Aussie prospector finds massive 2kg gold nugget | MINING.com.

Big business names hurting as iron ore slump claims Western Desert

Big business names hurting as iron ore slump claims Western Desert.

One of the more high profile Iron Ore junior collapses to date,  look for more as the Iron Ore party finally grinds to a halt. Massive multi-billion dollar infrastructure expansions by the big three + fortescue have bought  a veritable flood of direct shipping iron ore to the market. Lookout the magnetite producers, as they will find it very difficult to compete in this environment.