The price for Iron Ore went to its lowest mark in at least seven years, while other metals like Nickel and Gold also had a fair share of negative trading.
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Blast furnace operating rates have slipped modestly since October, though less than a few market observers expected, CISA said.
Mr Ball told shareholders BCI’s renegotiated haulage deal with Fortescue Metals Group would help keep costs at Nullagine down as the iron ore price fell.
BHP Billiton was down 1.75%, Rio Tinto fell 1.1%, while Fortescue Metals was the biggest loser, sinking 3.7%.
“The four of them, their production costs are all in the teens”, he said by phone on Friday. I expect major bankruptcies in this industry.
“With prices so low, China’s interest in iron ore has all but dried up, so it’s understandable”, said Morgans Financial analyst James Wilson.
The comments come as the price of iron ore hurtles towards its lowest market in 10-years as concerns about an over-supply, soft demand from a cooling Chinese economy and a glut of steel production combine to push the commodity down towards $US44 a tonne.
“But we think it’s quite unlikely that prices will remain below US$40 for a prolonged period”.
“As part of our longer-term strategy, we are having a very close look at these from an exploration point of view with a real preparedness to step outside the iron ore space”, he said.
Mills in China are battling sinking prices, oversupply and mounting losses as local consumption shrinks for the first time in a generation amid a slowdown in economic growth.
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“The reality is given what the markets are doing, diversification is probably not a bad idea for a company of our size”, Mr Ball said. It closed down 0.2 per cent at 1,667 yuan. The trio are the country’s largest shippers.
