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Replies to post #8102 on The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence
02/14/14 3:50 PM
02/17/14 9:14 PM
BHP Billiton Ltd. said Tuesday its first-half profit rose, as it cut spending and squeezed more from assets including its vast Australian iron ore pits to offset a decline in global commodity prices.
… The miner's earnings from its iron-ore division rose 60% to US$6.50 billion. While the benchmark price for the commodity fell 7% over the course of last year, it was higher on average than in [fiscal] 2012.
…[CEO Andrew] Mackenzie sounded an upbeat note on the outlook for the global economy, saying risks to global growth "were skewed to the upside".
02/27/14 4:30 PM
Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. announced today that it has entered into a revised commercial agreement with ArcelorMittal USA Inc. to supply iron ore pellets for an additional two years through the end of Jan. 2017, with a mutual option to extend for a third year.
In addition, Cliffs and ArcelorMittal USA have also extended their joint partnership for the Empire Mine located on the Marquette Iron Range in Michigan. Previously, Cliffs had announced an impending closure of the Empire Mine. Until the amended commercial agreement was reached with ArcelorMittal, the Empire Mine did not have a customer for pellet production beyond 2014. In addition, the partnership arrangement was scheduled to expire automatically in December 2014, without the mutual agreement of both companies to extend. With this decision, Cliffs and ArcelorMittal will extend the life of this mining operation into 2016.
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