China, via a state-run enterprise, has reportedly banned its steel manufacturers from buying iron ore from Australian mining giant BHP, amid a strategic bid by Beijing to reduce prices of the crucial steel-making commodity. While it is a commercial dispute, the fight has wide-ranging political ramifications, given the threat to Australia’s biggest export, valued at more than $100bn a year, and the possibility Canberra is drawn deeper into the fight. Even if the impasse is resolved promptly, it could prove to be a foreshock that warns of an economic earthquake…
Tag: BHP
Albanese hopes China’s reported BHP iron ore ban ‘very much short-term’ as ASX dips
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, will meet with the boss of BHP amid a shock report that the world’s largest mining company faces a Chinese blockade on its iron ore shipments. Beijing’s state iron ore buyer has told steelmakers to pause imports of BHP ore, amid hardball negotiations over the price of the crucial resource, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. Chalmers said the reports were “concerning” but ultimately a matter for the company to work through. “I’ll have discussions with [BHP chief executive] Mike Henry about that in due course, when we…