KERRY Stokes' 52 per cent-owned iron ore junior, Iron Ore Holdings, is set to come out of a trading halt after reaching an agreement giving Rio Tinto six months to negotiate the acquisition of IOH's flagship Iron Valley iron ore deposit in the Pilbara.
IOH is also expected to announce it has secured an iron ore sales agreement with Rio covering its more advanced but much smaller Phil's Creek project, helping it become a 1.5 million tonne-a-year producer next year.
The expected agreements follow from the November 24 announcement that the pair were talking about the possible acquisition by Rio of the 190 million-tonne Iron Valley deposit, one that Rio is keen to complete to demonstrate its credentials as a ''friend'' of Pilbara iron ore juniors.
Rio's resistance, and that of the other big Pilbara iron ore operator, BHP Billiton, to junior companies accessing their Pilbara rail and port infrastructure to develop stranded iron ore deposits has come under attack..
Source: Sydney Morning Herald
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