The world's largest iron ore miner, Vale, has moved to increase the iron ore benchmark price by more than 90% in negotiations with Japanese steel companies.
BHP has approved nearly US$2 billion for the expansion of its Pilbara iron ore operations.
Australia's iron ore exports are once again nearing record levels.
Danny Goeman will be Rio Tinto's new envoy to the Asian iron ore market when benchmark price negotiations get underway later this month.
A merger of BHP and Rio’s Australian iron ore assets could increase benchmark prices, Euro steelmakers say.
A report from Resource Capital Research has found the iron ore market has continued to improve, but its pricing future remains uncertain.
Iron Ore Holdings has announced an upgraded resource of 160 million tonnes at its Iron Valley Project in the Pilbara.
Fortescue Metals has posted an annual profit of US$508 million after a loss of US$771 million at the same time last year.
Increasing Chinese iron ore inventories in the June Quarter could be a result of simmering tensions between China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) and Rio Tinto over contract price negotiations, according to Resource Capital Research (RCR) iron ore analyst Dr Trent Allen.
The CSIRO and the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) are jointly organising the Iron Ore 2009 Conference, which will focus on 'Ensuring Ongoing Growth' as iron ore demand returns to full swing.