Vietnam-based steelmaker, Hoa Phat Group, announced May 31 that it has received approval from the Australian government for the purchase of an iron ore mine in Australia’s Northern Territory.
Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board has approved the contract under which Hoa Phat will buy a 100% stake in the Roper Valley from the mine’s owner in Australia's Northern Territory.
The company did not disclose the purchase value or the seller details in its statement. However, sources told S&P Global Platts the current mine owner is Nathan River Resources, which in turn is owned by British Marine Group.
Hoa Phat will continue to explore other opportunities to buy new iron ore mines in Australia, with a goal of securing long-term supply of around 10 million mt/year, accounting for at least half of the company’s iron ore demand.
The mine has estimated reserves of 320 million mt and will have an output of about 4 million mt/year, according to the statement, which added that the company will eventually also consider buying a few coke mines in Australia.
Western Desert exported a small amount of iron ore from the project before it was put on care and maintenance. Western Desert had originally planned for Roper Valley to produce iron at a rate of 1.5 million mt/year before ramping up to 3 million mt/year, Platts reported earlier. The mine produced direct shipping ore grading 59% Fe, which was sold at the time through the trading house Noble Group, and exported from Bing Bong port, as reported by Platts earlier.
As of 2021, there are no iron ore exports from the Northern Territory and moving ore by rail is cheaper than by road, however, the high price of iron ore has incentivized development of some projects in Australia that rely on road haulage, according to Platts Analytics.
