Small iron ore producers refuse to yield

Sydney

ONE reason for the continued freefall in iron ore prices can be found at the century-old Iron Knob mine in Outback Australia. In the face of a concerted export push by the big producers that was expected to squeeze out smaller rivals, Arrium Ltd is restarting the mine and lifting shipments from the region by about 21 per cent.

Global giants BHP Billiton Ltd and Rio Tinto Group flagged that their strategy of flooding the market with supply may create losers, and have been insistent they won't stop, helping to drive the decline in prices.