Venezuelan miner signs unique iron ore contract with China

Beijing: China's third-biggest steelmaker Wuhan Iron & Steel Group (Wisco) has signed a long-term iron ore contract with Venezuela's state-run company Corporación Venezolana de Guayana (CVG).
The agreement will help the mill to diversify its raw material sources and get it cheaper thanks to a different mechanism than the benchmark prices set yearly by global steel companies and the world's top three iron ore suppliers Anglo-Australian BHP Billiton, Río Tinto, and Brazil's Vale do Rio Doce. "This is the first contract to be implemented with a separate pricing mechanism (from usual yearly agreements). This indicates that China's iron ore purchase prices need not be restricted by the world's top three suppliers," said the company through a statement posted on its website. [18/11/09]