Ironsand sale confidence

Press, 27 June 1983, Page 4

Ironsand sale confidence

PA Auckland Japan is expected to buy about 1.4 million tonnes of Taharoa ironsand this year, the same quantity as last year, the managing director of New Zealand Steel, Mr John Ingram, has said. The company expected any price reduction not to be out of line with prices recently accepted by other ore producers which sell to the Japanese market, Mr Ingram said. Under a 1977 contract, the Japanese agreed to take 2.1 million tonnes of Taharoa ironsand annually for 10 years. However, said Mr Ingram, the contract allows the buyers to take lesser quantities in any year, with the difference between the amount bought and the 2.1 million tonnes figure being added at the end of the

contract period. “Most ore producers have accepted the Japanese argument that if their stocks of raw materials are high, they can’t be forced to take material.” Six Japanese steel firms are negotiating a price reduction with New Zealand Steel Mining, Ltd, on imports of Taharoa ironsand. The Japanese are also expected to take a reduced volume of Taharoa ironsands for the second successive year. The negotiations, under way in Tokyo, follow an earlier Japanese decision to halve Waipipi ironsand purchases, and agreement on a lower price for Buller coal. Taharoa ironsand was first shipped to Japan in October, 1972. More than 13 million tonnes has since been shipped.