MinRes delays Iron Valley shipment
Economic factors have been blamed for shipments from Iron Ore Holdings' Iron Valley project in the Pilbara being pushed back.
Project partner Mineral Resources has told IOH of the delay in trucking and shipping ore from this month to early in the last quarter of calendar 2014.
IOH said Mineral Resource had advised it was making all reasonable efforts to facilitate profitable trucking and shipping of Iron Valley products, subject to further movements in commodity prices and exchange rates.
The miner said the market conditions demonstrated one of the key benefits of its proposed takeover by BC Iron.
"Being to create a combined entity with strengthened technical and financial scale, which is better able to operate in these challenging market conditions than either BC Iron or IOH standing alone," IOH said.
BC Iron's stake in IOH has reached 72 per cent after IOH's second-biggest shareholder came on board.
IOH said Third Wave Investors had followed Kerry Stokes' Australian Capital Equity in accepting the $250 million cash and scrip offer.
BC Iron needs to exceed a 90 per cent stake before it can move to compulsory acquisition.
The bidder is paying 10 cents cash and 0.44 BC Iron shares for each IOH share on offer, with IOH holders set to emerge with 35 per cent of the combined company.
Mr Stokes' company had held a 53 per cent stake in IOH. "ACE is pleased with the progress of the offer, and is looking forward to participating as a BC Iron shareholder in the development and operations of the Nullagine, Iron Valley and Buckland projects," ACE chief executive Ryan Stokes said.
IOH managing director Alwyn Vorster said: "There has been positive feedback from the large majority of IOH's shareholders to the offer, and IOH will commence an active campaign recommending that remaining shareholders accept the offer."
Shares in IOH were down 1 cent, or 1 per cent, to 95.5 cents at 10.30am, while BC Iron was up 1.5 cents, or 0.75 per cent, to $2.01.
