Rio boss sees little ore upside

Rio Tinto iron ore chief executive Andrew Harding says there is no end to tough times in iron ore as he drew a line under this month’s iron ore wars.

Mr Harding toldWestBusiness yesterday the war of words between the Pilbara’s major players and Fortescue Metals Group chairman Andrew Forrest had highlighted the industry’s need to better educate the public about the complexities of the iron ore business.

But, while Mr Harding would not be drawn on a short-term iron ore price outlook, he said the combination of new global supply and economic transition in China would have an impact on the market.

“The two drivers I would think about in a short to medium-time frame would be that there is clearly globally still a number of years of large supply increases coming through,” he said.

Mr Harding said he was still confident about China’s long-term growth though short-term iron ore demand was uncertain.

“In the shorter term you’re dealing with the demand side, where China is still quite impactful, and year-to-date growth has been anaemic,” he said.

“When I think about those two things it gives me a sense of where the market is likely to be.”

Mr Harding said he was happy the Federal Government had ruled out a Parliamentary inquiry into the iron ore industry, given its potential reputational impact.

“Whether there was going to be an iron ore inquiry or not was always going to be a matter for the government,” he said.

“My biggest concern has always been the signal it would send to our trading partners.”

But despite saying he was “disappointed” at the tone of some of the recent discussion, Mr Harding said he believed the at-times heated public debate had helped educate politicians and the broader community about the mining industry.

“One of the things I’ve learned in recent times is that when you’re an insider to the industry and you understand how complex it is, you take for granted the level of understanding that others may have,” he said.

“Globally it’s a vast industry, it’s highly competitive, so helping people understand that complexity is actually a priority.”