Comments by Wayne Bould of the Tasmanian Minerals and Energy Council aired on ABC936 radio regarding ore prices are misleading and factually incorrect.
Mr Bould implied that iron ore prices were at unprecedented lows, and stated that he could not remember iron ore prices being so low.
“Mr Bould must have a very short memory”, said Save the Tarkine Campaign Coordinator, Scott Jordan.
“While iron ore has fallen from the heady peaks of 2010-11 at the peak of the boom, iron ore prices are still over 300% higher than the thirty year median price of $14US a tonne1”.
Iron ore is trading today at $47US/t.
“We are seeing a reckoning where a lot of fly-by-night “boom surfing”operators like Venture Minerals and Shree Minerals are being washed out of the market by a well predicted correction.”
“Mr Bould does his organisation a disservice by playing apologist for the white shoe brigade’s failed forays into the Tarkine. The reality is that if you are not viable at three times the median price, then you never really were”.
Save the Tarkine notes that other key Tasmanian mineral commodities are also trading well above the thirty year median prices including tin (236%), zinc (141%), gold (303%) and copper (176%) , while nickel is slightly lower (90%).
Save the Tarkine Campaign Coordinator, Scott Jordan
