https://www.miningweekly.com

ACCC wants Forrest to explain call for iron-ore production cap

Andrew Forrest

Andrew Forrest

Photo by Bloomberg

26th March 2015

By: Esmarie Iannucci

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor: Australasia

  

Font size: - +

PERTH (miningweekly.com) –The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has called on mining magnate Andrew Forrest to explain his calls for iron-ore producers to work together to cap production to halt the fall of the iron-ore price.

“The ACCC will be looking closely at Forrest’s comments and the context in which they were made. In general terms, any attempt by Australian businesses to encourage competitors to restrict output is a matter of grave concern to the ACCC,” said ACCC chairperson Rod Sims.

“Ultimately, any success in increasing the price of iron-ore in an anti-competitive way would be expected to lead to an increase in prices that Australian consumers pay for items such as whitegoods and cars.”

Forrest has come under fire after comments made at a business dinner in Shanghai, where the chairperson of iron-ore producer Fortescue Metals suggested that major producers should cap production of Pilbara ore in an effort to stop the decline of the iron-ore price.

Forest was quoted as saying that he would be ‘happy’ to cap Fortescue’s production at 180-million tonnes a year.

Company MD Nev Power has defended the remarks, saying that the comments were validated under Section 51 of the Competition and Consumer Act, which the company believed allowed for a production cap.

Sims said this week that cartel conduct, anti-competitive agreements, price fixing and attempts to bring about collusive arrangements were “very serious” matters.

“These arrangements do not need to be put into effect to be in breach of the law. Under the Competition and Consumer Act (2010) there are civil and criminal penalties for both cartel conduct and attempts to engage in cartel conduct.”

Edited by Mariaan Webb
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

Comments

Showroom

Schauenburg SmartMine IoT
Schauenburg SmartMine IoT

SmartMine IoT has been developed with the mining industry in mind, to provides our customers with powerful business intelligence and data modelling...

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Immersive Technologies
Immersive Technologies

Immersive Technologies is the world's largest, proven and tested supplier of simulator training solutions to the global resources industry.

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Hyphen, Eva mine, ferrochrome price make headlines
Hyphen, Eva mine, ferrochrome price make headlines
27th March 2024
Resources Watch
Resources Watch
27th March 2024

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:0.157 0.188s - 92pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now