Vale CEO Murilo Ferreira is seen smiling broadly during an interview at the headquarters in Rio de Janeiro of the world’s biggest iron-ore producer, which predicts that iron-ore prices will rally by at least 24% in 2015, as high-cost mines shut and Asian infrastructure demand improves. Total seaborne iron-ore supply was expected to increase by 140-million tons in the 2014 calendar year and demand growth lag by 55-million tons, which caused concern that iron-ore prices may stay at lows of $70/t to 80/t for as long as three years. With the low iron-ore price also a point of serious concern in Australia, the Australian government is offering a 50% rebate on eligible iron-ore royalty payments for up to 12 months, subject to the iron-ore price remaining below A$90/t. Deferred and rebated royalties will then be repayable to the government over two years.