West Australian Saturday 27 February 2010 PETER KLINGER and KATE EMERY
First scalp in Vale, Aquila scrap
Vales latest dispute with joint venture partner Aquila Resources may have already claimed its first scalp and its only four days old.
The Bull hears the Brazilian giant has lost the director of its Australian coal operations, who is also its representative on the Aquila-Vale joint venture committees. At least one other senior staffer is thought to have followed him out the door.
Vale and Aquila, who never made a decision they couldnt argue about, made headlines this week with a disagreement over which port to use for their Eagle Downs coal project in Queensland. Having apparently backed Aquilas choice of Abbot Point for the past two years, Vale is now insisting that Dalrymple Bay is the better choice and never mind the two-year delay.
Calls to Vale were not returned.
AQA Price at posting:
$8.61 Sentiment: None Disclosure: Not Held
