That $6bn TenderBook..., page-192

I look forward to Pb's post - it will give me an FA-type thing to work on.

I happen to be interested in the Iron Bridge mine project, because it could breathe life into magnetite mining in Australia, which could be a tectonic shift for the IO mining industry. Consequently, today I poked around the Internet for information on Iron Bridge. We have passed the point where we need to scratch for more potential contracts for NWH, so the information below is not significantly important for those who ponder NWH's financial future.

A few years ago the Iron Bridge project was mooted to cost over $1 billion, mostly to be funded by Formosa Group of Taiwan. The major off-take buyer would be Formosa's steel plant in Vietnam. That plant is set to double its capacity - see https://asia.nikkei.com/Asia300/Formosa-Plastics-steel-venture-in-Vietnam-set-to-double-capacity. This fact separates the usual ore-going-to-China story, which is a relief. For pollution-related political reasons, Formosa should be very keen to get a source of super-high-grade iron ore for its steel mill in Vietnam.

Formosa has invested millions in this project so far, so its interest in Iron Bridge is not trivial. FMG's FY17 Annual Report states, "Joint venture capital expenditure of US$13 million (FY16: US$56 million) relates to the Iron Bridge project and has been predominantly funded by Formosa Plastics Group."  I do not know how much has already been paid by Formosa, but the JV agreement is worth a peek (http://www.fmgl.com.au/docs/default...-agreement-with-formosa.pdf?sfvrsn=ba742a9a_2).