BHPchairman says talks with Rio are still on track
DON ARGUS, chairman at mining giant BHP Billiton, said yesterday the company’s proposed iron ore tie-up with Rio Tinto was progressing and dismissed suggestions talks could fall apart.
At the group’s annual meeting in Australia he said he was optimistic because “while we believe the global recovery will be sluggish, we also continue to believe there will be strong long-term demand for our products from the Asian region.”
Chief executive Marius Kloppers said that China has been the major, and sometimes the only, source of demand for commodities in 2009.
“We do believe that restocking in China is now essentially complete,” he said. “We are now seeing the usage rate climb as the first evidence that restocking in the major economies has commenced.
“However, the restocking in the US and Europe is progressing very cautiously,” he added.