Iron Ore

Irvine-based Fluor Corp. announced Monday that it has agreed to sell Pea Ridge Iron Ore Co. Inc. to Big River Minerals Corp. of St. Louis for about $12 million. The transaction will result in a nonrecurring after-tax gain of less than 10 cents per share in the third quarter ending July 31. Pea Ridge Iron Ore, carried as a discontinued operation since 1987, is based in Sullivan, Mo. The company operates an iron ore mine and pelletizing plant. Iron ore pellets are used in the production of steel.

Just in case you were beginning to think rich people were deeply misunderstood and that they feel the pain of those who are less fortunate, here's the world's wealthiest woman, Australian mining tycoon Gina Rinehart, with some helpful advice. "If you're jealous of those with more money, don't just sit there and complain," she said in a magazine piece . "Do something to make more money yourself -- spend less time drinking or smoking and socialising, and more time working. " Yeah, let them eat cake.

Two ships carrying iron ore sank in rough waters in the Black Sea, and four crew members from one ship were missing, news reports said. The Turkish freighter Kalkavan went down near the Turkish port of Sinop. Its eight crew members were rescued by a nearby vessel. Hours later, the Cambodian-flagged Lady Amar sank a few miles away. A Russian ship rescued 14 of its 18 crew members, according to a television report. Rescuers were searching for four missing sailors.

Beyond triggering a growing chorus of international criticism, China's detention of an Australian mining executive is a reminder that doing business here carries risks not found in other major economies. The controversy has sparked heated exchanges between Chinese and Australian officials in recent days, with Australians complaining that the Chinese have not released any evidence backing the charges against Stern Hu, an iron ore negotiator for mining giant Rio Tinto.

Brazil on Tuesday auctioned off a controlling stake in Cia. Vale do Rio Doce to a group led by the largest Brazilian steelmaker for $3.13 billion, a milestone in the country's effort to privatize billions of dollars' worth of state-controlled companies. The auction of the iron ore miner, the largest of a state asset in Latin American history, was completed after the government managed to throw out a last-minute injunction granted at the request of its workers.

Many Americans fear the loss of jobs -- and entire industries -- to China. But people in this small town south of the Canadian border say they owe their livelihoods to the Asian nation. Thanks to a hefty investment from China, the town's leading employer was able to reopen its doors, putting more than 400 people back to work just before Christmas in 2003.

When a busload of visiting dignitaries toured the mammoth USX Minntac mine recently, the tour guide urged a quick visit to avoid traffic jams from changing shifts. Not the image one would expect of a region that lost 10,000 mining jobs after a near decade-long recession. Yet the Iron Range, which includes northeastern Minnesota and part of northern Michigan, still produces 77% of the nation's iron ore.

Just in case you were beginning to think rich people were deeply misunderstood and that they feel the pain of those who are less fortunate, here's the world's wealthiest woman, Australian mining tycoon Gina Rinehart, with some helpful advice. "If you're jealous of those with more money, don't just sit there and complain," she said in a magazine piece . "Do something to make more money yourself -- spend less time drinking or smoking and socialising, and more time working. " Yeah, let them eat cake.

Shipping Rates Hit 5-Year Low: Global rates for shipping cargo have sunk to their lowest levels in five years as a result of a worldwide economic slowdown. The Baltic freight index, a barometer of world shipping rates in the coal, iron ore, grain and fertilizer sectors, plunged to a five-year low of 1,042 points in London. World imports of coal and iron ore, the main commodities shipped by sea, have slumped.

Rio Tinto Group rejected a sweetened $147-billion offer from BHP Billiton Ltd. because the company said it "significantly" undervalues the copper and iron-ore producer. BHP raised the bid by 13% after Aluminum Corp. of China bought a stake in Rio to block the takeover. The combination of BHP and Rio would create the world's biggest producer of copper and vie with Brazil's Cia Vale do Rio Doce as the largest supplier of iron ore.

A landslide buried an iron ore plant and several homes, killing at least 26 people and leaving dozens missing in a valley in central China, state television said. Nineteen miners and seven employees of a cellphone company died Friday in the landslide in Wulong county, about 90 miles from Chongqing city, CCTV said. Rescuers saved eight people, three of whom were seriously injured. A Chongqing government spokesman said 74 people were missing: 47 workers at an iron ore mine, 21 residents, two telecom company workers and four passersby.

The sloping expanse of verdant hillside known as El Mutun doesn't stand out amid the lush semi-jungle straddling the remote Bolivian-Brazilian frontier. But the rust-colored stones strewn about provide a hint of hidden treasure: This is a mountain of iron ore. Forty billion tons of it. El Mutun is, in fact, the world's largest concentration of iron ore at a single site, said Pritam Singh Rana, Bolivian managing director for Jindal Steel & Power, a New Delhi-based conglomerate.

Brazil received an investment-grade credit rating for the first time from Standard & Poor's, sending the country's benchmark stock market index to a record high and yields on dollar bonds to an all-time low Wednesday. Brazil, whose economy grew last year at the fastest pace since 2004, should be able to maintain annual growth of as much as 4.5%, S&P said as it raised the country's long-term foreign-currency debt rating to BBB-minus from BB-plus. Brazilian exports have tripled since President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office in January 2003 on rising world demand for soybeans, iron ore, beef and cars.

Rio Tinto Group rejected a sweetened $147-billion offer from BHP Billiton Ltd. because the company said it "significantly" undervalues the copper and iron-ore producer. BHP raised the bid by 13% after Aluminum Corp. of China bought a stake in Rio to block the takeover. The combination of BHP and Rio would create the world's biggest producer of copper and vie with Brazil's Cia Vale do Rio Doce as the largest supplier of iron ore.

Rich Rojeski is mulling over his exit strategy. Maybe a second career selling machinery? What about home prices in Arizona? Rojeski isn't the only one at Hibbing Taconite Co. practicing his golf swing and surfing the Internet for real estate in warmer climates. Already this year, four colleagues in the maintenance department have retired and at least two others are poised to follow.

Many Americans fear the loss of jobs -- and entire industries -- to China. But people in this small town south of the Canadian border say they owe their livelihoods to the Asian nation. Thanks to a hefty investment from China, the town's leading employer was able to reopen its doors, putting more than 400 people back to work just before Christmas in 2003.

A landslide buried an iron ore plant and several homes, killing at least 26 people and leaving dozens missing in a valley in central China, state television said. Nineteen miners and seven employees of a cellphone company died Friday in the landslide in Wulong county, about 90 miles from Chongqing city, CCTV said. Rescuers saved eight people, three of whom were seriously injured. A Chongqing government spokesman said 74 people were missing: 47 workers at an iron ore mine, 21 residents, two telecom company workers and four passersby.

Archeologists in southwestern China have found a 3,000-year-old cliff painting made with human hand prints and believed to depict a dancing man and woman Locals in Yunnan province guided a team of three archeologists to the 50-by-60-inch painting, made with iron ore and animal blood, the official New China News Agency said.

Archeologists in southwestern China have found a 3,000-year-old cliff painting made with human hand prints and believed to depict a dancing man and woman Locals in Yunnan province guided a team of three archeologists to the 50-by-60-inch painting, made with iron ore and animal blood, the official New China News Agency said.

Two ships carrying iron ore sank in rough waters in the Black Sea, and four crew members from one ship were missing, news reports said. The Turkish freighter Kalkavan went down near the Turkish port of Sinop. Its eight crew members were rescued by a nearby vessel. Hours later, the Cambodian-flagged Lady Amar sank a few miles away. A Russian ship rescued 14 of its 18 crew members, according to a television report. Rescuers were searching for four missing sailors.