Iron Ore Prices Jump After Dam Failure
January 28 2019 - 9:45AM
Dow Jones News
By David Hodari
LONDON-- Iron ore futures jumped Monday following a fatal dam
failure at one of Vale SA's (VALE) Brazilian mines.
Futures in the ferrous metal were last up 5.3% at $78.53 a ton,
after a Vale tailings dam burst Friday at its Feijao mining complex
in Minas Gerais, Brazil, killing at least 60 people. Hundreds of
people remain unaccounted for.
The incident came less than four years after the failure of a
dam jointly owned by Vale and BHP Group Ltd. (BHP), also in Minas
Gerais, in an incident that killed 19 people and left hundreds
homeless in one of the country's worst environmental disasters.
While the dam that burst last week was relatively minor in terms
of output, investors were pricing in the potential for stricter
industry oversight going forward crimping supply, analysts
said.
"The market's always going to react, but the mine that's
involved is only about 7% of Vale's output and so not massively
material at this stage," said Vivenne Lloyd, senior analyst at
Macquarie. "The probability of more stringent inspections and
potential shutdown of other mines using similar methods has
elevated since the disaster."
Similar "wet" iron-ore operations--which require the building of
tailings dams--make up around half of all Vale operations,
according to Macquarie.
Increased scrutiny of Vale's operations could affect investor
confidence in the company's stock too.
"Although Vale's modest levels of debt should protect the
company's solvency, we expect the aftermath of this incident will
weigh on the equity for the foreseeable future," RBC analysts in a
note.
After falling 8.1% on Friday, New York-listed shares in the
Brazilian mining company plunged 11.2% in premarket trading to
$12.13. That would constitute the weakest closing price in more
than a year.
The incident may both boost steel prices and support the share
prices of Vale's competitors in the coming weeks, according to Seth
Rosenfeld, equity analyst at Jefferies.
"While this is clearly a headline negative for steelmakers,
they'll successfully pass on increased cost pressures to their
customers in the coming weeks," Mr. Rosenfeld said. The dam failure
gives them an easy excuse to push up prices, he added.
The prospect of higher prices ahead and economic stimulus in
China could boost demand in 2019's second quarter.
Steel buyers around the world have been living hand-to-mouth and
persistently reluctant to sit on supply amid relatively low prices
in recent months, Mr. Rosenfeld said. As a result, he said many
could move to replenish thin inventories before prices extend their
climb.
Write to David Hodari at david.hodari@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 28, 2019 09:30 ET (14:30 GMT)
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