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SPOTLIGHT: Vale's Subic Bay hub takes on bigger role after China rebuff

February 01, 2012 - 10:50 GMT Location: Singapore

KEYWORDS: Vale , Subic Bay , Philippines , iron ore , China , Brazil , Ore Fabrica

China’s rejection of Vale’s very large ore carriers raises the importance of its Subic Bay transshipment point in the Philippines.

The Brazilian miner’s investment in more than three dozen 400,000-tonne carriers has been clouded by one major inconvenience: China doesn’t want them at its ports. The Philippines location was already being prepared as a distribution hub for east Asia, but will now be a key launching point for shipments on the last leg of the journey to China. Vale has signed a contract with Philippines’ Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) to dock its major mega-carriers in Subic Bay port, and the first ship, Ore Fabrica, arrived in the Philippines on December 30, sources told Metal Bulletin. “Vale has signed a contract...

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