FMG Starts Iron Ore Supply to Baosteel

In the morning of May 29, as Chairman Xu Lejiang of Baosteel Group Corporation gave the order, the Hengshan ship laden with 170,000t of iron ore supplied by Australia's Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) started unloading in Majishan Port, marking that FMG has become an important iron ore supplier to Baosteel.

Western Australian Planning and Infrastructure Minister Mac Tiernan, Australian Ambassador to China Geoff Raby, Consul General (acting) of Australia in Shanghai Ou jia'ni, FMG Chief Executive Forrest, Vice President of Baosteel Group Corporation Dai Zhihao, Vice President of Baoshan Iron & Steel Co., Ltd. Zhu Junsheng, and other more than 100 people from Western Australian Government, Baosteel and Shengsi County attended the ceremony to celebrate the arrival of FMG's first iron ore shipment.

FMG is one of the fastest developing Australian listed companies in recent years and an emerging supplier in the world's iron ore industry. It has become an important force among the world's iron ore suppliers following Vale of Brazil, and Australia's BHP Billiton and Rio
Tinto. Now the company possesses affluent iron ore resources in Pilbara, north of Western Australia, with more than 1 billion tons of proven iron ore resources, and it is expected that its output will reach 100 million tons by 2010. In February last year, Baosteel Resources Co., Ltd. and FMG signed a 10-year iron ore cooperation agreement. As FMG expands its output, it will supply 20 million tons of iron ore to Baosteel every year. On May 18, Hengshan ship laden with the FMG's first shipment of iron ore departed Port Hedland Australia and arrived at Baosteel's Majishan Port on May 28 after 10 days' voyage.

During the ceremony, Mac Tiernan and Forrest thanked Baosteel for the energetic support to FMG and expressed that the cooperation between Baosteel and FMG is not only conducive to the development of the two companies, but also plays an active role in promoting the exchange and cooperation between Chinese and Australian business communities.

On behalf of Baosteel, Dai Zhihao welcomed the smooth arrival of FMG's first iron ore shipment to Majishan Port. He said that the arrival of FMG's first iron ore shipment represents a milestone for the cooperation between the two parties. The upstream and downstream industrial chain is a closely related and mutually dependent community, Baosteel and FMG shall actively explore the reciprocal and win-win cooperation that is future oriented and keep expanding the field of collaboration to combat risks in the market and pursue greater development hand in hand.

Before the ceremony to celebrate the arrival of FMG's first iron ore shipment, Xu Lejiang met with Forrest and had exchange on the development of further cooperation.