Milton Financials: Rio Tinto forecasts robust iron ore demand for 2011.

Mining giant Rio Tinto says iron ore demand will continue strongly into next year and says that the new quarterly pricing system for the steelmaking ingredient is working well.

Global mining company Rio Tinto has told Milton Financials sources that the strong iron ore price is likely to continue well into 2011."Demand is going to continue to be strong next year. We'll continue to see a robust growth. That is really going through in the demand for iron ore," the firms iron ore chief executive Sam Walsh said.

The globes second-largest miner recently approved a $3.1 billion iron ore expansion, staking a claim to become the globe’s top producer and defying industry concerns for a new Australian mining tax.

Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and the London listed Xstrata, Australia’s top three iron ore and coal miners have accused the Australian government of reneging on a commitment to refund all of the money the firms pay to state governments as royalties, Milton Financials has learned from media reports. The lack of guarantee amounts to mining companies effectively being double-taxed.

Rio Tinto’s CEO said he believes that the Canberra will credit back all the state royalties to mining firms under the proposed minerals recourses tax.

"That is the indication that we had from senior people within the government. And the heads of agreement signed with the prime minister of Australia was (that) all state and territorial royalties would be creditable against resources tax. That is what we expect," Walsh told Milton Financials.

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This release was published on openPR.