[A] Iron Ore Price        
Note these are not really spot prices, but rather are an attempt 
to quantify the price agreements made in the spring/early summer 
between iron ore producers and steel manufacturers. 
The prices given below are prices arranged at the beginning
of May of the given year.
(1) FINES :    the most heavily-traded category of iron ore.
(2) LUMP ORE : Lumb ore consists of golfball sized pieces, 
and has higher iron content than fines.
(3) PELLETS :  Iron ore in "pellets" are semi-refined iron ore; 
blast furnace pellets.

Iron Ore Prices
Notes:  Brazil to Europe
Units:  US Dollars per ton (dry metric ton).

                    (1)        (2)         (3)

                   fines    lump ore     pellets
 contract 
     year  _____________________________________________________________
     1976 |        22.70                   43.80 dollars per metric ton
     1977 |        23.00                   42.80
     1978 |        21.50                   36.40
     1979 |        23.30                   39.90
     1980 |        28.10                   47.00
     1981 |        28.10                   43.00
     1982 |        32.50                   47.50
     1983 |        29.00                   39.00
     1984 |        26.10                   36.00
     1985 |        26.50                   36.00
     1986 |        26.20                   36.60
     1987 |        24.50                   36.70
     1988 |        23.50                   40.30
     1989 |        26.50                   47.30
     1990 |        30.80                   51.60
     1991 |        33.20                   52.10
     1992 |        31.60                   48.40
     1993 |        28.10       33.00       43.60
     1994 |        24.40       30.40       43.60
     1995 |        26.90       33.30       49.10
     1996 |        28.50       35.20       52.40
     1997 |        28.80       35.20       52.10
     1998 |        29.60       36.20       53.50
     1999 |        26.90       32.20       46.40
     2000 |        27.60       33.90       49.20
     2001 |        28.90       35.10       50.10
     2002 |        28.60       34.30       47.30
     2003 |        31.40       37.30       52.00
     2004 |        37.30       44.40       61.80
     2005 |        64.00       79.00      115.50
     2006 |        76.20       94.00      112.00
     2007 |        83.40*                          
' Based upon news of 2006 Dec 22 deal between Baosteel and CVRD for one year starting April 1, 2007.
Sources : CVRD, Wall Street Journal, US Steel and other steel producers.



 [B] Iron Ore Producers

Three suppliers account for 75 per cent of ocean trade in iron ore (2006):
1 Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD)(Brazil). Largest iron ore producer in the world.
2 Rio Tinto (Anglo-Australian)
3 BHP Billiton


 [C] Steel Makers   Buyers of iron ore.

Steel production tonnages.
Tonnages are 2006 May estimates and are in metric tons (or tonnes), 1000 kg, or 2204.62 pounds.

- Mittal Steel: India 60 million tons steel per year, six percent of total market.  Largely owned by Lakshmi Mittal.
- Arcelor  Luxembourg  53 million tons steel produced per year.
2006-01-13 Lakshmi Mittal suggests merger of Mittal and Arcelor
to Arcelor CEO Guy Dolle, over dinner.
Dolle rejects offer.
2006-05    Mittal makes formal hostile offer, valued at $23.8 billion.
2006-05-19 Mittal raises offer to $33 billion dollars.
2006-05-19 Arcelor shareholders' annual meeting.
2006-05-26 SeverStal (larvely owned by Alexei Mordashov) makes "white knight" offer
to buy 32 percent stake in Arcelor to spare Arceor from sale to Mitttal.
2006-05-29 SeverStal increase target stake in Arcelor from 32 percent to 45 percent.
2006       Evraz (controlled by Roman Abramovich) offers deal.
2006-06-25 Arcelor board of directors unanimously agrees to sale of Arcelor to Mittal for $33.8 billion.
- ThyssenKrupp:Germany. 17 million tons steel produced per year.  A major customer of CVRD iron ore.
    - Nippon Steel:      Japan       33 million tons steel produced per year.
    - JFE Steel          Japan       30 million tons steel produced per year.
    - Posco              Korea       31 million tons steel produced per year.
    - Shanghai Baosteel: China       23 million tons steel produced per year.  A major customer of CVRD iron ore.
    - TangShan           China       10 million tons steel produced per year.  
     Hebei Province.  Sales of 30 billion yuan in 2005.
    - US Steel:          USA         20 million tons steel produced per year. 
    - Nucor              USA         18 million tons steel produced per year.
    - Corus:             UK          14 million tons steel produced per year.
    - SeverStal          Russia      17 million tons steel produced per year.  Owner:  Alexei Mordashov.
    - Evraz:             Russia      14 million tons steel produced per year.
                                     Alexandr Abramov 59 per cent stake of Evraz.
                                     Alexandr Frolov  28 per cent stake of Evraz.
  2006-06-20  Roman Abramovich, through Millhouse Capital, buys 41 percent of Evraz.
    - Dafasco:           Canada      Ontario.
    - Riva               Italy       17 million tons steel produced per year.



 [D] Miscellaneous Price Change Observations

    1. Fines:     Grain-like ore.
                  Fines account for sixty percent of global iron ore trade.
                  2005 price :  $61.72 per ton
                  2006  19.0% Seller: CVRD.     Buyers: ThyssenKrupp, (May 16, 2006)
                            Seller: CVRD.   Buyers: Baosteel(May 30, 2006)
                            Seller: Rio Tinto Buyers: Nippon, Posco (May 19, 2006)
                  2005  71.5% Seller: Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) Rio Tinto.  Buyer: Nippon Steel and Posco
                  2004  18.6%
                  2003  10.0%
    2. Lump ore:  Golfball sized pieces, has higher iron content than fines and costs more.
                  2005 price : $78.77 per dry metric ton
    3. Pellets:   Iron Ore Pellets, semi-refined iron ore (blast furnace pellets).
                  2006  -3.0% Seller: CVRD.   Buyers: ThyssenKrupp, (May 16, 2006)

      2006 May 16 ThyssenKrupp agrees to price hike for the 2006 contract year.
      2006 Jun 20 China steel makers, through Shanghai Baosteel Group, agreed to 19% iron ore price rise from BHP Billiton.
        http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2006-06/21/content_622052.htm


      2006 Dec 22 CVRD of Brazil announced 9.5 % price hike from Shanghai Baosteel Group Corp, China's biggest buyer of iron ore.