Posted on 23 Mar 2009
Nippon Steel Corp has agreed with
The deal -- the first between the Australian miner and the world's second-biggest steelmaker -- may set a benchmark for other firms' contract negotiations for 2009/2010.
The price of the deal would be down 57 percent from the previous year, said the official, who asked not to be named. He said the two firms reached agreement on March 19.
BMA, an equally owned joint venture between BHP Billiton and Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp, is the world's top exporter of coking coal, the raw material for making steel.
The term contract price for coking coal climbed to $300 a tonne in 2008/09 as heavy rainfalls in
