FerrAus Limited (ASX:FRS) and China Railway Materials Commercial Corporation (CRM) have agreed to cooperate in respect of other potential iron ore resource opportunities in the eastern Pilbara region of Western Australia that, together with FerrAus' existing resources, can be used to support the financing and construction of rail and port infrastructure necessary for the development of the iron ore resources. The strategic cooperation with China Railway Materials (CRM) will go a long way to resolving FerrAus' business imperative of establishing a pathway to commercialising its iron ore assets, said Mike Amundsen, FerrAus Director & CEO.
FerrAus Limited (ASX:FRS) and China Railway Materials Commercial Corporation (CRM) have agreed to cooperate in respect of other potential iron ore resource opportunities in the eastern Pilbara region of Western Australia that, together with FerrAus' existing resources, can be used to support the financing and construction of rail and port infrastructure necessary for the development of the iron ore resources. The strategic cooperation with China Railway Materials (CRM) will go a long way to resolving FerrAus' business imperative of establishing a pathway to commercialising its iron ore assets, said Mike Amundsen, FerrAus Director & CEO.

Sydney, Sep 8, 2009 AEST (ABN Newswire) - US markets were closed for the Labour Day public holiday, while Europe and Asia markets posted strong gains on Monday.

Yesterday, the Australian market closed buoyed by banks and miners. The S&P/ASX200 index rose 18.9 points, or 0.43 per cent, to 4454.4. The All Ordinaries index was up 18.4 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 4461.1.

Key Economic Facts and Figures

ANZ Bank survey showed that job advertisements in newspapers and on the internet rose 4.1 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms in August, from levels in July. It is the strongest month growth since December 2007. Economists anticipate that the jobless rate to be released on Thursday at 5.9 per cent for August.

The National Australia Bank monthly business survey for August will be released today.

M&A News

National Australia Bank (ASX:NAB) played down rumours it was planning a A$10 billion-plus bid for Suncorp-Metway (ASX:SUN) after it revealed a 7 per cent holding in Suncorp. NAB said most of the 88 million shares were held by its fund management arm, MLC, and almost all the remainder by National Nominees on behalf of unnamed clients and customers of its nominee account service business.

The Takeovers Panel has blocked Australian Style Investments from increasing stake in Multiplex Prime Property Fund (ASX:MAFCA) until further notice. The fund's manager, Brookfield Multiplex Capital Management, applied on Friday to the panel for an interim order restraining Nicholas Bolton's company from acquiring units in the Multiplex Prime Property fund, as there was not enough information available about the offer.

Sigma Pharmaceuticals (ASX:SIP) is raising nearly A$300 million from shareholders to reduce debt and boost its balance sheet for acquisitions. Sigma said it would spend A$60 million to buy the Bristol-Myers Squibb pharmaceutical factory in Melbourne's east, 15 drug brands and a contract to produce those brands under the BMS label for five years and sell them in Australia and New Zealand.

Atlas Iron Ltd. (ASX:AGO) agreed to acquire iron ore explorer Warwick Resources Ltd. (ASX:WRK) with an all-share offer, valuing it at A$65.4 million. Atlas will offer one share for every three Warwick shares on issue. The board of Warwick has unanimously recommended investors vote in favor of the offer. The merged company would aim for annual output of 26 million tonnes by 2014.

It is said that Lihir Gold (ASX:LGL) is looking at taking over Perseus Mining (ASX:PRU) as part of a plan to produce 1 million ounces a year from multiple mines in west Africa. Analysts said Perseus ticked all of Lihir's strategic assessment criteria covering the scale of operations, the mine life, location and cost.

Important Corporate News

Qantas (ASX:QAN) confirmed it will increase surcharges for freight between Australia and the Americas, Europe and Africa due to fuel increases. But Qantas said it has no plans to reinstate fuel surcharges for domestic flights or increase levies on international travel.

AGL Energy Limited (ASX:AGK) said it has been selected as the renewable energy supplier for South Australia's new 100 gigalitre per annum desalination plant under construction at Port Stanvac, south of Adelaide. The contract is for a term of 20 years with an annual requirement of approximately 500 gigawatt hour of electricity and associated renewable energy certificates.

FerrAus Limited (ASX:FRS) and China Railway Materials Commercial Corporation (CRM) have agreed to cooperate in respect of other potential iron ore resource opportunities in the eastern Pilbara region of Western Australia that, together with FerrAus' existing resources, can be used to support the financing and construction of rail and port infrastructure necessary for the development of the iron ore resources. The strategic cooperation with China Railway Materials (CRM) will go a long way to resolving FerrAus' business imperative of establishing a pathway to commercialising its iron ore assets, said Mike Amundsen, FerrAus Director & CEO.

Contact

Michelle Liang
Asia Business News Asia Bureau
Tel: +61-2-9247-4344
Email: michelle.liang@abnnewswire.net


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