Mt Gibson Iron considering serious action

Junior iron ore miner Mt Gibson Iron is considering seizing iron ore cargoes to off-set debts owed to it by a Chinese steelmaker. The Western Australian miner took the Chinese company Rizhao took court in 2008 over a $112 million dollar debt incurred during the global financial crisis when Rizhao reneged on iron ore contracts. The case went right through the Australian court system, but when Rizhao refused to pay $71 million in damages awarded against it, Mt Gibson filed an enforcement application under a United Nations treaty called the New York Convention. Luke Tonkin, managing director of Mt Gibson Iron says although China ratified the Convention, to date, Chinese courts have been reluctant to enforce their obligations under the treaty. "I'm sure if it had been hurting the other way, we'd be seeing a song and a dance but what we've seen is that there has been absolute reluctance by Rizhao to abide by the award of the court."