Singapore (Platts)--8Nov2012/439 am EST/939 GMT

West coast Indian miner Fomento Resources canceled a tender for 59.5%-Fe iron ore fines, its first cargo of fines offered after the monsoon season, a company source said Thursday.

Indian fines have been absent from the market since the end of May due to the rainy season. The handling of fines usually stops completely during the monsoons -- from late-May to October -- for safety reasons as moisture would exceed the maximum limit of 10-12%, and this could cause vessels to capsize. Cargoes have been known to contain 20% moisture during the monsoon season.

Meanwhile, Fomento said it had decided to put plans to sell the cargo on the back-burner.

"We are seeing the iron ore market stabilizing, so we hope the market will improve before we re-offer it," the company source said. Fomento had no definite dates on when to offer the cargo again, he added.

Article continues below...

Request a free trial of Metals Daily
	Platts Metals Daily offers prices, news and analysis for the aluminum, copper and molybdenum value chains. It contains hundreds of metals prices across base, minor, light and precious metals assessed by editors globally. This detailed report will help you monitor global events and quickly spot opportunities or potential pitfalls as well as bring you aluminum and copper price and news coverage. Daily prices and news for molybdenum are also covered to deliver critical insights.

The tender for the 45,000 mt shipment containing 3% alumina and 4% silica was to have closed Tuesday. The cargo will load from the Maharashtrian port of Redi, but the company is yet to finalize the loading dates.

--Celestyn Wong, celestyn_wong@platts.com --Edited by E Shailaja Nair, shailaja_nair@platts.com

Tweet