NSW government sets up Resources Advisory Forum

The New South Wales government will launch a new resources forum in a bid to defuse what Planning Minister Rob Stokes calls the “increasingly hostile land use conflicts” in the state, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

The Resources Advisory Forum, to be announced on Wednesday, will be chaired by Secretary of Planning Carolyn McNally, and bring together 15 representatives from industry, environmental and community groups, council bodies and the University of NSW school of mining engineering.

Iron ore's $US10 trading range may snap

Westpac analysts believe iron ore is at risk of being knocked out of a trading range that has held for more than three months, possibly slumping back below $US50 a tonne, as the top producers boost low-cost supply and steel output contracts in China, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

“Is there a risk iron ore can break out of it current range?” senior economist Justin Smirk said in an email on Tuesday. “We think so, and still have a low of $45 a tonne pencilled in for this year.”

The price in Qingdao fell 0.7% to $52.93/t on Tuesday, headed for the first monthly loss since July, according to Metal Bulletin.

Brookfield Infrastructure has options if Asciano takeover flops

Brookfield Infrastructure can easily pursue other acquisitions if its proposed $A8.9 billion takeover of Asciano is blocked, Canadian analysts say, raising questions over whether it will bother selling assets or taking court action to complete the deal, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Australian analysts are sceptical that Brookfield Infrastructure's takeover bid will succeed after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission last week said it had “red light” concerns on the vertical integration of the two groups' rail and port assets.