SHARP increases of as much as 60-70 per cent in the 2010-11 iron ore term price are "no longer out of the ballpark" as global miners increasingly support a move away from the decades-old benchmark pricing system, a mining industry source says.
That is in stark contrast to the 30-40 per cent increase miners were reported to be demanding when informal talks began several months ago.
The push to sharply raise the benchmark price comes at a time when spot prices have doubled from the 2009-10 benchmark. Some analysts, however, say this could just be posturing by producers as the two sides engage.