CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Australian construction firm Leighton Holdings Ltd. (LGTHF.PK, LEI.AX) on Friday confirmed that it has been in talks with iron ore producer Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (FSUMF.PK, FMG.AX) to undertake contract mining work. However, no contract has been entered into at this stage, the company said in a regulatory filing.
An article appeared in today's Australian Financial Review titled 'Fortescue $5bn goes to Leighton.' This referred to the potential award of work to Leighton by Fortescue. Leighton added in the filing that it would update the market when it is in a position to do so.
Leighton Holdings is the parent company of Australia's largest project development and contracting group. The group is the world's largest contract miner and its companies are active in Australia, Asia, Africa and the Gulf region.
Meanwhile, Fortescue reportedly said that it would decide on the A$3.6 billion mining contract for its Solomon project in the next few weeks. The company has short-listed some firms for providing these mining services. However, Fortescue may operate the mine itself, if it cannot reach an agreement with these contenders.
LEI.AX is currently trading at A$23.12, down 0.39 percent, on 889,043 shares.
FMG.AX is falling 1.32 percent to A$6.00 on a volume of 15.18 million shares.
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© 2012 AFX News
