BHP Billiton last night celebrated the shipment of its one billionth tonne of iron ore to China with customers, industrial associations, joint venture partners, suppliers and employees in Shanghai.
It took nearly 30 years for BHP Billiton to ship 100 million tonnes of iron ore to China and then only 12 more years to reach the one billion tonne milestone which is about the same length of time that I have been a shareholder in BHP.
Sadly, the company's share price, which in May 2008 had hit a high of $50, is down to a five-and-a-half-year low of $28.46 today, because of a drop in the iron ore price which may never see US$100 a tonne again.
