Australia said last week that it would strengthen laws to better protect Aboriginal cultural heritage.

Deal gives the miner a 100% interest in the Zanaga iron project in the Republic of Congo.

Australia will set out a new national legal framework to protect Aboriginal cultural heritage, after a review of mining standards following Rio Tinto's destruction of sacred rock shelters for an iron ore mine.

Felicity Gooding, who joined FFI earlier this year as its global head of commercial, will be appointed as acting CFO.

Iron ore prices are gathering steam as confidence over the outlook for China's steel demand increases.

Expectations of rising supplies after India's decision to scrap export taxes on low-grade iron ore also weighed on sentiment.

The most-traded January iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange ended daytime trade 3.3% higher.

Mary River, considered one of the world’s richest iron deposits, opened in 2015 and ships about six million tonnes of ore a year.