The Economics of Iron Ore – or ‘not everything is cheap in China’

bodawei

August 10, 2010, 04:26 AM posted in General Discussion

Rio Tinto mines iron ore in the Pilbara at cost of about US$20 per tonne, and pays freight for transporting the ore to China of between US$8 and US$10 per tonne. In this September quarter it is receiving a price of a little under US$160 per tonne. (Price falls to US$130 per tonne next quarter.)

Subtract production and freight costs from contract prices (160 – 28 or 30) = US$130 per tonne (approx.) in profit. [Rio currently produces around 230 million tonnes per year.]

Source: John Garnaut (Tuesday 10 August 2010), ‘How Lucky to sit at the peak of a boom’, The East is Red, Sydney Morning Herald.

‘The Lucky Country’ do I hear you say? Admittedly the numbers look pretty good. The arithmetic has of course stirred Chinese production, but Australia is still enjoying a ‘resources boom’. Unfortunately, the big miners can afford those expensive TV ad campaigns informing fellow citizens that the Government’s planned resource rent tax will ruin the whole economy (and not just their annual bonuses.)

bodawei

August 12, 2010, 11:06 AM

What is the meaning of this expression:

靠小区内的卧室.. ?

I have never seen 小区 used this way, to describe the geography of a building? Does it just mean 'in the vicinity of the bedroom..'?

BTW - I have resorted to editing old posts to make a post - neither posting mechanism seems to work for new posts. (And hasn't worked for me for some time now.)

bodawei

bump. I just wanted to try that - the first time I think that I have bumped anything with a bump.

Anybody know what this means?

suansuanru

靠小区内的卧室.. ?

看不懂。

bodawei

哦谢谢，

我的房东联系我：

靠小区内的卧室有水流下来的痕迹,主要的情况是: 水影响了两面墙, 衣柜有点受潮, 卧室门暂时关不上,床头滴过一点水,

你们的衣物和被子看上去没有大问题.

多半我明白，‘’靠小区内的卧室’‘我不明白。

有人确切地告诉我句子的意思吧？

zhenlijiang

Bodawei I think 小区内的卧室有水流下来的 is one phrase specifying what 痕迹. It's 靠痕迹 blahblahblah.

bodawei

thanks Zhenlijiang for your help but I am very dim about this - I don't know what either 靠 or 小区内 means here

靠 - in the area of ??? what does 靠痕迹 mean?

小区内 - this I don't understand. He is talking about some water damage (some 痕迹) inside a flat - can you think of why he refers to 小区内? Is he just saying/meaning the bedroom in the 'flat in the housing complex'? I am not sure why it needs this context - this came at the end of extended correspondence about a flat that is well know to both of us!

zhenlijiang

While we wait for Suansuanru to come back--about 小区, just seeing this sentence cold I assume it means your building. I don't know why your landlord said 小区内的; I wonder if it's a way to form a good written (and to sound formal maybe?) sentence without making such (strictly speaking) inaccurate references such as 你们的.

靠痕迹 I am interpreting as "rely on the traces left (to deduce or draw conclusions)." From the stains, or whatever traces of the water damage that are apparent to the eye, what we can see is--and he lists the damage done and not done.

zhenlijiang

Ow, no edit function. 痕迹 is not the damage, but rather the traces left behind.

bodawei

Zhenlijiang - aaah, the light is dawning - thank you so much. I am aware of and understand several applications of 靠 (even if I find it hard to use them myself) but I did not think of 'rely on the evidence'. I am sure you are right - it makes sense to me now.

And your rationalisation of 小区内的 is also feasible, even if quite strange to me. In English we would just say 'the' bedroom, not even 'the' flat, because context has already confirmed which bedroom we are talking about.

I like to study my landlord's missives because he is such a literate person I am sure it is correct, I just need to learn the expressions he uses! His hand writing is also beautiful - on a par with my daughter's. :)

changye

Hi bodawei

I guess what your landlord wants to say is something like "the bedroom, which faces toward the center of the district" (靠小区内的卧室), although I don't know if the Chinese phrase is grammatically correct.

changye

PS Is the bedroom located that way?

bodawei

Hi Changye

I replied yesterday, and it posted fine, but today my post has gone! Most curious.

In essence I was thanking you for making the meaning of 靠小区内的卧室 clear to me - I realise now that it refers to a bedroom which does indeed face into the 小区. This contrasts with our other two bedrooms which face the bush. (I was also thanking Zhenlijiang for her help earlier.)

zhenlijiang

Oh 不好意思 Bodawei for letting you think the light was dawning.

So it's 靠～内 meaning "facing into"? You could also say 靠～other directional words I guess?

You had a 牌子 post on handwritten signs that I enjoyed. I guess this isn't a sign, but I'd like to see your landlord's handwriting!

bodawei

Hi Zhenjljiang - I really liked your inventive interpretation. But I think Changye nailed it - it is almost certainly what he means, although it is a construction I have not seen before I can see how it works. I imagine 靠 as 'leans' - so the bedroom 'leans toward' the middle of the 小区。

I would like to put the landord's writing on record - once I get back to China I will be finding and posting more photos, I can do that. He writes with such care .. a lovely bloke ... Actually his wife speaks Japanese, not that that is any use at all for communicating with me! :)