India takes rare cargo of Australia's BHP iron ore banned by China

A cargo of BHP's Jimblebar Fines iron ore is heading to India in a rare sale driven by discounts on the product that was banned for sale in ‌China, ⁠the world's largest ⁠buyer, as part of a contract dispute with the miner.

* The vessel True Champion is ​carrying some 172,000 metric tons of Jimblebar Fines to Jaigarh in India, ​according to Kpler data. The ⁠buyer is ‌JSW Steel, according to ​a ​source briefed on the sale

* True ⁠Champion was destined for China on ​March 9, Kpler data showed, before ​changing its destination to Singapore and then India over the course of the last week


* China's state iron ore buyer CMRG barred steelmakers ‌and traders from purchasing Jimblebar fines in September, and has progressively ​expanded its ​restrictions to ⁠other products as it negotiates the terms of BHP's 2026 supply contract

* CMRG relaxed ​the ban for a week last Friday, allowing steelmakers to buy Jimblebar cargoes already at Chinese ports. Seaborne cargoes are still banned