The fate of Kumba Iron Ore, which is up for sale by parent Anglo American, gets increasingly interesting as the price of ore scales new heights. The base metal reached a new peak of $83.65 a ton earlier this week after a rally last year that lifted the price 82.5%. The gains are on the back of market speculation that China will maintain demand for overseas ore, and expectations that President Donald Trump will announce plans for increased spending on US infrastructure. Kumba's shares have rallied 342% since last year, outperforming the world's largest iron-ore producers. BHP Billiton's value rose 47.5% and Rio Tinto's rose 39.4%. Peter Major, mining analyst at Cadiz Corporate Solutions, said now was the best time for Anglo American to sell Kumba. "[Prices] are above the long-term average, they are above the mean and mining gets harder every year in South Africa," said Major. "A year ago there were no buyers but a lot of sellers. Now they [Anglo] refuse to sell and people want to buy...

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