Atlas Iron shares sink

ATLAS Iron shares have taken a battering after the Western Australian government indicated potential buyers of the junior miner may not be able to develop valuable export infrastructure.

Shares in Atlas, which gained as much as 64 per cent in the past week after companies controlled by Gina Rinehart and Andrew Forrest took large stakes in response to a takeover bid by ASX-listed Mineral Resources, fell steeply yesterday after coming out of a brief trading halt.

They fell 18 per cent to close at 3.6¢.

Atlas said it had been notified by the WA government that the joint venture holding the company’s rights to undeveloped port capacity in Port Hedland does not have a priority right to carry out the development, and any application would be judged on merit.

Atlas said it considers that position a change of policy by the WA government.