Bloomberg reported that China Minmetals Corporation and Sinosteel Corporation must face claims they conspired to fix the price of magnesite sold in the US a federal appeals court ruled.

The appeals panel said that the US Court of Appeals in Philadelphia reversed a lower court decision dismissing the lawsuit. The lower court erred in ruling that it lacked jurisdiction to decide the dispute based on a federal statute.

Animal Science Products Inc and Resco Products Inc, US buyers of magnesite sued 17 Chinese companies in 2005 claiming they conspired since at least April 2000 to fix the price of the metal exported and sold in the US Magnesite is mined from magnesium deposits and used to melt steel, clean wastewater and make cement.

The appeals case involves only the China Minmetals and Sinosteel defendants, who had argued that the dispute should be arbitrated in China, according to court papers. Sinosteel is China’s biggest iron ore trader.

(Sourced from Bloomberg.net)