UPDATE 1-Murchison to announce deal; Midwest on halt
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SYDNEY, May 26 (Reuters) - Australian iron ore miner Murchison Metals Ltd (MMX.AX) said on Monday it will make an announcement on a proposed significant transaction within the next two days.
Its shares were placed on a trading halt pending the announcement. It did not give further details.
Fellow Western Australia prospector Midwest Corp Ltd MIS.AX also requested a trading halt, but did not give any reason. Earlier this year, Murchison made an unsolicited offer for Midwest, which subsequently recommended a revised A$1.36 billion ($1.3 billion) offer from China's Sinosteel.
Murchison is in partnership with Japan's Mitsubishi Corp (8058.T) and, like Midwest, plans to build railways and a port from scratch to tap the vast reserves of iron ore in the midwest region of Western Australia.
Analysts had said a tie up between Midwest and Murchison was logical and both would benefit from shared rail and port operations.
On May 2, Murchison told the Australian stock exchange it was not in talks with China's Sinosteel on a possible takeover, after the exchange queried sharp moves in Murchison's share price. Sinosteel has a 2.4 percent stake in Murchison.
Murchison shares last traded at A$4.04, while Midwest ended Friday at A$6.25. ($1=A$1.04) (Reporting by Victoria Thieberger; editing by James Thornhill)
