The iron-ore price has come under the spotlight this month with both sharp daily gains and steep declines recorded. The volatility has led to questions about whether the iron-ore price is responding to super-cycle-type conditions, or whether it is simply riding a speculative roller-coaster. Time will tell, but there do seem to be some strong fundamentals in place, underpinned primarily by strong Chinese demand and rising steel prices. And as China looks to secure as much of this material from non-Australian sources as possible, South Africa should be alive to the implications.