Roy Hill: Fifteen Per Cent of an Iron Ore MineNarrow moat

Marubeni (8002) — moat facet

A founding stake in a Pilbara mine earns about a tenth of its book value a year even in a soft iron ore market.

Marubeni owns 15% of Roy Hill, the Pilbara iron ore mine Hancock Prospecting built and runs, with a capacity of 64 million tonnes a year1. It took the stake in 20122, when Roy Hill was a greenfield project that needed patient capital and Japanese steel customers.

Roy Hill, Marubeni share of profit (¥ bn)24.7Year to Mar 202519.2Year to Mar 2026Marubeni 15%; capacity 64 Mtpa; operator Hancock Prospecting
A fifth off the iron ore profit in a year, on an unchanged stake.

Its share of Roy Hill's profit was ¥19.2 billion in the year to March 2026, down from ¥24.7 billion3. Marubeni values its iron ore exposure at about ¥190.0 billion4, so the stake earned about a tenth of its carrying value in a weaker year.

The advantage is the same as in copper: Marubeni was a partner at the start, when the partners that mattered were the ones prepared to fund construction. Late entrants to Pilbara iron ore now pay for producing mines rather than building them.

Iron ore is Marubeni's second-largest resource exposure after copper. Its steelmaking coal exposure is about ¥150.0 billion and aluminium about ¥40.0 billion5. Roy Hill is operated by Hancock Prospecting6, and it is the only iron ore mine in Marubeni's resource asset table7. Its steel products business, the 50-50 Marubeni-Itochu Steel, sits in the same segment and earned ¥20.2 billion8.

The measure is the Roy Hill line itself. A decline that continues while the iron ore price is steady would point to the mine's costs rather than the market.

Moat trajectory: Holding steady

Profit fell from ¥24.7 billion to ¥19.2 billion with iron ore prices; nothing about the stake or the partner changed.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
Roy Hill share of profit
¥19.2bn against ¥24.7bn, year to March 2026

Roy Hill moves with the iron ore price; a fall while prices hold would be the mine, not the market.

Source: Marubeni full-year IR presentation, May 2026 ↗
⚠ Threats to the moat
⚠ THREAT 01
Iron Ore Profit Fell a Fifth
Roy Hill's profit is the Chinese steel cycle expressed in yen, and it fell a fifth last year.
References
  1. ReportedMarubeni owns 15% of Roy Hill, the Pilbara iron ore mine Hancock Prospecting built and runs, with a capacity of 64 million tonnes a year.
    Marubeni Corporation, full-year IR presentation for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026 - resource asset table (stakes, capacities, partners and exposures), equity volumes, sensitivities to commodity prices and currencies, and the Middle East risk scenarios and risk-management framework. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
  2. ReportedIt took the stake in 2012, when Roy Hill was a greenfield project that needed patient capital and Japanese steel customers.
    Marubeni Integrated Report 2026, introduction and At a Glance - the company history from 1858 and the market positions the company states for its businesses. — 2026 · publ. 2026 · source ↗
  3. ReportedIts share of Roy Hill's profit was ¥19.2 billion in the year to March 2026, down from ¥24.7 billion.
    Marubeni Corporation, full-year IR presentation for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026 - net profit of major group companies by segment, with ownership and business descriptions. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedMarubeni values its iron ore exposure at about ¥190.0 billion, so the stake earned about a tenth of its carrying value in a weaker year.
    Marubeni Corporation, full-year IR presentation for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026 - resource asset table (stakes, capacities, partners and exposures), equity volumes, sensitivities to commodity prices and currencies, and the Middle East risk scenarios and risk-management framework. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedIts steelmaking coal exposure is about ¥150.0 billion and aluminium about ¥40.0 billion.
    Marubeni Corporation, full-year IR presentation for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026 - resource asset table (stakes, capacities, partners and exposures), equity volumes, sensitivities to commodity prices and currencies, and the Middle East risk scenarios and risk-management framework. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
  6. ReportedRoy Hill is operated by Hancock Prospecting, and it is the only iron ore mine in Marubeni's resource asset table.
    Marubeni Corporation, full-year IR presentation for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026 - resource asset table (stakes, capacities, partners and exposures), equity volumes, sensitivities to commodity prices and currencies, and the Middle East risk scenarios and risk-management framework. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
  7. ReportedRoy Hill is operated by Hancock Prospecting, and it is the only iron ore mine in Marubeni's resource asset table.
    Marubeni Corporation, full-year IR presentation for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026 - resource asset table (stakes, capacities, partners and exposures), equity volumes, sensitivities to commodity prices and currencies, and the Middle East risk scenarios and risk-management framework. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
  8. ReportedIts steel products business, the 50-50 Marubeni-Itochu Steel, sits in the same segment and earned ¥20.2 billion.
    Marubeni Corporation, full-year IR presentation for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026 - net profit of major group companies by segment, with ownership and business descriptions. — FY to March 2026 · publ. 1 May 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 24, 2026