Rich-lister Chris Ellison, who has seen a bust or two in his more than thirty years in the resources industry, says "the world has changed" and innovation is key to survival as the future of several Australian iron ore miners reach a cross-roads.

"The world has changed, it is a very difficult market out there," Mr Ellison said. "China has been slowing for some period of time now and they are not just slowing but they are also making significant changes in the culture in China and the way they operate. For once in a very long time the value of iron ore and oil and gold and other commodities have come off simultaneously and the whole world is affected by it, we are challenged by it."

Todd is currently seeking opportunities for parties with stranded iron ore projects in the Central Pilbara to use its infrastructure on an integrated basis.

Todd Corporation

Mr Ellison's Mineral Resources is predominantly a mining services company but also owns and operates iron ore mines. Mr Ellison said in past down cycles MinRes had successfully seized opportunities for growth but warned he believed many West Australian mining and services companies weren't experienced enough to do so this time around.

"How many of these companies have been through a downturn in the market?" Mr Ellison asked analysts on a results call last week. "Do they know the signs, do they know what to do and how to react and run that business? Because if they don't, they will go broke."

Volatile prices

The volatile iron ore price has plummeted over the past 18 months to as low as $US44 a tonne in July before recovering to current levels around $US55 a tonne. But analysts aren't confident the rally above $US50 a tonne will be sustained, amid concerns about increasing levels of new supply and China's softening demand for iron ore.

The challenging environment is shaking up the sector. Financial results reported last week exposed a level of desperation at the smaller end of the sector. After a "disappointing" year impacted by a pit wall failure at its flagship mine, Mount Gibson Iron is looking for new opportunities, likely to be in resources but outside of iron ore.

Fellow Pilbara producer Atlas Iron, which returned to production after suspending operations earlier this year, booked a record loss and revealed the price headwinds could impact its ability to repay a heavy debt burden.

Pluton Resources said it was trying to secure emergency funding "for immediate working capital, repayment of creditors and future capital expenditure", warning it was again being chased by unsecured creditors after only stepping out of receivership in March.

Flinders Mines revealed its bid to offload its sole iron ore asset to one of the few groups investing in iron ore, New Zealand's Todd Corporation, had received the tick of approval from an independent expert which concluded the option agreement was both fair and reasonable. Todd launched a website Friday to counter negative views some Flinders shareholders had voiced about the deal and in it revealed it had an appetite for more Pilbara iron ore.

"Todd is currently seeking opportunities for parties with stranded iron ore projects in the Central Pilbara to use its infrastructure on an integrated basis.

"The [Flinders Pilbara Iron Ore Project] is one of a number of mining assets in the central Pilbara which could form part of an integrated project should the proposal proceed, although it is certainly not Todd's only option."

More light is expected to be shed on iron ore juniors this week when BC Iron reports on Wednesday.