The trigger price for such action was not far away, Mr Ellison said.

The iron ore producer and mining services company would "turn off the tonnes" if the price plummeted further, he said, but he was unwilling to say by how much.

"If it gets to a point where it is below our cash costs we would turn off," he said. "That is not too far away from where we are now."

Mineral Resources owns and operates the Carina mine in West Australia's Yilgarn region and is seeking approval to expand the 1.4 million tonnes a year operation and develop surrounding mines.

Phil's Creek and Spinifex Ridge, two of the company's older mines, are already being wound up this quarter.

Mineral Resources also runs the recently operational Iron Valley mine, which is now under the ownership of BC Iron, after the company's takeover of Iron Ore Holdings earlier this year.

Mr Ellison conceded that the move to care and maintenance could extend to the Iron Valley mine and that he had discussed that with BC Iron.

"Everyone is very cognisant of where we are at the moment and we are working, not just with BC Iron but all the mid-tier guys. We are all working together, talking together, sharing ideas and we are all going at certain parties to try to make sure they recognise that costs have got to come off," he said.

"Not just costs that we directly control but those imposed by us on different parties. We are touching everything. They get a choice – you can have some of the money or none of the money."

The iron ore price has plummeted almost 50 per cent this year, to a five-and-a-half-year low of $US70.20 a tonne.

The crashing price has put considerable pressure on the Pilbara's junior and mid-tier iron ore miners, with only the biggest and most cost-efficient miners seemingly profitable at these levels.

Mining services companies have been battered even harder by miners cutting back on spending and negotiating contract terms but Mr Ellison said Mineral Resources' contracting business was largely buffered by the fact its key contracts were with the large miners.

Mr Ellison said there was no doubt the price was lower than it should be and he expected it to settle at about $US75 to $US85 a tonne over the next few years.

Mineral Resources is estimated to be receiving about $US66 a tonne for its discounted product, which is a thin margin when viewed alongside estimated costs.

Analysts suggest the miner's all-in sustaining costs, including sustaining capex, would be $US70 to $US75 a tonne for Carina and $US75 to $US79 for Iron Valley.

Asked whether the company's operations were profitable at a price of $US70 a tonne, Mineral Resources chairman Peter Wade said "at the moment we are cash positive on all of our sites but at some sites we are balance sheet positive and on others we are balance sheet negative".

The good news for the company is that it has other divisions making a profit and is well positioned comparably to other junior miners to switch to care and maintenance because, as a mining services company, it owns all of its equipment.

Mr Wade said that gave the company a serious advantage over its peers in being able switch on and off quickly and potentially at a lower cost.

Mineral Resources is in talks with other parties to try to clinch a deal to help it realise its ambitious infrastructure plans, including developing rail and port.

Mr Ellison said the company regarded the current pricing environment as the perfect opportunity to have its day in the sun and build the business further through mergers, acquisitions and deals.