RUSSIAN oligarch Alisher Usmanov has emerged as a new player in WA’s junior iron ore scene, paying $99 million to take a 19.9 per cent strategic stake in Aztec Resources suitor Mt Gibson Iron. Reportedly Russia’s biggest iron and steel producer, Mr Usmanov owns Gallagher Holdings, a parent company of the Moscow-based Metalloinvest, and is believed to have a personal wealth of more than $4 billion.