Investment banks working on the proposed joint venture between BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto have lost out on an estimated $355m in success fees over the course of three years, after the mining groups admitted defeat and pulled the plug last week.

BHP's advisers Goldman Sachs, Lazard and Gresham Partners, and Rio Tinto's advisers Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse and Macquarie had been in line to share up to $155m in success fees if the $58bn iron ore joint venture had completed, according to estimates from consultant Freeman & Co.