B08 Metal Ore Mining

It’s not just Forrest making a killing from Fortescue

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Original article by Julie-anne Sprague, Robert Guy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 23-Jan-20

Fortescue Metals Group’s share price rose to a new record high of $12.69 on 22 January, extending the stock’s gain in the year-to-date to 18.7 per cent. The rally has seen the stake of founder and chairman Andrew Forrest rise to around $13.9bn; when his other investments are taken into account, Forrest’s estimated wealth is now about $15.9bn. Other Fortescue executives with an equity interest in the pure-play iron ore miner have also benefited from the stock’s rise, including CEO Elizabeth Gaines and deputy CEO Julie Shuttleworth.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

Henry sharpens BHP’s iron will

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 15 & 20 : 22-Jan-20

BHP still expects its 2019-20 iron ore production in the Pilbara to be within the range of 273 to 286 million tonnes, after reporting output of 137 million tonnes for the first half. This suggests that production in the second half could be up to 149 million tonnes. BHP received an average of $US78.30 per tonne for iron ore in the first half, which is 41 per cent higher than previously. Meanwhile, BHP has advised that production at its Mount Arthur coal mine in New South Wales was affected by the drought and bushfires during the first half.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Share surge elevates Forrest to $13bn man

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Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian – Page: 15 & 16 : 21-Jan-20

Shares in pure-play iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group have gained more than 10 per cent so far in 2020, reaching a new intra-day high of $11.92 on 20 January. The rally has lifted Fortescue’s market capitalisation to more than $36bn, and it now ranks as Australia’s 13th largest company in terms of market cap. The stake of founder Andrew Forrest is now worth about $13bn, while his net wealth has increased by about $1bn since the start of the year and $7bn since March.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

EMR plots production boost

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 16-Jan-20

A consortium headed by private equity firm EMR Capital has acquired the Ravenswood gold mine in Queensland from Resolute Mining. Production costs at Ravenswood averaged more than $2,000 an ounce in the first half of 2019; gold is currently trading at around $2,200 an ounce in Australian dollar terms, and around $US1,551 an ounce. EMR Capital is confident that plans to increase production will enable the mine to remain profitable even if the gold price falls below $US1,300 an ounce.

CORPORATES
RESOLUTE MINING LIMITED – ASX RSG, EMR CAPITAL PTY LTD

Maxsted hastens BHP exit in retreat from blue chip boards

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 19 : 15-Jan-20

BHP director Lindsay Maxsted will step down later in 2020, after nine years on the board. He was re-elected at BHP’s annual meeting in late 2019, and gave no indication that he intended to retire. Maxsted has declined to comment on the reasons for his impending exit from the board; however, a major BHP shareholder has indicated that they had expected Maxsted to step down in the next year or so given the money-laundering scandal at Westpac, where he has also stepped down. BHP says the timing of Maxsted’s departure is linked to tenure guidelines which suggest that directors should not serve for more than nine years.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

Desert wildflower halts lithium mine project

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Original article by
The Australian – Page: 18 : 8-Jan-20

The US subsidiary of Australian-listed Ioneer Limited has agreed to suspend exploration work at a lithium project on federal land in Nevada. This follows concerns that mining would pose a threat to a rare species of desert wildflower called Tiehm’s buckwheat, which is found only in Nevada’s Silver Peak Range. The Center for Biological Diversity had launched legal action against the Trump administration in a bid to stop further exploration at Ioneer’s tenements in order to protect the wildflower. The lawsuit was withdrawn after Ioneer USA agreed to put exploration on hold.

CORPORATES
IONEER LIMITED – ASX INR, CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

Glencore considered Fortescue takeover in 2016, but Forrest wasn’t keen

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 13 & 15 : 6-Jan-20

Sources have indicated that Anglo-Swiss mining giant Glencore held internal talks regarding a potential bid for Fortescue Metals Group in 2016. It is believed that Glencore looked at a possible approach to Fortescue in order to diversify into iron ore and to capitalise on a sharp fall in the price of the steel input at the time. Glencore has declined to comment, while Fortescue CEO Elizabeth Gaines says the company is focused on growing its business. Glencore had previously sought to expand into iron ore in 2014, via a $190bn merger proposal with Rio Tinto.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, GLENCORE PLC, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, COAL AND ALLIED INDUSTRIES LIMITED

Early exit for BHP’s Mackenzie

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 14 : 24-Dec-19

BHP’s outgoing CEO Andrew Mackenzie had previously advised that he will leave the resources giant on 30 June. However, he says the transition to new CEO Mike Henry is ahead of schedule, so he will now depart on 31 March. BHP has advised that Mackenzie will not receive any severance pay or a payment in lieu of notice. Henry, who formally takes the helm on 1 January, is expected to make changes to BHP’s executive leadership team.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Iron’s endless summer keeps on keeping on

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 43 : 21-Dec-19

Shares in Fortescue Metals Group are trading at an 11-year high, boosted by factors such as continued strong demand for iron ore in China and supply disruptions in Brazil. Meanwhile, Rio Tinto’s shares have regularly traded above $100 in 2019, and the stock has not fallen below $35 in the last decade. Demand for iron ore has defied expectations over the last 10 years. The price of the steel input peaked at almost $US190 per tonne in 2011; its fall to around $US80/tonne in subsequent years prompted some observers to forecast that the iron ore boom was over. However, Australia’s iron ore exports reached a record $77bn in 2018-19 and could top $81bn in 2019-20. Likewise, some experts forecast that China’s annual steel production will exceed one million tonnes for the first time in 2020.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, VALE SA

Gold beats coal as iron ore drives export record

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 13 & 18 : 19-Dec-19

The Department of Industry, Innovation & Science now expects Australia’s resources exports to top $281bn in 2019-20. This is $4bn lower than was forecast in June, although it will still be a new record. Resources exports are forecast to fall to around $256bn in 2020-21, due to factors such as an expected fall in the iron ore price and the resumption of shipments from Brazil. This will see Australia’s iron ore exports fall to $65.5bn in 2020-21, compared with expectations of $84bn in the current financial year. Gold exports are tipped to reach a new high of $27.8bn in 2019-20, before falling to $25.9bn in 2020-21.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE