B08 Metal Ore Mining

Iron ore dives but stockpile declines

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 17 & 28 : 11-Apr-17

The spot price of iron ore for delivery to the port of Qingdao in China recently reached a low of $US75.45 per tonne, compared with a peak of $US94.86 in late February. However, China’s iron ore stockpiles have fallen by 1.1 million tonnes to 121 million tonnes since early April. The recent downturn in the spot price had been attributed to a sharp rise in Chinese stockpiles. Macquarie Group notes that demand for iron ore and steel will be boosted by the Chinese Government’s plans to develop the new Xiongan region.

CORPORATES
MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, IRON ORE RESEARCH PTY LTD, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, COMMUNIST PARTY (CHINA)

Rio Tinto ramps up ATO battle with $3.8b report

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 10-Apr-17

Rio Tinto has released a report which shows that it paid $US2.89bn ($A3.85bn) in taxes to governments in Australia during 2016. This compares with $US3.3bn in 2015. The Federal Government received a total of $US1.39bn in tax payments from Rio Tinto in 2016. The resources giant is disputing the Australian Taxation Office’s ruling that it must pay an additional $A447 million in taxes. The ruling is associated with Rio Tinto’s use of a marketing hub in Singapore. Rio’s global tax bill totalled $US3.98bn in 2016.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Strike delays copper mine projects: BHP

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 25 : 6-Apr-17

BHP Billiton executive Daniel Malchuk has advised that a recent 44-day strike at the Escondida copper mine in Chile will postpone completion of a new concentrator and a desalination plant at the mine. Both projects had been slated for completion by June 2017, and the delay could impact on the mine’s output for the 2017-18 financial year. Malchuk has also indicated that production has resumed at Escondida, although it is not yet back to full capacity. He is optimistic that the dispute over a new pay deal at Escondida can be resolved.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, MINERA ESCONDIDA LIMITADA, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, MITSUBISHI CORPORATION, NIPPON MINING AND METALS COMPANY LIMITED, FREEPORT-McMORAN COPPER AND GOLD INCORPORATED, MMG LIMITED – ASX MMG, OZ MINERALS LIMITED – ASX OZL

Iron ore price begins slow descent to ‘normal’

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Original article by Tess Ingram, Lisa Murray
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 28 : 24-Mar-17

The spot price of iron ore in China has fallen by 7.7 per cent in two days, reaching a low of $US84.99 per tonne. SteelHome’s Du Hongfeng has attributed the fall to a downturn in the price of construction steel in China, which has in turn been prompted by moves by some Chinese cities to introduce stricter regulations for property speculators. Vivek Dhar of the Commonwealth Bank anticipates a "gradual" decline in the iron ore price, forecasting that it will fall to around $US60/tonne by the end of 2017.

CORPORATES
STEELHOME, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CITIC LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP

Port Hedland’s iron spirit surfaces again

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 21-Mar-17

Housing rent charges in Port Hedland rose by $A10 per week in the December 2016 quarter, according to data from the Pilbara Development Commission. It was the first quarterly rise in rents since 2012, and reflects the recent rebound in the iron ore price. The average advertised sale price of homes in Port Hedland rose for the first time since 2013. The average rent in Port Hedland is now $A506 per week, compared with nearly $A2,600 at the height of the mining boom. The iron ore price has reached a peak of more $US90 per tonne, but many forecasters do not expect this to be sustained.

CORPORATES
PILBARA DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION, EVANS AND PARTNERS PTY LTD, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, FIRST NATIONAL REAL ESTATE GROUP

Fears grow of pullback in iron ore prices

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 22 : 8-Mar-17

Australian iron ore miners’ earnings have been boosted by the recent spike in the price of the steel input to more than $US90 per tonne, but Evans & Partners analyst Andrew Hines warns that the rally is not sustainable. He forecasts that the iron ore price will fall from its current level to around $US45 in the second half of 2017, which will in turn hit the profits and share prices of BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group. Credit Suisse and UBS recently upgraded their iron ore price forecasts for 2017.

CORPORATES
EVANS AND PARTNERS PTY LTD, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, VEDANTA RESOURCES PLC, MOUNT GIBSON IRON LIMITED – ASX MGX

Bullish BHP shoots the lights out

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 19 & 23 : 22-Feb-17

BHP Billiton has posted a 2016-17 interim underlying profit of $US3.244bn ($A4.226bn). The result was driven by factors such as strong gains in the price of iron ore and coking coal, and further cost reductions. Analysts had expected BHP’s underlying profit to be around $A3bn. BHP’s Western Australian iron ore operations achieved 47 per cent growth in underlying EBITDA, to $US4.16bn. Shareholders will receive a half-year dividend of $US0.40 per share.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, ARNHEM INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

South32 saves cash for future growth

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 24 : 17-Feb-17

Australian-listed South32 has posted a 2016-17 interim net profit of $US620m ($A804m), compared with a loss of $US1.7bn previously. The BHP Billiton spin-off has a net cash position of $US859m, and CEO Graham Kerr says the group will not keep excess capital on its balance sheet in the long-term. Shareholders will receive an inaugural interim dividend of $US0.036 per share, although Macquarie had anticipated a payout of $A0.045. South32 shares eased $A0.05 on 16 February 2017, closing at $A2.62.

CORPORATES
SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, MORGANS FINANCIAL LIMITED, PEABODY ENERGY CORPORATION

Rio chief spruiks value over volume

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 19 & 28 : 15-Feb-17

Rio Tinto expects its iron ore production in the Pilbara to be within the range of 330 to 340 million tonnes in 2017, compared with 330 million tonnes in 2016. The group has invested some $US16bn on expanding its Western Australian infrastructure over the last 10 years. However, CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques says Rio Tinto’s focus is on value rather than volume, and it will consider the impact on the iron ore price before lifting production to take advantage of its increased capacity.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, VALE SA, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

Rio Tinto hit with more delay for Indo copper

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 6-Feb-17

Freeport-McMoran has advised that Rio Tinto’s share of production from the Grasberg copper and gold mine is unlikely to increase until at least 2023. Rio was slated to receive 40 per cent of the Indonesian mine’s output from 2021 under an agreement between the two companies, but Freeport has attributed the expected delay to factors such as a series of interruptions to production at the mine in the last several years. Meanwhile, Rio is forecast to post EBITDA of $US13bn and revenue of $US34.3bn for calendar 2016.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FREEPORT-McMORAN COPPER AND GOLD INCORPORATED, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, BLOOMBERG LP