B08 Metal Ore Mining

End of Australia’s iron ore supply rush should help prices

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Original article by David Stringer
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 22-Jul-16

The iron ore price has gained about 28 per cent so far in 2016, and SRK Consulting’s Caue Araujo says it could be further boosted in the near-term as a result of lower growth in shipments by Australia’s major producers. BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto aim to eventually lift their production capacity in Western Australia to 290 million and 360 million tonnes respectively, but Macquarie Group recently suggested that neither may reach its target.

CORPORATES
SRK CONSULTING INCORPORATED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, KATANA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, VALE SA, METAL BULLETIN LIMITED

US election a Trump card for gold price, says Beament

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 21-Jul-16

Northern Star Resources’ gold production totalled 558,143 ounces in 2015-16, with sales of 561,153 ounces. MD Bill Beament remains bullish about the outlook for gold, forecasting that the recent rally in the price of the precious metal will be sustained. He notes that the UK’s vote to leave the European Union has had little impact on the gold price. He expects the gold price to rise further if Donald Trump wins the US presidential election, although he did not specifically name the Republican candidate.

CORPORATES
NORTHERN STAR RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX NST, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, REPUBLICAN PARTY (UNITED STATES)

Fortescue unplugs lithium from battery of resources

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Original article by Barry FitzGerald
The Australian – Page: 22 : 21-Jul-16

Australian-listed Fortescue Metals Group has revealed plans to sell the lithium exploration rights at its iron ore leases in Western Australia’s Pilbara region. CEO Nev Power says iron ore remains the company’s priority. Lithium miners such as Pilbara Minerals and Orocobre have benefited from growing global demand for lithium-ion batteries, with strong gains in their share prices and market capitalisation.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, PILBARA MINERALS LIMITED – ASX PLS, OROCOBRE LIMITED – ASX ORE

Growth returns to BHP but not in petroleum

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 22 : 21-Jul-16

BHP Billiton plans to lift iron ore, copper, coking coal and nickel production in 2016-17, after the coking coal division was the only one that increased production in 2015-16. However, the petroleum division is expected to reduce production by 13-17 per cent, after output was cut by six per cent in 2015-16. Meanwhile, iron ore shipments from BHP’s mines in Western Australia totalled 257 million tonnes in 2015-16, compared with the group’s target of 260 million tonnes. Output is slated to be within the range of 265 million to 275 million tonnes in 2016-17.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, BT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX BTT, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED

Rio misses the mark on iron ore

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 19 & 28 : 20-Jul-16

Rio Tinto now expects its iron ore shipments from the Pilbara region of Western Australia to total 330 million tonnes in 2016, compared with previous guidance of 335 million tonnes. However, Rio has not revised its forecast for global iron ore shipments, which remains at 350 million tonnes. Meanwhile, the group has reported that iron ore shipments from the Pilbara totalled 82.2 million tonnes in the June quarter, and 159 million tonnes for the first half of the calendar year. Paul McTaggart of Credit Suisse expects Rio’s Pilbara shipments for the full year to total 328 million tonnes.

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

Rio tipped to sell off smaller divisions

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

UBS analyst Myles Allsop suggests that Rio Tinto may seek to offload some of its non-core assets under new CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques. Allsop says this could include its thermal coal, diamond and uranium mines, noting that they rarely receive much attention in Rio’s production reports. He also says Rio might also regard assets such as the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea as being non-core. Iron ore accounts for nearly 75 per cent of Rio’s earnings.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, MACH ENERGY, GLENCORE PLC

Power is still on after five years at FMG, so what’s next?

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 18-Jul-16

Fortescue Metals Group has significantly reduced its debt and ramped up iron ore production since Nev Power succeeded Andrew Forrest as CEO on 18 July 2011. Fortescue’s "C1" cost of production was around $US50 per tonne at the start of Power’s tenure, but some analysts believe that it may have come close to achieving its goal of reducing this to $US13/tonne in 2015-16. Fortescue exceeded its full-year production target of 165 million tonnes, with shipments for the fiscal year totalling 169.4 million.

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

BHP set to miss iron ore target as tough year continues

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 15-Jul-16

In April 2016, BHP Billiton scaled back its forecast for iron ore shipments from Western Australia in 2015-16 to 260 million tonnes, compared with original guidance of 270 million. However, BHP may have failed to achieve its revised target. Iron ore shipments from Port Hedland for the financial year totalled 454.2 million tonnes, with rival producers estimated to have accounted for about 196 million tonnes. This would suggest that BHP’s share of iron ore shipments was around 258 million tonnes.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, SAMARCO MINERACAO SA, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Iron ore miners reaping the benefits from soaring prices

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Original article by Peter Ker, Jessica Sier, Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 14-Jul-16

The share prices of BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group rallied on 13 July 2016, as the benchmark iron ore price continued to rise. UBS recently estimated that Fortescue’s break-even price is around $US32 per tonne, which is believed to be still slightly above the break-even price of both BHP and Rio Tinto. Meanwhile, Fortescue has advised that its iron ore shipments totalled 169.4 million tonnes in 2015-16, compared with its guidance of 165 million tonnes.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MOUNT GIBSON IRON LIMITED – ASX MGX, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MARUBENI CORPORATION, BC IRON LIMITED – ASX BCI, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, VALE SA, STEELHOME, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, MESA MINERALS LIMITED – ASX MAS, PITCHER PARTNERS CORPORATE ADVISORY PTY LTD

It’s ore or nothing for Fortescue

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Original article by James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 13-Jul-16

Citigroup and UBS believe that Fortescue Metals Group will exceed its forecast for iron ore production of 165 million tonnes in 2015-16. Expectations of bullish full-year output have been heightened by data showing that shipments of iron ore from the Port of Hedland reached a record high in June. Clarke Wilkins of Citigroup estimates that Fortescue’s full-year production may have topped 168 million tonnes, while its port capacity could be up to 180 million tonnes. He suggests that there is the potential for Fortescue to use the cost savings from its debt-reduction program to increase its production to this level.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO