B08 Metal Ore Mining

Steel carnage to sink iron ore below $US90

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Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 13-Aug-24

The iron ore price is now about 30 per cent below its January peak, although the steel input is still trading at around $US100 per tonne. However, Robert Rennie of Westpac contends that problems within the steel industry means that the iron ore price should be around the mid-to late-$US80 level at present. He says it is only a matter of time before the "absolute carnage" in the steel industry is reflected in the iron ore price. Chinese steel mills’ margins have fallen sharply, and a MySteel survey has found that just five per cent of them were profitable last week. Further production cuts may be looming, which would dampen demand for iron ore.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, MYSTEEL.COM LIMITED

MinRes job cuts add to thousands lost in WA’s mining sector route

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 7-Aug-24

A spokesman for Mineral Resources has confirmed that the iron ore and lithium producer will reduce its head count, although the bulk of the job cuts will be at its Perth head office. Mineral Resources has not disclosed the extent of the job losses, although it is believed to be about 100. The move follows the company’s recent decision to mothball its high-cost iron ore mines in Western Australia’s Yilgarn region and a delay in the expansion of the Wodgina lithium mine. WA’s mining sector has already been hit by massive job losses in the nickel industry in 2024.

CORPORATES
MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN

New iron ore mine to start producing in 2025

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Original article by Tim Bond
Australian Resources & Investment – Page: Online : 30-Jul-24

Fenix Resources is in the process of launching its third iron ore mine in Western Australia’s mid-west, with the Beebyn-W11 mine due to commence production in early 2025. Located 20 km from Fenix’s existing Iron Ridge mine and just over 500 km from the Geraldton Port, Beebyn-W11 has a maiden ore reserve of 10 million tonnes at 62.2 per cent iron. It will have an estimated mine life of seven years and slated annual production of around 1.5 million dry metric tonnes, with Fenix forecasting annual EBITDA of $47.9 million.

CORPORATES
FENIX RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX FEX

How the west was formed – new study reveals age of Australia’s ancient iron ore deposits

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Original article by Peter de Kruijff
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 24-Jul-24

Western Australia’s mining industry has been a key source of the nation’s economic wealth, particularly iron ore mines in the Pilbara. A research team has concluded that these iron ore deposits formed between 1.4 and 1.1 billion years ago during the formation of a supercontinent called Rodinia; their findings are based on analysis of drill cores supplied by Rio Tinto from nine deposits in the Pilbara’s Hamersley province. The team’s findings have been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science; lead author Liam Courtney-Davies says the research could assist mining companies in locating high-grade ore resources in the Pilbara.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Rinehart boosts stake in $5b WA magnetite project

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 17-Jul-24

Hancock Prospecting has increased its stake in the Mt Bevan magnetite project in Western Australia’s Yilgarn region by 21 per cent. The Gina Rinehart-controlled company now has a 51 per cent stake in Mt Bevan, which is expected to boast annual production of 12 million tonnes of magnetite with an iron content of 70 per cent. A spokesman for Hancock says there is no certainty that the project will proceed, citing factors such as the federal government approvals process. The other shareholders in Mt Bevan are Legacy Iron Ore and Hawthorn Resources.

CORPORATES
HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, LEGACY IRON ORE LIMITED – ASX LCY, HAWTHORN RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX HAW

Rio Tinto says all systems go for Simandou

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 15 & 18 : 17-Jul-24

Rio Tinto has advised that the Simandou iron ore project has received final approval from the Guinean and Chinese governments. Rio Tinto is investing $US6.2bn in the development of mine, port and rail infrastructure at the Simandou project, while its share of annual production will be about 27 million tonnes. Meanwhile, Rio Tinto has indicated that a Pilbara iron ore train derailment in May affected shipments and production during the June quarter; the company shipped 158.3 million tonnes of iron ore in the first half of 2024, which will require a big increase in the second half to meet its full-year guidance of 323 to 338 million tonnes.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

BHP looks to SA copper growth

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 16 : 19-Jun-24

BHP executive Anna Wiley has indicated that the resources giant has largely ‘ bedded down’ its acquisition of OZ Minerals for $9.7bn in 2023. The asset president for BHP’s copper operations in South Australia says it is now pushing ahead with plans to expand these operations, including the potential to increase copper production in SA to around 700,000 tonnes per year. BHP recently abandoned a takeover bid for Anglo American which was prinarily aimed at securing the latter’s copper assets.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, OZ MINERALS LIMITED, ANGLO AMERICAN PLC

Sagging iron ore prices weigh on local bourse

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 23 : 13-Jun-24

The iron ore price reached a two-month low of $US103.35 per tonne earlier this week, weighing on the Australian sharemarket and the nation’s largest mining companies. Vivek Dhar from the Commonwealth Bank says the downturn in the iron ore price is probably due to ongoing concerns about China’s property market, despite recent government stimulus measures. Dhar believes that the iron on price will not rise sustainably above $US110 per tonne unless the Chinese government pursues additional infrastructure stimulus measures.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Microwave the way for Rio Tinto to go low-carbon

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 5-Jun-24

Rio Tinto will invest $215m in a microwave facility at its BioIron project in Western Australia. The plant is slated to produce one tonne of direct reduced iron per hour, and is part of the resources group’s push to reduce the carbon-intensity of steel-making. The BioIron plant will use microwave technology rather than traditional blast furnaces to produce steel, using a combination of Pilbara iron ore and biomass waste. Rio Tinto executive Simon Trott says the plant has been specifically designed for Pilbara iron ores.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Dutton’s views on tax credits wrong: MinRes

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 22-May-24

Treasury modelling suggests that mining companies could receive $17.6bn worth of production tax credits over 14 years for the downstream processing of critical minerals. Opposition leader Peter Dutton has labelled the budget measure as "billions for billionaires" and committed to vetoing the policy. However, Mineral Resources’ MD Chris Ellison believes that Dutton will eventually realise that he is wrong to oppose a policy that will support projects that will contribute revenue for more than five decades. Meanwhile, Mineral Resources has begun loading the first shipment of iron ore from its Onslow Iron Project in the West Pilbara; work on the project started less than a year ago.

CORPORATES
MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA