B08 Metal Ore Mining

Macquarie tips $US48 iron ore

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Original article by Stephen Cauchi
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 35 : 20-Apr-16

The iron ore price is trading at around $US60 per tonne, but Macquarie Group does not expect the recent gains to be sustained. Macquarie forecasts that the price of the steel input will retreat to around $US52/tonne during the June and September 2016 quarters, before falling to $US48/tonne in the December quarter. Macquarie also expects the iron ore price to reach a low of $US45/tonne in 2017.

CORPORATES
MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Robot train glitches hit Rio output

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 22 : 20-Apr-16

Rio Tinto has advised that its global iron ore shipments for the March 2016 quarter totalled 80.8 million tonnes. Shipments from the Pilbara region of Western Australia rose by 12 per cent year-on-year to 79.9 million tonnes. Meanwhile, Rio Tinto expects iron ore production in 2017 to be within the range of 330 million to 340 million tonnes, which represents a decline of up to 20 million tonnes. The lower guidance is said to be linked to problems with its Autohaul driverless trains project.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, DEUTSCHE BANK AG

Atlas Iron in plea for debt support

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 19-Apr-16

Shares in Atlas Iron closed 17.4 per cent lower at $A0.019 on 18 April 2016. The iron ore miner’s chair, Cheryl Edwardes, has written to shareholders urging them to support a debt restructuring proposal, stressing that the group could go into voluntary administration if the deal does not proceed. Lenders would gain about 70 per cent of the company’s equity if the deal is approved by Atlas’s shareholders and lenders.

CORPORATES
ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, CGI GLASS LEWIS PTY LTD, PPB HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MOUNT GIBSON IRON LIMITED – ASX MGX

Rio, BHP could cut iron ore guidance

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 19-Apr-16

BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto will shortly release their production data for the March 2016 quarter. Paul Young of Deutsche Bank forecasts that BHP’s output of its four main commodities will be flat or lower than previously. Glyn Lawcock of UBS says BHP may have to reduce its iron ore production guidance for 2015-16, as it may not meet its full-year forecast for its Pilbara operations for output of 270 million tonnes. He also expects Rio Tinto’s iron ore production to have fallen.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, SAMARCO MINERACAO SA, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

US bank action may thwart Arrium rescue

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Original article by Sarah Danckert
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 16 : 18-Apr-16

Morgan Stanley Bank has applied for a court order in the US seeking the repayment of a $US75.4m ($A97.6m) credit facility that it provided to failed steelmaker and iron ore miner Arrium. The US bank is also believed to be seeking a court order to prevent Arrium from transferring assets from the US. Arrium’s administrator KordaMentha in turn will apply to the Federal Court of Australia to block Morgan Stanley’s attempt to demand repayment of the debt facility.

CORPORATES
ARRIUM LIMITED – ASX ARI, MORGAN STANLEY BANK NA, KORDA MENTHA AND COLLEAGUES PTY LTD, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, DELAWARE CHANCERY COURT, MOLY-COP USA LLC, GRANT THORNTON AUSTRALIA, ARRIUM FINANCE, ARRIUM IRON ORE HOLDINGS, LIFESTEEL TECHNOLOGIES AMERICA LLC, ONESTEEL GROUP INCORPORATED, ONESTEEL RECYCLING INCORPORATED, ONESTEEL INVESTMENTS, GSO CAPITAL PARTNERS LP, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, McGRATH NICOL AND PARTNERS SERVICES PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, ANSETT AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED

BHP steps up JV controls

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Original article by Barry FitzGerald
The Australian – Page: 17 & 18 : 18-Apr-16

BHP Billiton may seek to restructure its non-operating joint ventures in Latin America in the wake of the Samarco disaster in Brazil. Any such move would affect the Samarco iron ore mine, the Cerrejon coal mine in Colombia and the Antamina copper and zinc mine in Peru. BHP Billiton holds large stakes in all three mines, but it does not operate any of them. Credit Suisse has estimated that unwinding the joint ventures could affect some $US17.4bn worth of mining assets in the region.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, SAMARCO MINERACAO SA, VALE SA, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, GLENCORE PLC, TECK CORPORATION, MITSUBISHI CORPORATION, ANGLO AMERICAN PLC

Iron ore price reverses as Rio Tinto predicted

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Original article by Frik Els
Mining.com – Page: Online : 15-Apr-16

The Northern China benchmark import price of iron ore has fallen by 2.2 per cent to $US58.60 per dry metric tonne. However, the price of the steel input has still risen by 36.6 per cent so far in 2016, and by 58 per cent since mid-December 2015.

CORPORATES
THE STEEL INDEX LIMITED, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, VALE SA, THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INCORPORATED

Iron ore price at $59.90 as surge extends another day

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Original article by Frik Els
Mining.com – Page: Online : 14-Apr-16

The Northern China benchmark import price of iron ore has risen by a further 2.4 per cent to $US59.90 per dry metric tonne. The price of the steel input has risen by 39.6 per cent so far in 2016, and 62 per cent since mid-December 2015. Meanwhile, new figures show that China imported 85.8 million tonnes of iron ore in March, which is 16.5 per cent higher than February. China accounted for the bulk of the record 39.5 million tonnes that were shipped from Western Australia’s Port Hedland during the month.

CORPORATES
THE STEEL INDEX LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, VALE SA, DALIAN COMMODITY EXCHANGE

Fortescue insists value trumps volume

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 14-Apr-16

Fortescue Metals Group has advised that its iron ore shipments rose by four per cent year-on-year in the March 2016 quarter, to 42 million tonnes. Fortescue has indicated that favourable weather conditions in the June quarter could allow the group to exceed its guidance of 165 million tonnes for 2015-16. The iron ore miner’s net debt fell by $A200m to $A5.9bn during the March quarter, while its cash costs were reduced by six per cent.

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

Mentha steps in to fix Arrium

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Original article by Simon Evans, Tim Binsted
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 14-Apr-16

KordaMentha’s Mark Mentha says he will consider every option for restructuring steelmaker and iron ore miner Arrium. Mentha was appointed as administrator of Arrium after the Australian Workers’ Union, lenders and bondholders succeeded in removing Grant Thornton from the role. Mentha says Arrium’s collapse was primarily due to a decline in relations between the group’s board and its lenders. The first creditors’ meeting is scheduled for 19 April 2016.

CORPORATES
ARRIUM LIMITED – ASX ARI, KORDA MENTHA AND COLLEAGUES PTY LTD, GRANT THORNTON AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, MOLY-COP, GSO CAPITAL PARTNERS LP, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, ANSETT AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED