B08 Metal Ore Mining

Vale to fight decision to freeze assets

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Original article by Barry FitzGerald
The Australian – Page: 14 : 22-Dec-15

Brazilian miner Vale intends to mount a legal challenge to a court’s decision to freeze its Samarco iron ore assets. The Samarco project is jointly owned by Vale and BHP Billiton. A Brazilian judge has ruled that they may be liable for the tailings dam disaster, as project operator Samarco Mineracao lacks sufficient funds to finance environmental remediation and compensate victims of the tragedy. The Samarco stake is BHP’s sole asset in Brazil.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, VALE SA, SAMARCO MINERACAO SA

BHP assets frozen as dam pressure rises

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Original article by Eric Johnston
The Australian – Page: 15 : 21-Dec-15

A spokesman for BHP Billiton has declined to comment on a court’s decision to freeze the Brazilian assets of both itself and Vale in the wake of the tailings dam disaster at the Samarco iron ore joint venture. Vale had claimed that Samarco should be fully liable for any damages arising from the disaster, but the court ruled that Samarco lacks sufficient funds to meet all claims associated with the incident. Meanwhile, the future of BHP’s progressive dividend policy remains under scrutiny, while Moody’s is reviewing its credit rating.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, VALE SA, SAMARCO MINERACAO SA, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED, GLENCORE PLC

Rivals ‘hanging on by fingernails’

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Original article by Jesse Riseborough, Jonathan Ferro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 17-Dec-15

The iron ore price has shed 45 per cent so far in 2015, falling below $US40 per tonne in early December. Rio Tinto CEO Sam Walsh says many iron ore producers are struggling to remain viable given the current price of the steel input, and it is inevitable that some will withdraw from the sector. Walsh adds that Rio Tinto’s record low debt means it is well-placed to prosper in 2016.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, VALE SA, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, CLIFFS NATURAL RESOURCES INCORPORATED

BHP should slash dividend by half: analyst

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Original article by James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 17-Dec-15

Paul McTaggart of Credit Suisse says BHP Billiton should drop its commitment to a progressive dividend policy and reduce its annual payment of $US1.24 per share by 50 per cent. Credit Suisse recently downgraded its earnings forecasts for BHP in both 2015-16 and 2016-17, and McTaggart says the lower earnings outlook means BHP cannot afford to keep its dividend payout at the current level.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED

Rio secures $6.1b finance package for Oyu Tolgoi mine

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 16-Dec-15

Rio Tinto directors are expected to approve the proposed expansion of its Oyu Tolgoi gold and copper mine in Mongolia by mid-2016, after the resources group secured financing for the project. Rio Tinto has finalised the funding deal with a consortium of 15 international banks and five export credit agencies, which will enable it to proceed with an underground expansion of the open pit mine. Tolgoi’s annual output is slated to be 500,000 tonnes of copper and up to 600,000 ounces of gold when the expanded project reaches full capacity.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, BNP PARIBAS SA, ING BANK NV, SOCIETE GENERALE, SUMITOMO MITSUI BANKING CORPORATION, STANDARD CHARTERED BANK PLC, CANADIAN IMPERIAL BANK OF COMMERCE, CREDIT AGRICOLE SA, INTESA SANPAOLO SPA, NATIXIS SA, HSBC BANK PLC, MITSUBISHI TOKYO FINANCIAL GROUP INCORPORATED, TURQUOISE HILL RESOURCES LIMITED, WORLD BANK, INTERNATIONAL FINANCE CORPORATION, EUROPEAN BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT

Price fall no bar to Rio plans

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 18 : 15-Dec-15

Rio Tinto will press ahead with plans to increase its low-cost iron ore production capacity by 20 million tonnes over the next few years, despite the downturn in the iron ore price. A spokesman argues that any move by Australian iron ore producers to reduce output will allow overseas rivals to gain market share at the expense of local miners. Fortescue Metals Group founder Andrew Forrest has again called for Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton to reduce their iron ore production.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, VALE SA, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, ROY HILL IRON ORE PTY LTD

Price fall to test Fortescue’s bid to reduce debt

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 16 : 14-Dec-15

Australian-listed Fortescue Metals Group has repurchased some $A1.1bn of its debt so far in 2015. This includes paying $US618m for debt with a face value of $US715m in November. The iron ore producer has reduced its annual interest costs by $US88m by repurchasing its debt. Meanwhile, the downturn in the iron ore price has prompted speculation that Atlas Iron could breach its debt covenants, while BC Iron recently advised that its Nullagine mine will be shut down.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, BC IRON LIMITED – ASX BCI, BLOOMBERG LP

Iron ore’s red streak hits 11 days

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Original article by Daniel Palmer
The Australian – Page: Online : 14-Dec-15

The price of benchmark iron ore for immediate delivery to China’s port of Tianjin has fallen by 1.3 per cent to $US37.00 a tonne, compared with $US37.50 previously. The iron ore price has risen in just four of the last 45 trading sessions, and it has now fallen for 11 consecutive sessions. The downturn in the iron ore price has prompted BC Iron to put production at its Nullagine mine in Western Australia on hold, while Fortescue Metals Group founder Andrew Forrest has again criticised the expansion plans of BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto.

CORPORATES
PORT OF TIANJIN, BC IRON LIMITED – ASX BCI, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Rio Tinto closes in on $US4b financing deal for Oyu Tolgoi

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 14-Dec-15

Rio Tinto has declined to comment on speculation that it could finalise a funding deal for the $US6bn Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold project in Mongolia in mid-December 2015. The resources group had been widely tipped to secure the $US4bn financing deal with up to 15 banks in early 2016. Oyu Tolgoi’s annual output is slated to be 500,000 tonnes of copper and up to 600,000 ounces of gold when production reaches full capacity.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, ANGLO AMERICAN PLC, FREEPORT-McMORAN COPPER AND GOLD INCORPORATED, GLENCORE PLC

Rinehart dreams, rival falters

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Original article by Peter Ker, Julie-anne Sprague
The Age – Page: 23 : 11-Dec-15

Bulk carrier "MV Anangel Explorer" departed Port Hedland with the first shipment of iron ore from Gina Rinehart’s Roy Hill project on 10 December 2015. Despite the downturn in the iron price, Roy Hill CEO Barry Fitzgerald is confident that the $A10bn project will be profitable, while executive director Tad Watroba notes that the bulk of its output will be sold via supply contacts rather than on the spot market. Meanwhile, BC Iron has advised that a review of its Nullagine iron ore mine will have no impact on its other mines.

CORPORATES
ROY HILL IRON ORE PTY LTD, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, BC IRON LIMITED – ASX BCI, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED, POSCO, MARUBENI CORPORATION, CHINA STEEL CORPORATION, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD