B08 Metal Ore Mining

Iron ore resumes slide, falling to fresh record low

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Original article by
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 11-Dec-15

The price of iron ore with 62 per cent content delivered to the port of Qingdao in China has fallen by 1.4 per cent to $US38.52 per dry ton. Falling demand for iron ore in China’s steel industry is likely to put further downward pressure on the iron ore price, with a number of Chinese steel mills having closed down or scaled back production in recent months.

CORPORATES
PORT OF QINGDAO, METAL BULLETIN LIMITED, DALIAN COMMODITY EXCHANGE, PORT OF TIANJIN, THE STEEL INDEX LIMITED, THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INCORPORATED, SHANGHAI FUTURES EXCHANGE, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, ROY HILL IRON ORE PTY LTD, MARUBENI CORPORATION

On eve of triumph, Rinehart lashes out at sceptics

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Original article by Julie-anne Sprague
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 10-Dec-15

Bulk carrier "MV Anangel Explorer" is scheduled to leave Port Hedland with the first shipment from the Roy Hill iron ore project on 10 December 2015. Exports had initially been slated to commence by the end of the third quarter, and mining magnate Gina Rinehart has criticised the media for unduly focusing on the delays at Roy Hill rather than the project’s achievements. Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting holds a 70 per cent stake in the project.

CORPORATES
ROY HILL IRON ORE PTY LTD, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, SAMSUNG C&T CORPORATION, POSCO, MARUBENI CORPORATION, CHINA STEEL CORPORATION

Vale target in US suit over dam disaster

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 16 : 10-Dec-15

The American depository receipts of Brazilian miner Vale have shed 32.5 per cent since the tailings dam failure at the Samarco iron ore joint venture. Investors who bought Vale’s shares between 21 March and 30 November 2015 will be eligible to participate in a class action launched by Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman. Amongst other things, the law firm claims that Vale made false statements regarding the project. Shares in Samarco’s 50 per cent owner BHP Billiton have also been heavily sold down. It is not named in the class action.

CORPORATES
VALE SA, SAMARCO MINERACAO SA, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, BRONSTEIN, GEWIRTZ AND GROSSMAN, NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE, DISTRICT COURT OF UNITED STATES. SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK, BRAZIL. ENVIRONMENT MINISTRY, UNITED NATIONS, GOLDBERG AND PARTNERS INCORPORATED

Iron ore extends historic slump

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Original article by Business Spectator
The Australian – Page: Online : 10-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 $US38.30 per tonne, compared with $US38.80 previously. The iron ore price has risen in just four of the last 43 trading sessions, and Gordon Johnson of Axiom Capital expects it to fall towards the $US30/tonne level in 2016. He also anticipates that the iron ore price will fall below $US30/tonne in 2017, if not earlier.

CORPORATES
PORT OF TIANJIN, AXIOM CAPITAL MANAGEMENT INCORPORATED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, VALE SA, ROY HILL IRON ORE PTY LTD, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD

BHP, Rio routed amid ore slump

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Original article by Business Spectator
The Australian – Page: Online : 9-Dec-15

The price of benchmark iron ore for immediate delivery to China’s port of Tianjin has fallen by 0.3 per cent to $US38.80 per tonne, compared with US38.90 previously. The iron ore price has fallen for eight consecutive trading sessions, while it has reached a fresh 10-year low in each of the last six trading sessions. Australian-listed iron ore producers were heavily sold down on 8 December 2015, and the bearish sentiment toward BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto has continued in overnight trading in London.

CORPORATES
PORT OF TIANJIN, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, VALE SA, BC IRON LIMITED – ASX BCI, MOUNT GIBSON IRON LIMITED – ASX MGX, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED, ANGLO AMERICAN PLC

BHP bonuses cut by Samarco disaster

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Original article by Matt Chambers, Barry FitzGerald
The Australian – Page: 20 : 8-Dec-15

Shares in BHP Billiton have shed 23 per cent in the wake of the tailings dam failure in Brazil in early November 2015. The resources giant has responded by reducing the number of bonus shares allocated to senior executives under the 2014-15 long-term and short-term incentives scheme. CEO Andrew Mackenzie will be allocated 339,753 long-term incentive plan performance shares and 69,566 short-term incentive plan deferred shares.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, SAMARCO MINERACAO SA

Iron ore slumps below $US39

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Original article by Business Spectator
The Australian – Page: Online : 8-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 $US38.90 per tonne, compared with US39.40 previously. The iron ore price has fallen for seven consecutive trading sessions, and some market watchers believe that it could test the $US30/tonne level. At current prices, it is estimated that Fortescue Metals Group and Vale are now close to their break-even price.

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

Iron ore slides below $US40

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Original article by Alexander Liddington-Cox
The Australian – Page: Online : 7-Dec-15

The price of benchmark iron ore for immediate delivery to China’s port of Tianjin has fallen by 2.3 per cent to $US39.40 a tonne, compared with $US40.30 previously. Daniel Haynes of the ANZ Bank expects the price of the steel input to remain subdued during the next month.

CORPORATES
PORT OF TIANJIN, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Rio closing the gap for title as biggest miner

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 18 : 7-Dec-15

The market capitalisation of BHP Billiton was $A92bn at the end of the week ended 4 December 2015, according to data from Bloomberg. Rio Tinto’s capitalisation was $A79bn. BHP has been the world’s largest miner since 2001, and its market capitalisation exceeded that of Rio by about $A90bn in mid-2014, but this briefly narrowed to about $A10bn during the last week. BHP’s market value has been hit by a number of factors in 2015, including the South32 spin-off, uncertainty regarding its dividend payout and the downturn in commodity prices.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, BLOOMBERG LP, ALCAN INCORPORATED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

$US40 separates iron ore virtuosos from the pack

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 4-Dec-15

BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto are in a much better position than their rivals to weather the downturn in the iron ore price. The break-even price for both groups is currently around $A29 per tonne, while Fortescue Metals Group’s break-even price is estimated to be about $A36 at present. However, the iron ore price has now fallen below the break-even point of most smaller Australian-listed producers. Meanwhile, UBS believes that Vale has reduced its break-even price from around $US39 to $US36 in the last six months.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, VALE SA, GRANGE RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX GRR, BC IRON LIMITED – ASX BCI, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, MOUNT GIBSON IRON LIMITED – ASX MGX, ARRIUM LIMITED – ASX ARI, ROY HILL IRON ORE PTY LTD, ANGLO AMERICAN PLC, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, PILBARA MINERALS LIMITED – ASX FTN