B08 Metal Ore Mining

China mining boom last in history

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 11-Nov-15

Australian economist Saul Eslake has warned that the prices of many industrial commodities are likely to fall further in the next year or two. Eslake is particularly bearish about the outlook for the price of coal and iron ore. Eslake also told the International Mining and Resources Conference that there is unlikely to be another commodities boom on the scale of the one that was driven by China’s industrialisation. He argues that other developing countries have significantly smaller populations and are less dependent on commodity imports.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Burst Brazilian dam likely to stay shut for years; owners face fines

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Original article by Amanda Saunders, Matthew Stevens
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 10-Nov-15

Deutsche Bank’s Paul Young says BHP Billiton may have to reconsider its progressive dividend policy in the wake of a fatal incident at its Samarco iron ore joint venture in Brazil. Deutsche estimates that BHP and joint venture partner Vale could face costs of at least $US1bn ($A1.4bn) arising from the failure of a tailings dam at the mine in the state of Minas Gerais. Young says the Samarco project is unlikely to resume production before fiscal 2019, and it could potentially be closed permanently.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, VALE SA, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, SAMARCO MINERACAO SA

Gold is ‘saving grace’ of miner mid-tier ranks

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 10-Nov-15

A report from PricewaterhouseCoopers shows that the combined market capitalisation of Australia’s 50 largest mid-tier mining companies fell by 1.5 per cent in 2014-15, to $A36.2bn. The "Aussie Mine" report also notes that gold producers accounted for 38 per cent of mid-tier companies’ market capitalisation, following strong growth in revenue. The downturn in the price of coal and iron ore had a significant impact on the revenue and market capitalisation of mid-tier companies in these sectors.

CORPORATES
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD

BHP signs 100-year Pilbara deal

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 6-Nov-15

BHP Billiton has signed a native title mining agreement with the Banjima people of Western Australia’s Pilbara region. The 100-year agreement covers 8,263 square kilometres of land. Banjima Native Title Aboriginal Corporation chairman Slim Parker says the agreement is worth "a lot of money", although its exact value has not been disclosed.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, YAMATJI MARLPA BARNA BABA MAAJA ABORIGINAL CORPORATION, BANJIMA NATIVE TITLE ABORIGINAL CORPORATION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

BHP sees bleak iron ore future

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 4-Nov-15

The price of iron ore has shed 16 per cent in the last eight weeks, reaching a low of $US49.50 per tonne on 2 November 2015. Alan Chirgwin of BHP Billiton is bearish about the outlook for the steel input, forecasting that it will keep falling in the next several years and eventually trade at the break-even price of an unspecified iron ore producer in Australia or Brazil. He expects supply to continue to exceed demand in the next several years. BHP’s Shaun Verner also expects the price of metallurgical coal to remain subdued in the near-term.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, VALE SA, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Iron ore to fall further, says Albanese

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 30-Oct-15

The iron ore price fell to $US49.95 per tonne on 28 October 2015, and Vedanta Resources CEO Tom Albanese expects it to come under more downward pressure. He cites factors such as China’s slowing economy and the nation’s falling steel production, which has coincided with increased iron ore output in Australia and Brazil. BC Iron and Grange Resources are particularly vulnerable to a lower iron ore price, as their break-even prices are above $US50/tonne.

CORPORATES
VEDANTA RESOURCES PLC, BC IRON LIMITED – ASX BCI, GRANGE RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX GRR, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, MOUNT GIBSON IRON LIMITED – ASX MGX, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, ANGLO AMERICAN PLC, VALE SA, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CHINA METALLURGICAL INDUSTRY PLANNING ASSOCIATION, SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

Fortescue offers BC Iron some rail access slack

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 28-Oct-15

The iron ore price was trading at $US51.03 per tonne on 27 October 2015. A new rail tariff deal between Fortescue Metals Group and BC Iron will reduce the latter’s costs by about $A2.3m if the price remains at around this level. The partners in the Nullagine joint venture will trial a new rail access regime whereby the tariff rate is linked to the iron ore price.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BC IRON LIMITED – ASX BCI

Mackenzie backs keeping London listing

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Original article by James Chessell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 26-Oct-15

Proxy advisers are believed to have recommended that BHP Billiton shareholders vote in favour of a new dividend sharing policy at its 2015 Australian AGM. Some fund managers have suggested that the resolution could prompt BHP to rethink its dual-listed structure, but CEO Andrew Mackenzie says there are many advantages to being listed in both Australia and the UK. He argues that it reduces the cost of raising capital, while many of its institutional shareholders prefer to invest in the UK-listed shares.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, BILLITON PLC, NIKKO ASSET MANAGEMENT GROUP, OWNERSHIP MATTERS PTY LTD, CGI GLASS LEWIS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SUPERANNUATION INVESTORS INCORPORATED, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, BRAMBLES LIMITED – ASX BXB, TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP

Iron ore tipped to hit $US40 by March after Chinese woes

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Original article by Mark Mulligan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 23-Oct-15

The iron ore price fell by 0.3 per cent to $US52.79 per tonne on 22 October 2015. Ivan Szpakowski of Citigroup forecasts that the iron ore price will fall to $US50/tonne by the end of 2015 and around $US40/tonne in the first quarter of 2016. He attributes the bearish outlook to factors such as slowing demand for iron ore in China and an increase in global supply.

CORPORATES
CITIGROUP PTY LTD, SHANGHAI BAOSTEEL GROUP CORPORATION, METAL BULLETIN PLC, PRESTIGE ECONOMICS

Spending cuts keep coming as BHP Billiton starts strongly

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 & 30 : 22-Oct-15

BHP Billiton has reported that its petroleum division’s output for the September 2015 quarter was 65 million barrels of oil equivalent. The group will reduce the division’s capital expenditure by a further $US200m ($A275m) in 2015-16, to $US2.9bn. Glyn Lawcock of UBS says that while additional cost reductions will be harder to achieve after several years of cutbacks, he believes there is potential for most cost savings. Iron ore, copper and coking coal output exceeded analysts’ forecasts for the quarter.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MORGANS FINANCIAL LIMITED