B08 Metal Ore Mining

Rio Tinto primed for $5b buyback

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 5-Jan-15

Credit Suisse’s Paul McTaggart suggests that Rio Tinto may pursue an on-market share buyback worth up to $US4bn ($A5bn). He says the resources group could potentially reveal plans for a buyback in February 2015, while Glyn Lawcock of UBS believes that any such buyback will be worth between $US2bn and $US3bn. Both mining analysts also expect Rio Tinto to increase its underlying dividend. The dividend payout ratio was 35 per cent in calendar 2013

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, GLENCORE PLC, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY AND SCIENCE

Mine probe over poisoned fruit

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Original article by Alex Massey
The West Australian – Page: 17 : 19-Dec-14

Western Australian police are investigating allegations that fruit supplied to workers at the Roy Hill iron ore mine was poisoned. A contractor on the site reported that a piece of fruit he was eating looked discoloured and had a bad taste, although he suffered no ill-effects. Several workers have claimed that the fruit was laced with cyanide, which is not used at the site, although police have yet to confirm the nature of the chemical involved

CORPORATES
ROY HILL IRON ORE PTY LTD, WESTERN AUSTRALIAN POLICE SERVICE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH

Timing off, but BHP split still on: investors

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 18-Dec-14

BHP Billiton’s Australian-listed shares have fallen by more than 30 per cent since the group revealed plans to spin off its non-core assets. The stock has been hit by the downturn in the prices of commodities on which BHP will focus if the demerger proceeds. Michelle Lopez of Aberdeen Asset Management expects the demerger to go ahead, adding that it would most likely require a sustained decline in commodity prices for the group to abandon the demerger

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, SOUTH32 LIMITED, ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, NIKKO ASSET MANAGEMENT GROUP, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

‘Opportunistic’ buyer Glencore still on acquisition hunt

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 15-Dec-14

Glencore chairman Tony Hayward is not expected to discuss a potential merger with Rio Tinto during a visit to Australia in mid-December 2014. Rio Tinto revealed in early October that Glencore had approached the group about a merger, and Switzerland-based Glencore is widely tipped to make another approach in 2015. Glencore CEO Ivan Glasenberg recently indicated that the group remains keen to pursue acquisitions

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, GLENCORE PLC, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, NICKEL WEST, BANK OF MONTREAL, VALE SA, AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF COMPANY DIRECTORS

Court dismisses Palmer’s attempts to thwart Citic

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 20 : 12-Dec-14

Supreme Court of Western Australia (WA) judge James Edelman has ruled in a matter that forms part of the wider and drawn-out legal battle between Chinese state enterprise Citic Pacific and the Mineralogy vehicle of federal MP Clive Palmer. The latter had sought to have declared invalid two environmental permits held by Citic for the Sino Iron joint venture in WA. This was rejected by the court, and Edelman also criticised Mineralogy for attempting to drag out the proceedings even further

CORPORATES
MINERALOGY PTY LTD, CITIC PACIFIC LIMITED, SINO IRON PTY LTD, SUPREME COURT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT REGULATION

Anglo American to cut jobs and sell assets

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Original article by Sarah-Jane Tasker
The Australian – Page: 19 : 11-Dec-14

The Callide coal mine in Queensland and the Dartbrook mine in New South Wales are among the assets that Anglo American plans to divest. The global resources group will also retrench 35 per cent of its employees worldwide and aim to increase its profits by an additional $US2bn. Anglo American CEO Mark Cutifani has described 2015 as a year of "transformation" for the group

CORPORATES
ANGLO AMERICAN PLC, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Cyber squatters nab South32, poke their tongue at BHP

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Original article by Paul Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 10-Dec-14

BHP Billiton has ruled out buying the South32.com domain name, which is owned by a company based in Malibu. It is believed to have demanded $A10m to surrender the name. BHP recently revealed South32 as the name of the spin-off that will hold its non-core assets, and says it was not willing to pay the price being sought by the domain name’s owner. Experts say BHP should have ensured that it owned the .com domain as well as related domain names

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, .AU DOMAIN ADMINISTRATION LIMITED, FABULOUS DOMAINS, DARK BLUE SEA LIMITED, KARI BIAN FILM COMPANY, SOUTH32 LIMITED, NTEGRITY PTY LTD

BHP Billiton names spinoff ‘South32’

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 9-Dec-14

BHP Billiton has revealed that the selection of a business name for its proposed spin-off was based on the suggestion of an employee. South32 will be based in Perth and hold BHP’s non-core assets in Australia, South Africa and South America. The name is derived from the location of the bulk of its assets. Brand specialist Designworks also assisted BHP in developing a name for the new company

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, SOUTH32 LIMITED, DESIGNWORKS LIMITED, AUSTRALAND PROPERTY GROUP, BANK OF MELBOURNE LIMITED, OFFICEWORKS SUPERSTORES PTY LTD

Exporters face tough times: BIS

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Original article by Bianca Hartge-Hazelman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 16 : 8-Dec-14

A report from the Bank for International Settlements has warned that commodity exporting nations may continue to experience difficult conditions for some time. It cites factors such as the rising US dollar, the recent fall in commodity prices and the funding models used by commercial banks. The price of iron ore has fallen by 18 per cent in recent months, while Brent crude oil is down 32 per cent. The Australian dollar in turn has fallen to a 4.5-year low of $US0.83

CORPORATES
BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Miners forgo exploration

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 8-Dec-14

MinEx Consulting MD Richard Schodde expects Australian resources group to continue reducing their expenditure on exploration programs in the near-term. Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows that mining companies spent just $A439.8m on exploration in the September 2014 quarter, compared with more than $A1bn in March 2012. Schodde notes that the decline in exploration will adversely affect government revenue

CORPORATES
MINEX CONSULTING PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG