B08 Metal Ore Mining

Marubeni: rock bottom picked for iron ore price

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Original article by Peter Ker, Max Mason, Scott Parker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 21 : 15-Oct-14

The benchmark iron ore price rose by 4.9 per cent to $US84.17 per tonne on 14 October 2014, clawing back some its losses of recent weeks. Marubeni Corporation’s Shinji Kawai expects the iron ore price to rise in 2015, although he anticipates that it will remain below $US100/tonne. Japan-based Marubeni holds a 15 per cent stake in Hancock Prospecting’s Roy Hill iron ore project. The group also holds stakes in coal mines owned by Rio Tinto, Anglo American and Glencore

CORPORATES
MARUBENI CORPORATION, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, ANGLO AMERICAN PLC, GLENCORE PLC, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, MOUNT GIBSON IRON LIMITED – ASX MGX, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, BC IRON LIMITED – ASX BCI, POSCO, CHINA STEEL CORPORATION, CHINA. NATIONAL BUREAU OF STATISTICS, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, VALE SA, CITIBANK PTY LTD

MUA strike threatens Gorgon gas project

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Original article by Andrew Burrell
The Australian – Page: 22 : 14-Oct-14

Talks on a new enterprise bargaining agreement between Mermaid Marine and the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) have become deadlocked, triggering a strike. The MUA says members will take protected industrial action for five days from 15 October 2014. A 10-day strike had been cancelled by the MUA in July, when it appeared that progress could be made. Among the operations that could be affected are the Gorgon LNG project and iron ore shipments by BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group

CORPORATES
MERMAID MARINE AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX MRM, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, GORGON JOINT VENTURE, CHEVRON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CHEVRON CORPORATION, MOBIL AUSTRALIA RESOURCES COMPANY PTY LTD, EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, SHELL DEVELOPMENT (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX

Iron ore glut spurs ‘race to bottom’

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Original article by Jemima Whyte, Matthew Stevens
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 21 : 13-Oct-14

Australian producers BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto are responding to the recent dramatic decline of the iron ore price with a boost in output. The strategy is being criticised by Nev Power, CEO of third-ranked competitor Fortescue Metals Group, as well as by Alberto Calderon. The latter had spearheaded the ultimately abandoned plan to merge BHP and Rio, and also argues that a currently rumoured takeover bid for Rio by Swiss resources house Glencore would not reverse the price trend for iron ore

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, GLENCORE PLC, PLATINUM ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX PTM, PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPT, PERPETUAL INVESTMENTS

Rio’s high iron ore volume fends off rivals, says Harding

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 10-Oct-14

Rio Tinto plans to ramp up its iron ore output from around 295 million tonnes per year to 360 million tonnes, despite the recent sharp decline in the price of the steel input. Andrew Harding, the head of Rio’s iron ore division, says the iron ore price would rally in the short-term if his company shelved its expansion strategy. However, he argues that some 32 iron ore projects worldwide would go ahead in the wake of such a decision by Rio, which would ultimately affect the long-term price of iron ore

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, GLENCORE PLC, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, VALE SA, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET

Glencore tilts at Rio expansion

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 11 : 8-Oct-14

Takeover speculation prompted a rally in the Australian-listed shares of Rio Tinto on 7 October 2014, with the stock rising 4.3 per cent to $A60.07. The resources group rebuffed a takeover approach from Glencore in August, and has indicated that it is not holding any merger talks with the commodities trader and miner. However, Glencore CEO Ivan Glasenberg is believed to be keen to pursue a merger with Rio Tinto

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, GLENCORE PLC, XSTRATA AG, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, ALUMINIUM CORPORATION OF CHINA LIMITED

BHP’s big cost crusher

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 18 : 7-Oct-14

BHP Billiton will invest nearly $A2bn to increase its iron ore exports from 225 million tonnes in 2014-15 to 290 million tonnes by mid-2017. The resources giant aims to reduce its cost per tonne to less than $A20, and it will seek to displace Rio Tinto as the lowest-cost iron ore exporter to China. In 2013 Rio Tinto unveiled a strategy to increase its iron ore exports to around 330 million tonnes, eventually rising to 360 million

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, PENGANA CAPITAL LIMITED

Lynas plunges on $83m raising

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Original article by Sarah-Jane Tasker
The Australian – Page: 19 : 30-Sep-14

The stock of Australian-listed rare earths mining group Lynas Corporation on 29 September 2014 closed 25.22% lower at $A0.086. Investors reacted negatively to news that the company was staging a share issue designed to source $A83m in fresh capital, after posting a 2013-14 loss of $A13.1m. The issue price for the shares will be $A0.08. New institutional stockholders are set to account for $A12m, which Lynas will allocate to servicing of its current liabilities

CORPORATES
LYNAS CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX LYC, SOJITZ CORPORATION, JAPAN OIL GAS AND METALS NATIONAL CORPORATION

Mining wages too high, says Mitsui

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 26-Sep-14

Mitsui Australia CEO Yasushi Takahashi has questioned whether the nation’s high wages in the mining sector are sustainable. He argues that productivity needs to improve in order to justify the high labour costs relative to other resources-rich countries. Meanwhile, Takahashi expects the price of coal and iron ore to begin to recover by the end of 2014, and he suggests that the oversupply of iron ore could potentially be over by 2017

CORPORATES
MITSUI AND COMPANY (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, MITSUI AND COMPANY LIMITED, SIMS METAL MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX SGM, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL

Austerity drive drops Mackenzie to $9m

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Original article by Barry FitzGerald
The Australian – Page: 20 : 26-Sep-14

BHP Billiton’s 2014 annual report reveals that CEO Andrew Mackenzie received total remuneration of $US7.98m ($A9.06m) in 2013-14. This compares with the $US15.99m paid to his predecessor, Marius Kloppers, in 2012-13. The resources group has also advised that executives will receive no increase in their base salaries in 2014-15, while the annual report does not outline the likely effect that spinning off non-core assets will have on its executives’ salaries

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP

Iron ore prices hit five-year low

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Original article by Barry FitzGerald
The Australian – Page: 18 : 22-Sep-14

The spot price of iron ore fell by 1.6 per cent on 19 September 2014, closing at a new five-year low of $US81.70 per tonne. This compares with $US120 a tonne in mid-April. The Australian Bureau of Resources & Energy Economics expects the iron ore price to fall further, but anticipates that it will trade within a range of $US90 to $US95 per tonne in the next five years

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY. BUREAU OF RESOURCES AND ENERGY ECONOMICS, STANDARD BANK LONDON LIMITED, THE STEEL INDEX LIMITED