B08 Metal Ore Mining

Iluka silent on Kenmare tilt

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Original article by Barry FitzGerald
The Australian – Page: 18 : 17-Jul-14

Australian-listed Iluka Resources has issued its production data for the quarter ending 30 June 2014, but the report did not make any mention of its takeover bid for UK-based Kenmare Resources. Iluka had recently been unveiled by the UK media as the suitor in a planned $A780m acquisition of Kenmare, which is attractive due to its Moma mineral sands mine in Mozambique. Iluka shares on 16 July closed 4% higher at $A8.53, as the output figures showed a year-on-year increase for zircon, rutile and synthetic rutile of 5.9% to 252,000 tonnes

CORPORATES
ILUKA RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX ILU, KENMARE RESOURCES PLC, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, M&G INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED

Hockey’s budget hole heading to $41b

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1-Apr : 17-Jul-14

The Australian Government may face resistance in the Senate to its plans to abolish some $A4bn worth of tax breaks as part of its proposal to repeal the mining tax. Two independent senators intend to vote against scrapping the tax breaks, and the defeat of this measure would be another blow for the Government, which has already faced opposition from Palmer United Party senators to several other measures that are linked to the mining tax

CORPORATES
PALMER UNITED PARTY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY

Northern Star shares shine as Jundee kicks in

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 20 : 10-Jul-14

The stock of Northern Star Resources (NST) on 9 July 2014 closed $A0.185 higher at $A1.505. It is edging back to the all-time high of $A1.57 set in early 2013, as investors react to news of surprisingly good output data. The production of the gold mining group for the quarter ending 30 June 2014 was 115,819 ounces, compared with the forecast range of 80,000 to 90,000. The figure will soon be boosted further by the recent purchase of the Jundee mine in Western Australia. The rising gold price, up $US9 an ounce to $US1,325 for the day, also helped

CORPORATES
NORTHERN STAR RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX NST, EVOLUTION MINING LIMITED – ASX EVN, RESOLUTE MINING LIMITED – ASX RSG, OCEANA GOLD LIMITED, BARRICK GOLD OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NEWMONT MINING CORPORATION

BHP, Rio buyback plans put in doubt

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 17 : 7-Jul-14

Analysts at Macquarie and Credit Suisse have voiced doubts on whether planned stock repurchasing schemes of BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto will go ahead. Both Australian-listed groups have been affected by a recent drop in the iron ore price, which may cost investors the equivalent of $US11bn ($A11.7bn) in cash. The companies want to reduce their net liabilities before buying back shares, with BHP aiming for $US25bn by mid-2015 and Rio for $US13bn by late that year

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, GLENCORE XSTRATA PLC, TRAFIGURA BEHEER BV, X2 RESOURCES PARTNERS LP, JINCHUAN NON-FERROUS METALS IMPORT AND EXPORT COMPANY, MMG LIMITED

Mining still dragging the chain on big data

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 20 : 4-Jul-14

The Australian mining sector is slow to adopt digital technology. WorleyParsons CEO Andrew Wood said that better use of data in design and construction can significantly reduce the cost and time of new projects. He said that project times could be cut by 20 per cent. The cost of design could be reduced by up to 70 per cent by re-using data from other projects. Total capital costs could be reduced by up to five per cent

CORPORATES
WORLEYPARSONS LIMITED – ASX WOR, THE MELBOURNE MINING CLUB, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD

Lynas looks at Malaysia move in restructure

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Original article by Brian Robins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 3-Jul-14

Lynas Corporation will move its head office from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur. The relocation will involve a number of job losses. The Australian-listed rare earth mining company is under pressure to reduce costs because of problems experienced at its Malaysian processing facility. The total cost of relocation and redundancies is expected to be $A5 million

CORPORATES
LYNAS CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX LYC

75,000 jobs to go in mining’s new phase

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Original article by Barry FitzGerald
The Australian – Page: 21-22 : 2-Jul-14

Justin Fabo, senior economist corporate and commercial at ANZ Banking, predicts the Australian resources and related services sector to shed up to 75,000 jobs by 2016. This would be a decline of 28%, and result from the transition from the construction to production phase at many mining and energy projects. Already, over-capacity in the market has brought redundancies at coal and iron ore operation. Fabo stresses that out of the 75,000 workers affected, a large share will be temporary migrants, and that these will simply return home rather than add to the nation’s unemployment rate

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIAN WORKFORCE AND PRODUCTIVITY AGENCY

New rule could prevent strike

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Original article by Gareth Parker
The West Australian – Page: 3 : 1-Jul-14

Unlike other states, Western Australia (WA) did not refer its industrial relations powers to the Commonwealth. However, Federal Employment Minister Eric Abetz has now launched an amendment by regulation rather than legislation to the Fair Work Act, to enable third parties to appear in federal industrial relations cases. This will allow the WA Government as well as iron ore exporters BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals to ask Fair Work Australia for a halt to strikes at Port Hedland. Deckhands represented by the Maritime Union of Australia are threatening industrial action against Teekay Shipping at the port

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, PORT HEDLAND PORT AUTHORITY, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, TEEKAY SHIPPING (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMERCE, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED)

Rio ready to approve bauxite mine

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 1-Jul-14

Rio Tinto expects to approve its South of Embley bauxite project at Weipa in Queensland later in 2014. UBS analyst Glyn Lawcock estimates that the project will generate an internal rate of return of about 29 per cent. The mining company will benefit from strong demand for bauxite. The South of Embley project is forecast to produce 22.5 million tonnes of bauxite each year at the initial stage, possibly rising to 50 million tonnes a year

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, ALCAN GOVE PTY LTD, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Fortescue exec tips rebound for iron ore price

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Original article by Andrew Burrell
The Australian – Page: 17-18 : 30-Jun-14

Fortescue Metals Group is confident that the price of iron ore will recover. CFO Stephen Pearce feels that the drop to $US89 a tonne on 16 June 2014 was the bottom of the trough in the present price cycle. He believes that the price will rise to about $US110 a tonne and remain at that level for a while. His view is based on strong Chinese economic data and the market adjustment to the increase in supply. Pearce warned that prices of $US150 and above were not likely to occur again

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP