B08 Metal Ore Mining

Rio Tinto boosts its shipments

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Original article by Glen Norris
The Australian – Page: 16 : 18-Oct-23

Rio Tinto has advised that its Pilbara iron ore shipments for the September quarter totalled 83.9 million tonnes, which is one per cent higher year-on-year. However, iron ore production was down one per cent at 83.5 million tonnes. Rio Tinto expects its iron ore shipments for calendar 2023 to be at the upper end of its initial full-year guidance of 320 to 335 million tonnes. Meanwhile, Rio Tinto’s aluminium and bauxite production rose by nine per cent and two per cent respectively year-on-year.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Moody’s warns on Fortescue executive churn

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 20-Sep-23

Ratings agency Moody’s has reaffirmed its ‘Ba1’ credit rating for iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group. However, Moody’s has warned that the high level of turnover within Fortesue’s executive ranks in the last several years could adversely affect the company’s credit rating. The firm also notes that the high level of stock ownership by Fortescue chairman Andrew Forrest increases governance risks, while it adds that looming final investment decisions on five clean energy projects may put further pressure on Fortescue’s balance sheet.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED

Billionaire MinRes boss charts a new course for lithium

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 30-Aug-23

Mineral Resources has reported a 2022-23 net profit of $244m, which is 30 per cent lower than previously. The result was marred by a $552m writedown in the value of its iron ore assets. However, revenue rose by 40 per cent to $4.7bn and underlying EBITDA was 71 per cent higher at $1.8bn. MD Chris Ellison says Mineral Resources is looking at bypassing battery manufacturers and chemicals producers to sell lithium directly to car manufacturers. He has also indicated that the company’s Yilgarn iron ore project is likely to reach the end of its mine life within three years.

CORPORATES
MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN

BHP rejects talk of iron ore price freefall

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 13 & 18 : 23-Aug-23

BHP has posted a 2022-23 underlying net profit of $US13.4bn ($20.8bn), which is 37 per cent lower than previously. Its iron ore division reported underlying EBITDA of $US16.6bn for the year, down from $US21.7bn previously but in line with market expectations. BHP produced 285 million tonnes of iron ore in the Pilbara during 2022-23, while it expects output of 282 to 294 million tonnes in 2023-24. CEO Mike Henry has also downplayed fears that the iron ore price might fall below $US80 per tonne if China reduces its steel production. Meanwhile, lower prices and changes to the Queensland government’s royalties regime resulted in a sharp fall in the earnings of BHP’s coking coal mines in 2022-23.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Goldman steels for iron ore slide into bear market

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Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 9-Aug-23

Iron ore futures in Singapore have fallen to below $US99 per tonne, down from a cyclical high of $US114.95 per tonne in July. Goldman Sachs expects the decline to be sustained, forecasting that the iron ore price will fall by another 12 per cent to $US90/tonne in the second half of 2023. Nicholas Snowdon of Goldman Sachs says factors such as lower steel production in China and an increase in global iron ore supply will result in a 68 million tonne surplus of the steel input in the six months to 31 December.

CORPORATES
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INCORPORATED

Chinese steel has peaked: Rio boss

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 2-Aug-23

Official figures show that China’s crude steel production fell by 21.7 million tonnes year-on-year in 2022, to 1.01 billion tonnes. Rio Tinto CEO Jakob Stausholm believes that China’s steel production has peaked and output will be flat over the next several years, before starting to decline by the end of this decade. However, Stausholm expects global demand for iron ore to remain strong, as steel production in other developing countries increases. He adds that Chinese steel producers may also opt to build steel mills in other countries.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Iron ore giant Fortescue Metals targeted by Russian ransomware group

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Original article by
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 19-Jul-23

Fortescue Metals Group has confirmed that a small amount of non-confidential data was stolen in a cyber-attack in late May. The iron ore miner has advised that it had informed the Australian Cyber Security Centre of the "low-impact cyber incident", and that it has completed an internal investigation and taken remediation action. Russian ransomware group C10pm has claimed that it was responsible for the Fortescue cyber attack, and it is believed to have hacked more than 100 companies worldwide.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

Iron ore legal fight set for starting bell

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 3 : 17-Jul-23

A case that will begin in the Supreme Court of Western Australia on 24 June is the latest in a number of cases that have resulted from efforts by former business partners Peter Wright and Lang Hancock to "carve up" their WA iron ore interests in the 1980s. Lucrative iron ore assets and billions of dollars in iron ore royalties are at stake in this latest case, along whether Wright’s descendants are entitled to some of Hancock Prospecting’s interests in the Hope Downs and East Angelas mining tenements. The case is likely to run for around three months.

CORPORATES
SUPREME COURT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD

Secret probe cleared Forrest of wrongdoing

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Original article by Brad Thompson, Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 17-Jul-23

It has been revealed that the board of Fortescue Metals Group engaged law firm Seyfarth Shaw to conduct a secret review into claims that executive chairman Andrew Forrest was involved in a relationship with an employee of the company. The board has advised that the investigation was instigated as a result of claims being raised in an anonymous letter, and that the investigation found that none of the claims were substantiated. The revelation of the investigation comes after Forrest and his wife Nicola recently disclosed that they have separated.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, SEYFARTH SHAW LLP

Fortescue sees Iron Bridge slippage push back first delivery

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 18 : 28-Jun-23

Fortescue Metals Group achieved the milestone of first production at its Iron Bridge magnetite project in May, and advised at the time that its initial shipment would be made by the end of the 2022-23 financial year. Fortescue has now advised that the first shipment has been pushed back to July. Fiona Hick, the CEO of Fortecue’s mining division, also says the first ore from its Belinga iron ore project in Gabon has been loaded onto a train, and it is on track to deliver the first shipment to customers by the end of 2023.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG