B08 Metal Ore Mining

Rio spreads wings in asset hunt

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 16 : 22-Oct-21

Rio Tinto is to broaden the range of commodities that it is willing to develop, with a particular emphasis on base metals required to support global electrification. It is also looking to widen the range of locations that it is prepared to explore for assets in, with Russia being among only a handful of exceptions. Rio’s stance is similar to that echoed recently by BHP CEO Mike Henry, who stated that it was contemplating a return to "tougher jurisdictions" in its efforts to discover more "future facing" commodities such as nickel and copper.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Unions slam BHP over FIFO searches

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 3 : 20-Oct-21

BHP has been criticised for implementing a new policy that allows it to search the personal belongings of ‘fly in, fly out’ workers. Western Mine Workers Alliance spokesman Greg Busson says FIFO workers in Western Australia have been told that they will not be permitted to stay in BHP’s mining camps if they do not agree to the policy. He adds that the policy is "wide open to abuse". BHP has indicated that searches will only be carried out if there is reason to believe that a worker is in possession of prohibited items.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, WESTERN MINE WORKERS ALLIANCE

BHP aims to crush South Flank glitches

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 & 20 : 20-Oct-21

BHP shipped 70.8 million tonnes of iron ore in the September quarter, which is 3.5 per cent lower than the same period in 2020. The resources group’s iron ore export volumes for the first nine months of 2021 were also 3.8 per cent lower than the previous corresponding period. This has largely been due to technical issues at its South Flank mine, which commenced production in May. BHP has experienced mechanical problems with one of the crushing machines at South Flank, prompting it to hire temporary crushing equipment. BHP’s iron ore volumes in the Pilbara have also been impacted by a shortage of train drivers. BHP produced 71 million tonnes of iron ore in the Pilbara during the September quarter, which is three per cent lower than the June quarter.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

BHP processing breakthrough extends iron ore mine life

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 19-Oct-21

Asian steel mills ‘covet’ iron ore from BHP’s Yindi mine in Western Australia’s Pilbara region because of the low level of impurities it contains. BHP had advised investors and customers in 2020 that Yandi’s working life would end in mid-2021, but its application of hyperspectral imaging – traditionally used to determine the value of exploration samples – in a new manner has enabled BHP to indicate that Yandi’s mine life could be extended by at least another five years.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Iron ore’s 45pc surge won’t last long: strategists

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by William McInnes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 13-Oct-21

The spot price of iron ore has risen above $US135 per tonne, and Fastmarkets MB notes that the price of the steel input has now gained 45 per cent in the last three weeks. However, Lachlan Shaw of UBS is cautious about the outlook for iron ore, noting that the rebound has been at least partially due to restocking linked to China’s recent week-long National Day holiday. Morgan Stanley is bearish about the near-term outlook for iron ore, forecasting that the price will average $US85 a tonne during the December quarter.

CORPORATES
FASTMARKETS MB, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Fortescue sets ambitious new hydrogen goals

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 16 : 6-Oct-21

Iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group has set a net-zero target date of 2040 for its scope 3 emissions. Fortescue’s plans to become a major player in the global hydrogen industry will be central to achieving the ambitious target. Buyers of Fortescue’s iron ore account for about 98 per cent of the group’s scope 3 emissions; this equates to around 246.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2020-21. Fortescue has also set a target of 2030 for its mining operations to become carbon-neutral, while it has outlined plans to decarbonise its fleet of ore carriers.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

Clive Palmer: Federal Govt should put 10 per cent tariff on Australia’s iron ore exports

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Peter Gleeson
Sky News Australia – Page: Online : 4-Oct-21

United Australia Party chairman Clive Palmer has called on the federal government to impose a 10 per cent tariff on iron ore exports to China. Palmer said the money raised from the tariff would be used to help Australian industries that have been impacted by Chinese tariffs, such as the wine sector. He says he has made an additional one billion tonnes of iron ore available in the Pilbara, with Citic, his Chinese lessee, to be taking up that option.

CORPORATES
UNITED AUSTRALIA PARTY, CITIC LIMITED

Rio finds trust low after Juukan

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Lachlan Moffet Gray
The Australian – Page: 16 : 1-Oct-21

Rio Tinto’s survey of traditional owners in the Pilbara shows that the resources group still has much work to do in repairing strain relations in the wake of the destruction of ancient indigenous rock shelters at Juukan Gorge in 2020. One of the traditional owner entitles expressed the view that Rio Tinto is doing the "the bare minimum" to rebuild its reputation with indigenous Australians. Rio Tinto CEO Jakob Stausholm says that listening to indigenous groups will be a priority as it seeks to rebuild trust.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Major miners push for net-zero

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 1-Oct-21

Minerals Council of Australia CEO Tania Constable says the mining sector has embraced a net-zero carbon emissions target of 2050. She adds that carbon capture and storage technology will play a key role in the sector’s push to become carbon-neutral by the target date, including coal producers. Meanwhile, the federal government is set to expand the Emissions Reduction Fund and make large-scale CCS projects eligible for the carbon credit scheme.

CORPORATES
MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Forrest hails Fortescue’s Indigenous joint venture

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 32 : 17-Sep-21

Wintawari Guruma Aboriginal Corporation chairman Glen Camille has welcomed a new joint venture with Fortescue Metals Group. For its part, FMG chairman Andrew Forrest says the $500 million joint venture to co-manage the development of iron ore mines in Western Australia’s Pilbara region is the largest ever contract signed with an Indigenous business organisation, and that it will expand on FMG’s Billion Opportunities program, which has awarded over $3.5 billion in contracts to Aboriginal businesses and joint ventures since 2011.

CORPORATES
WINTAWARI GURUMA ABORIGINAL CORPORATION, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG