B08 Metal Ore Mining

BHP iron ore shipments steady as Vale falls short

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 21-Apr-20

BHP will release its quarterly update on 21 April, and analysts estimate that its Pilbara iron ore shipments totalled 68 million tonnes in the first three months of 2020. This means BHP should be on track to achieve its full-year guidance for iron ore exports. Fortescue Metals Group also seems set to achieve record export volumes for the year. Brazilian iron ore giant Vale recently advised that it produced 59.6 million tonnes of iron ore fines in the March quarter, which is well below its revised target of 68-73 million tonnes.

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

Mine workers drive the great COVID migration

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 20-Apr-20

It is estimated that around 5,000 workers have had to relocate interstate over the past month to overcome coronavirus restrictions on the movement of people between states. More than 900 BHP workers have relocated to Western Australia, while around 800 of Rio Tinto’s fly-in, fly-out workers have relocated indefinitely, and most of them have moved to WA. Trevor Hart, KPMG’s global head of mining, says the current situation presents an opportunity for both the resources sector and the WA government to persuade affected workers to move permanently to the state.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO HOLDINGS LIMITED, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, OZ MINERALS LIMITED – ASX OZL, NEW CENTURY RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX NCZ

Records to fall as miners defy crisis

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Original article by Dennis Shanahan, Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 13-Apr-20

Factors such as a resilient iron ore price and a rally in the price of gold have prompted expectations that the value of Australia’s resources exports will top $$299bn in 2019-20. This is $18bn higher than was forecast in December. The nation has exported $65.4bn worth of iron ore since 1 July, including $13.9bn in the first two months of 2020. Iron ore for delivery to China is trading at almost $US80 per tonne, compared with the Treasury’s forecast of $US55 a tonne. The resources and energy sector is largely continuing to operate during the pandemic.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Rio Tinto to maintain payout

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 9-Apr-20

Rio Tinto chairman Simon Thompson say its dividend policy will have to be reviewed before the release of its half-year results in July. However, shareholders will still receive the final dividend of $US2.31 per share for calendar 2019, as announced in February. Thompson has cited factors such as Rio Tinto’s strong balance sheet and the fact that its iron ore order book is full. Many listed companies have opted to review their dividend policies or defer interim dividends due to the coronavirus pandemic.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Iron ore dividends still on track

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 18 : 8-Apr-20

Macquarie Group is bullish about the outlook for iron ore producers BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group, arguing that continued strong cashflows should enable them to maintain dividend yields. Macquarie notes that BHP’s iron ore operations will have helped to offset the impact of the sharp fall in the crude oil price on its petroleum division. Glynn Lawcock of UBS also expects BHP and Rio Tinto to maintain their dividend payments, although he says gold and base metal miners may reduce their dividends.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Rio Tinto says China shows growing iron ore appetite

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 22 : 8-Apr-20

The head of Rio Tinto’s iron ore division, Chris Salisbury, notes that Chinese demand for the steel input remained strong while the nation was contending with the coronavirus earlier in 2020. He adds that China’s steel stockpiles have started to fall and Rio Tinto’s order books are full. Chinese steel mills buy more than 70 per cent of Rio Tinto’s iron ore, and China accounted for 51.3 per cent of the resources group’s revenue in 2019. Australia’s iron ore exports are forecast to top $101bn in 2019-20.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Rio Tinto flies in 700 miners to beat lockdown

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 16 : 7-Apr-20

Rio Tinto has advised that about 700 of the fly-in, fly-out workers at its Pilbara iron ore mines will temporarily relocate to Western Australia following the state’s decision to close its borders. Rio Tinto workers will be required to remain on site for 14 days in compliance with the state’s quarantine rules, as well as coronavirus lockdown rules when they are not working. BHP has also relocated about 300 FIFO workers to WA during the pandemic.

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

BHP raises spectre of virus compo

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 7-Apr-20

BHP has conceded that it could face workers’ compensation claims from employees who contract the coronavirus while on the job. Workcover Western Australia has indicated that such claims would be possible, although it notes the difficulty of determining when a person contracted the virus. Its observations have been echoed by Queensland’s WorkCover agency. Hall & Wilcox lawyer Terry Killian says employees would likely have to prove that there was a link between their work duties and contracting the virus.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, WORKCOVER WESTERN AUSTRALIA, HALL AND WILCOX, WORKCOVER QUEENSLAND

Future of FIFO mines is residential, says Pitt

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 6-Apr-20

More than 50,000 workers in Australia’s resources industry are employed on a fly-in, fly-out basis. However, federal Resources Minister Keith Pitt expects the sector to be much less reliant on FIFO workers once the coronavirus crisis is over. He says they are likely to focus more on using workers who live in close proximity to resources projects. However, he concedes that FIFO workers will still be needed for projects in remote areas. Restrictions on crossing state borders have prompted some mining companies to significantly to increase the shifts of their FIFO workers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE, ENERGY AND RESOURCES, QUEENSLAND RESOURCES COUNCIL LIMITED

WA’s FIFO ban a blow for resources giants

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Original article by Brad Thompson, Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 31-Mar-20

Workers from interstate account for about 3,000 of the 45,000 people in Western Australia’s resources sector who are on fly-in, fly-out arrangements. FIFO workers from interstate are currently exempt from a 14-day coronavirus quarantine period, but the Chamber of Minerals & Energy of WA has told its members that the state government is likely to remove this exemption within days. The Queensland and South Australian governments are also tipped to scrap the exemption for FIFO workers who cross state borders.

CORPORATES
THE CHAMBER OF MINERALS AND ENERGY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, CHEVRON CORPORATION