B08 Metal Ore Mining

BHP chiefs defend its green push

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Original article by Peter Ker, Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 8-Nov-19

BHP held its annual meeting of shareholders in Sydney on 7 November, at which over 27 per cent voted in favour of a resolution that called for the mining firm to quit groups that do not support the Paris climate agreement. The strong vote was despite CEO Andrew Mackenzie saying that industry associations were better able to achieve solutions to global issues than companies acting on their own, while chairman Ken MacKenzie claimed environmentalists should welcome its plan to spend $US400 million on climate change mitigation

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Perenti rocked by terror attack in Africa

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 8-Nov-19

Mining services company Perenti Global has been caught up in a deadly terrorist attack on a convoy of buses in the West African nation of Burkina Faso. The attack happened around 40 kilometres from Semafo’s Bongou gold mine, with people on the buses including employees of Semafo, Perenti Global’s Africa Mining Services, and other contractors. The attack has left at least 37 dead and 60 wounded, with the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade saying at this stage it is not aware that any Australians were killed or wounded in the attack. Perenti has not disclosed how many AMS staff were on the buses in the convoy, which was being escorted by military police.

CORPORATES
PERENTI GLOBAL LIMITED – ASX PRN, SEMAFO INCORPORATED

BHP succession once again in the spotlight

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 20 : 7-Nov-19

BHP CEO Andrew Mackenzie took the helm in May 2013, with his appointment having been announced at the resources giant’s half-year results presentation in February of that year. The position of former CEO Marius Kloppers had already come under scrutiny at BHP’s 2012 annual meeting in Australia; given Mackenzie’s tenure, shareholders at the 2019 annual meeting may be seeking guidance on succession planning. However, Mackenzie’s position is much more secure than Kloppers’ was in 2012.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Independence makes $312m hostile bid

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 5-Nov-19

Nickel miner Independence Group is offering one of its shares for every share in Panoramic Resources, valuing the takeover target at $0.476 per share. Independence MD Peter Bradford says Panoramic had previously rejected several approaches regarded a friendly merger, prompting the hostile bid. Bradford anticipates further consolidation among nickel miners, and he expects the recent rise in the price of nickel to be sustained.

CORPORATES
INDEPENDENCE GROUP NL – ASX IGO, PANORAMIC RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX PAN, ZETA RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX ZER, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Rio Tinto could hit iron ore goal in 2022

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 1-Nov-19

The head of Rio Tinto’s iron ore division, Chris Salisbury, has told investors that production at its Koodaideri mine in Western Australia is slated for late 2021. He also said the mine will give Rio Tinto the capacity to ship 360 million tonnes of iron ore from the Pilbara each year. This target was first set in 2013, but to date the most Rio Tinto has shopped from the Pilbara in a single year is 338.2 million tonnes. Analysts expect its Pilbara shipments to total 325.5 million tonnes in 2019.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, VUMA FINANCIAL LIMITED

Core strategy will remain: BHP

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 20 : 30-Oct-19

BHP’s chief transformation officer Jonathan Price will address the IMARC mining conference in Melbourne on 30 October. He will argue that while technology such as automation and big data will have a key role in the mining sector in the future, BHP’s focus will continue to be on large resources projects with long production lives. In contrast, Rio Tinto CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques recently suggested that big mining companies may shift their focus to developing smaller projects that can upscaled later on.

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

Forrest baulks at sugar hit pledges

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 30-Oct-19

Fortescue Metals Group chairman Andrew Forrest has criticised iron ore rivals such as BHP and Rio Tinto for their stance on issues such as Scope 3 emissions and gender parity. He has described their announcements on such issues as "sugar hits" that have no real substance. Fortescue CEO Elizabeth Gaines has told the pure-play miner’s AGM that its own Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions are a priority, rather than the emissions of its customers. Meanwhile, 24.72 per cent of votes cast at the AGM rejected Fortescue’s remuneration report.

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

Slow restart at Samarco will be small beer for Australian miners

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 29-Oct-19

Lachlan Shaw of National Australia Bank says the resumption of production at the Samarco joint venture in Brazil is unlikely to have much impact on Australia’s iron ore exporters. BHP and Vale has been granted environmental approval to resume production in late 2020. Shaw notes that based on the initial production rate that has been flagged, it would take about 10 years for production at Samarco to return to the levels prior to the tailings dam disaster in November 2015.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, VALE SA, SAMARCO MINERACAO SA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

BHP, Vale to resume at Samarco

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 28-Oct-19

BHP and Vale are hopeful of resuming production at their Samarco joint venture’s Germano iron ore mine in Brazil by late 2020. This follows the granting of a Corrective Operating Licence for the mine by Minas Gerais state’s environmental regulator. The mine has been closed since a tailings dam collapse in November 2015. BHP has indicated that restarting Germano is dependent on Samarco receiving funding for a new filtration plant at the mine.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, VALE SA, SAMARCO MINERACAO SA

Miners tipping China’s winter halts to ease

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Original article by Peter Ker, Brad Thompson, Mike Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 28-Oct-19

Fortescue Metals Group COO Greg Lilleyman says China’s annual winter shutdown of industries such as steel-making is likely to have less impact on commodity prices than in recent years. He adds that it is hard to predict the extent of the shutdowns, given that much of the responsibility for implementing the policy to improve air quality has been delegated to provincial governments. South32 CEO Graham Kerr says that some winter production cuts are likely, but he adds that China is also likely to prioritise economic growth.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, WOOD MACKENZIE