B08 Metal Ore Mining

BHP backs government over Kyoto loophole

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Original article by James Fernyhough
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 24-Sep-19

BHP CEO Andrew Mackenzie is said to have expressed support for the Coalition’s proposal to use Kyoto carryover credits to meet Australia’s carbon emissions reduction targets under the Paris agreement. Sources have confirmed that Mackenzie did so in a private call with institutional investors on 20 September, although a BHP spokesman has declined to comment. The Minerals Council of Australia and the Business Council of Australia also support the use of carryover credits. Mackenzie had advocated greater action to address climate change earlier in 2019.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, THE AUSTRALIAN CENTRE FOR CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, VISION SUPER PTY LTD, INVESTOR GROUP ON CLIMATE CHANGE, UNITED NATIONS

Indigenous-owned iron ore venture gets $12m NAIF loan

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Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 20-Sep-19

The federal government’s $5 billion Northern Australian Infrastructure Facility has made a $12.5 million loan to the $45 million First Iron mining project in Western Australia’s Pilbara region. The project, which is being developed by the Australian Aboriginal Mining Corporation, will use the loan to construct new supporting infrastructure for the First Iron mine, which is to supply ore for Fortescue Mining’s Cloudbreak operations. The NAIF has now awarded $1.4 billion in concessional loans to 13 projects in Australia’s north, with the NAIF stating the loans will help create over 4,000 jobs and generate $3 billion in public benefit.

CORPORATES
NORTHERN AUSTRALIA INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITY, AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL MINING CORPORATION

Scientists create the world’s thinnest gold

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Original article by
cosmosmagazine.com – Page: Online : 7-Aug-19

Researchers from the University of Leeds in the UK have created what they contend is the world’s thinnest unsupported gold. The material is one million times thinner than a human finger nail and regarded as 2D, and the researchers claim it is 10 times more efficient as a catalytic substrate than the currently used gold nanoparticles. They claim the material, which they have dubbed ‘nanoseaweed’ because of its shape and because it appears green in water, could have a wide range of applications in the electronics and medical devices industries. They also state it could be used as a catalyst to accelerate chemical reactions in a range of industrial processes

CORPORATES
UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS

Rio Tinto prepares for Mongolian parliament review

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 17-Sep-19

Mongolian MPs are due to commence debate on the legal agreement that supports the operation of the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in the week ending 19 September. The agreement in question is the 2009 Oyu Tolgoi Investment Agreement, which gives the Mongolian government a 34 per cent stake in the mine, which is regarded as one of Rio Tinto’s most significant assets. Production of gold and copper from Oyu Tolgoi commenced in 2013, while Rio is in the process of spending between $US6 billion ($8.7 billion) and $US8 billion on an underground expansion of the mine.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

BHP escapes shareholder resolution on emissions

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 12-Sep-19

BHP CEO Andrew Mackenzie has previously flagged plans to set targets for Scope 3 emissions, which are the emissions that its customers generate. Market Forces had been tipped to file shareholder resolutions at BHP’s upcoming annual meetings that would require the mining company to set targets for emission reductions, including Scope 3 emissions. However, after BHP indicated it would publish Scope 3 emission targets when it issues its various annual reports in the week beginning 16 September, Market Forces has indicated it will not submit a shareholder resolution on the matter.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP MARKET FORCES RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

New WA mining boom brings automation to the fore, but the unions aren’t happy

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Original article by Bridget Fitzgerald
abc.net au – Page: Online : 10-Sep-19

Mining jobs in Western Australia are at their highest level since the peak of the last mining boom in 2013, with over 106,000 people currently employed in the sector. WA State Training Board chairman Jim Walker is working with mining companies and South Metropolitan TAFE on courses that will prepare workers for increased automation, with a recent McKinsey report estimating that over 30 per cent of jobs in the Pilbara region, where mining is the dominant employer, will be impacted by automation. Union official Jeff Carig says it is important that those of its members impacted by automation are offered the chance to retrain, while Volker Schilling, who has worked in the iron ore sector for many years, says automation has improved the way he works.

CORPORATES
WESTERN AUSTRALIA. STATE TRAINING BOARD RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO McKINSEY AND COMPANY

Morgan unveils processing advance for Titan’s balls of nickel

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: Online : 9-Sep-19

Comet Minerals announced in 2016 that it had detected a unique type of mineralisation at its Titan nickel project in Nigeria. Hugh Morgan, the former WMC Resources boss who heads up Comet Minerals, has told the recent Africa Down Under conference that another of his firms has developed a processing technique that will enable Comet Minerals to recover 100 per cent of nickel from the mineralisation at Titan. He said the technique has been successfully tested on gold and copper mineralisation, and that it does not involve any toxic reagents.

CORPORATES
COMET MINERALS, WMC RESOURCES LIMITED

Fears for Aussie miners in growing terror hot spots

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 6-Sep-19

Resolute Mining MD John Welborn agrees with Defence Minister Linda Reynolds that there are increased terrorism risks for Australian mining companies operating in West Africa. Reynolds was while speaking at the Africa Downunder mining conference in Perth. Resolute has mines in Mali, Senegal and Ghana, and Wellborn says the terrorism risk is getting worse, particularly in Mali where its main operations are located. Wellborn also contends that China is "stealing the march" on the US and Australia when it comes to investing in Africa.

CORPORATES
RESOLUTE MINING LIMITED – ASX RSG, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF DEFENCE

Glencore beats ATO in transfer pricing battle

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Original article by John Durie
The Australian – Page: 20 : 4-Sep-19

The Australian Taxation Office may appeal a Federal Court ruling in favour of mining giant Glencore over a transfer pricing dispute. The case centred on the price that Glencore’s offshore trading arm paid for copper from its Cobar mine in New South Wales. The ATO contended that the transaction should have been done at arm’s length. The ruling may have implications for other transfer pricing investigations being undertaken by the ATO.

CORPORATES
GLENCORE PLC, GLENCORE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Push to break China metals dominance

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 3-Sep-19

A new report from the Department of Industry notes that Australia is one of the six leading sources of so-called critical minerals, such as rare-earth elements, cobalt, niobium, antimony, magnesium and tungsten. Cobalt and niobium are the only two minerals identified by the Department for which China is the major supplier and processor. Resources Minister Matt Canavan has highlighted the growth opportunities for Australia in terms of global supply of critical minerals. However, commodity prices and production costs will be the key issues for Australian miners.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, LYNAS CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX LYC