B08 Metal Ore Mining

How the iron ore price busted above $US100 a tonne

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 21-May-19

The tailings dam collapse at a Vale mine in January has been a major driver of the iron ore price’s rise to a five-year high of $US100 per tonne. The disaster reduced seaborne iron ore supply by around six per cent, prompting a rally in the price of the steel input and the shares of major producers. The reduced global supply has also coincided with rising demand for iron ore in China. Meanwhile, Vivek Dhar of the Commonwealth Bank expects the iron ore price to ease to around $US85 per tonne by the end of 2019.

CORPORATES
VALE SA, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

St Barbara confident of Atlantic gold

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 20 : 16-May-19

Gold producer St Barbara will finance its proposed $768m acquisition of Canada-based Atlantic Gold via a non-renounceable rights offer and cash holdings. Paul Hissey of RBC describes Canada as a "relatively safe move" for St Barbara. Atlantic has forecast that its gold production in 2019 will be within the range of 92,000-98,000 ounces. Newcrest Mining and Northern Star Resources are among the other Australian miners to have bought North American assets in the last year.

CORPORATES
ST BARBARA LIMITED – ASX SBM, ATLANTIC GOLD CORPORATION, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, NORTHERN STAR RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX NST, ALLIED GOLD

BHP puts faith in nickel again

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 21 : 15-May-19

BHP intends to retain its Nickel West business, which posted underlying EBIT of $US42m for the first half of 2018-19. BHP had previously deemed its nickel division to be a non-core asset and made several attempts to sell the business in recent years. However, CEO Andrew Mackenzie says that although there are still risks associated with Nickel West, it could potentially regain its status as a tier-one asset. The upbeat outlook is based on factors such as growing demand for batteries and limited supply of quality nickel sulphide.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, NICKEL WEST

Forrest in $654m payday from surprise Fortescue dividend

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Original article by Brad Thompson, Lucas Baird
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 22 : 15-May-19

Pure-play iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group will pay a fully franked dividend of $0.60 per share on 14 June, ahead of possible changes to the franking credits regime if Labor wins the federal election. Fortescue chairman Andrew Forrest will earn $654m in dividend payments from his 35 per cent stake, lifting his total payout for 2018-19 to $981m. Fortescue has previously paid an interim dividend of $0.19 per share and a special dividend of $0.11 per share. CEO Elizabeth Gaines say Fortescue will continue to pay fully franked dividends, regardless of any change in government policy.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED

Rinehart’s Roy Hill comes clean about digging the dirt: lots of it

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 19 & 30 : 14-May-19

A Roy Hill spokesperson has indicated that the iron ore project’s costs will not be affected by the revised mining plan it has submitted to Western Australia’s Environmental Protection Authority. Roy Hill has advised that the amount of waste ore it expects to shift over the mine’s 17-year life has been increased by 62 per cent, due to "variable iron ore quality". The Gina Rinehart-backed company says it has gained a better understanding of the ore body since mining commenced at Roy Hill in 2015.

CORPORATES
ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AUTHORITY, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, MARUBENI CORPORATION, POSCO, CHINA STEEL CORPORATION, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, SAMSUNG C&T CORPORATION

Rio Tinto mulls iron ore boost as Vale struggles

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 24 : 10-May-19

Rio Tinto Jean-Sebastien Jacques says the resources giant will only increase its Pilbara iron ore shipments if doing so makes financial sense. The price of the steel input has rallied in the wake of supply disruptions following a tailings dam collapse at a Vale mine in January, and it was trading above $US94 per tonne on 9 May. Meanwhile, just six per cent of shareholders at Rio Tinto’s Australian annual meeting supported a Market Forces resolution which would have required Rio Tinto to set carbon emission reduction targets for its customers.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, VALE SA, MARKET FORCES, FRIENDS OF THE EARTH, GRANGE RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX GRR, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Vale’s latest legal blow boosts iron ore stocks

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 8-May-19

Brazilian miner Vale has advised that its sales of iron ore and pellets in 2019 will be at the lower end of its previous forecast of between 307 and 332 million tonnes. The revised guidance follows a court’s move to reverse its decision to allow Vale to resume production at mines that were affected by a tailings dam collapse in January. Shares in Australian iron ore miners rallied on 7 May, and Peter O’Connor of Shaw & Partners expects further volatility in the price of the steel input in the next several years.

CORPORATES
VALE SA, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED, MOUNT GIBSON IRON LIMITED – ASX MGX

Smart trucks for Rio’s future mine

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 8-May-19

WesTrac has secured a deal to supply Rio Tinto’s Koodaideri iron ore mine in the Pilbara with 20 autonomous Caterpillar haulage trucks. The contract, which is said to be worth about $US200m ($285m), also includes four autonomous blast drills and other industrial equipment. WesTrac CEO Jarvas Croome notes that miners are increasingly opting to buy haulage trucks that are autonomous-ready rather than converting them after purchase. Production at Koodaideri is slated to commence in 2021.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, WESTRAC HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CATERPILLAR, SEVEN GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SVW, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

We will go hard on Winu copper, gold discovery: Rio Tinto

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Original article by Stuart McKinnon
The West Australian – Page: Online : 3-May-19

Rio executive Stephen McIntosh says the company plans to increase the level of exploration activity at its Winu copper-gold discovery in Western Australia so as to quickly ascertain its potential. McIntosh was speaking at a Macquarie Bank conference on 2 May, while he noted that Rio could move to divest Winu if it did not prove to be a "Tier 1 asset". Rio released initial drilling results for Winu in March, following a year or more of speculation concerning its potential to be a major discovery.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Rio fast-tracks copper in hunt for growth

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 20 : 2-May-19

Resources group Rio Tinto has signalled that it will ramp up its capital investment in coming years. Rio executive Stephen McIntosh has told a conference that its capital expenditure has risen above depreciation levels again, after falling in 2016 following the completion of iron ore expansion projects. McIntosh says a priority for Rio Tinto will be to determine the extent of the copper resources at its Winu discovery in Western Australia.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, ALUMINIUM CORPORATION OF CHINA LIMITED