B08 Metal Ore Mining

Rio closes in on $100 share price

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 17 & 28 : 2-Apr-19

Shares in Rio Tinto closed 1.7 per cent higher at $99.63 on 1 April, putting the resources giant on track to breach the $100-per-share mark for the first time since mid-2008. Rio Tinto has advised that its iron ore production for 2019 is likely to be at the lower end of its guidance in the wake of Cyclone Veronica and a fire at its Cape Lambert processing plant in January. However, the iron ore price is likely to be bolstered by the recent global supply disruptions. BHP, Fortescue Metals Group and Roy Hill in turn should benefit more from any rise in the iron ore price than Rio Tinto, as Cyclone Veronica had less impact on Port Hedland than Cape Lambert.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, VALE SA, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD

UBS hikes iron ore forecasts a second time

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 29-Mar-19

Investment bank UBS now expects the price of iron ore to average $US83 per tonne in 2019, which is 12 per cent higher than its previous forecast. UBS had already increased its price forecast from $US65 per tonne to $U74 in response to the tailings dam disaster in Brazil in late January. UBS also forecasts that Australia’s three major iron ore producers will slightly reduce their full-year production guidance after their Pilbara operations were affected by a recent cyclone.

CORPORATES
UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, VALE SA, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, PEABODY ENERGY CORPORATION

Rinehart, Forrest and big miners sweet on Ecuador

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 25-Mar-19

Sunstone Metals CEO Malcolm Norris expects there to be a lot of gold and copper discoveries in Ecuador in the next 10 years. Norris, secured the Cascabel tenement in Ecuador some years ago when he was in charge of SolGold, which owns 85 per cent of Cascabel. SolGold recently launched a hostile takeover bid for Cornerstone Capital, which has a 15 per cent stake in Cascabel. Cornerstone has spurned the takeover bid and criticised SolGold for what it stated were ongoing delays with releasing information about Cascabel.

CORPORATES
SUNSTONE METALS LIMITED – ASX STM, SOLGOLD PLC, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, CORNERSTONE CAPITAL RESOURCES INCORPORATED, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD

Fortescue enters the big tech race

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 24 : 22-Mar-19

Pure-play iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group will establish a research and development centre for self-driving cars in Karratha. Amongst other things, the research facility will undertake a trial of self-driving light vehicles at the Christmas Creek iron ore mine. Fortescue CEO Elizabeth Gaines expects autonomous vehicles to become widely used in both the mining industry and urban areas. Fortescue already operates more than 100 self-driving iron ore haulage trucks in the Pilbara.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, TESLA INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED

Brazil mine ruling brings doubt

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 22 : 21-Mar-19

The iron ore price fell sharply on 20 March after a Brazilian court ruled that Vale can resume production at its Brucutu mine, whose annual capacity is 30 million tonnes. The ruling also weighed on the share price of Fortescue Metals Group, which has been a major beneficiary of reduced output in Brazil in the wake of the Brumadinho tailings dam disaster in January. Fortescue COO Greg Lilleyman has told a conference in Perth that Chinese demand for the company’s lower-grade iron ore remains strong, and stockpiles of its ore at Chinese ports have been falling.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, VALE SA, MOUNT GIBSON IRON LIMITED – ASX MGX, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

Newcrest focus turns to Canada

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 22 : 13-Mar-19

Barrick Gold will not proceed with a takeover bid for Newmont Mining Corporation. The two groups will instead combine their gold mines in Nevada via a joint venture arrangement. Newcrest Mining had been touted as a likely bidder for Newmont’s Australian assets if the merger had proceeded. Meanwhile, Rahul Anand of Morgan Stanley says Newcrest’s expertise in block cave mining makes the Red Chris gold mine in Canada a ‘natural fit’ for the company. Newcrest CEO Sandeep Biswas has indicated that the Red Chris deal does not preclude further acquisitions.

CORPORATES
BARRICK GOLD CORPORATION, NEWMONT MINING CORPORATION, NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, HARMONY GOLD MINING COMPANY LIMITED, LUNDIN MINING CORPORATION

BHP’s epic rail fail: crew on wrong train

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 13-Mar-19

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has released its preliminary report into a November 2018 incident in which BHP was forced to deliberately derail an iron ore train in the Pilbara. It has revealed that BHP dispatched a maintenance crew to the train after its emergency braking system failed. However, the maintenance team went to a second train that had been stopped as a precaution, so the manual handbrake on the faulty train was not engaged. BHP contends that it would not have prevented the "roll-away", which is estimated to have cost the company about $300m in lost revenue.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, AUSTRALIAN TRANSPORT SAFETY BUREAU

Gindalbie accepts $39m takeover

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 20 : 12-Mar-19

Directors of iron ore junior Gindalbie Metals have recommended that shareholders accept a $39m takeover offer from China-based Ansteel. Gindalbie and Ansteel are joint venture partners in the Karara magnetite mine in the Mid-West region of Western Australia, and Gindalbie wrote down the value of its 48 per cent stake in the project to zero in 2014. Gindalbie also intends to demerge its Coda Minerals subsidiary.

CORPORATES
GINDALBIE METALS LIMITED – ASX GBG, ANSHAN IRON AND STEEL COMPANY, CODA MINERALS LIMITED, ATLAS LEAD GENERATION PTY LTD, BCI MINERALS LIMITED – ASX BCI

Newcrest’s $1.1bn North American bet

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 20 : 12-Mar-19

Newcrest Mining CEO Sandeep Biswas says more acquisitions are possible following an $US806.5m ($1.1bn) deal to acquire a 70 per cent stake in the Red Chris gold-copper mine in Canada. Red Chris is currently an open-cut mine, but it has the potential to yield significantly more gold and copper by using block caving. Newcrest is also widely considered to be a contender to acquire from Barrick Gold and Newmont Mining if their proposed merger proceeds.

CORPORATES
NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, BARRICK GOLD CORPORATION, NEWMONT MINING CORPORATION, IMPERIAL METALS CORPORATION, NORTHERN STAR RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX NST, OCEANAGOLD CORPORATION – ASX OGC, EVOLUTION MINING LIMITED – ASX EVN, ST BARBARA LIMITED – ASX SBM

Rio Tinto predicts new copper mine will be built in Western Australia

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Original article by Darren Gray
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 9-Mar-19

Rio Tinto CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques is confident a copper mine will be constructed at the site of its discovery in Western Australia’s Paterson Ranges. However, Jacques said he is unsure whether it will be Rio Tinto that builds that mine. Jacques was speaking at the official opening of its new $2.6 billion Arum bauxite mine on Cape York. Jacques said much more drilling needs to be undertaken at its copper discovery in WA to determine what lies beneath the surface.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO