B08 Metal Ore Mining

Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting again lifts Atlas Iron offer to $427m

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Original article by Stuart McKinnon
The West Australian – Page: Online : 27-Sep-18

Hancock Prospecting hopes to secure control of Atlas Iron with another revised takeover offer. Atlas shareholders will receive $0.046 per share if Hancock gains acceptances for 87 per cent of the iron ore miner’s stock. Hancock recently increased its offer to $0.0445 per share, which enabled it to lift its stake in Atlas to 77.06 per cent. The latest offer is slated to close on 2 October. Iron ore rival Fortescue Metals Group has an 11.4 per cent stake in Atlas.

CORPORATES
ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN

BHP fire halts work as nickel stages a revival

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 23 : 26-Sep-18

BHP Billiton is still assessing the damage to its nickel smelter in Kalgoorlie after a fire in the plant’s furnace room on 23 September. A spokeswoman has indicated that it is uncertain as to when production will resume. The smelter is part of BHP’s Nickel West business, which the resources group had unsuccessfully tried to sell in recent years. Rising demand for nickel has boosted the fortunes of Nickel West, and BHP may elevate it to a core asset. Macquarie Group is upbeat about the outlook for nickel, forecasting that it will average $US13,800 per tonne in 2018 and $US20,000/tonne in 2019.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, NICKEL WEST, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, DIGGERS AND DEALERS FORUM, LONDON METAL EXCHANGE LIMITED, WMC RESOURCES LIMITED, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32

Lynas dives on hostile review fears

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 28 : 25-Sep-18

Media reports in Malaysia have suggested that a mooted government review of Lynas Corporation’s rare earths processing plant in the province of Kuantan may be headed by a politician who has been a critic of the miner in the past. Lynas has advised that the Malaysian Government has yet to confirm that it will undertake a review of the refinery, but this has been widely anticipated since the election of the nation’s new coalition government. Shares in Lynas closed 18 per cent lower on 24 September.

CORPORATES
LYNAS CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX LYC

South32 has part victory in Colombia

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 25-Sep-18

Colombia’s Constitutional Court has partially overturned a ruling against diversified miner South32 regarding its Cerro Matoso nickel mine. The court had ruled in March that South32 must compensate indigenous communities that had experienced adverse health effects due to waste from the mine and provide ongoing health care to these communities. The court has struck out the compensation order following an appeal, although South32 must still comply with some elements of the original judgment.

CORPORATES
SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, CONSTITUTIONAL COURT (COLOMBIA)

Long-term deals key to iron-clad alliance

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 20 : 24-Sep-18

BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metal Group were among the Australian iron ore companies that were represented at the recent China International Steel & Raw Materials Conference. Australia currently supplies 62 per cent of China’s seaborne iron ore, with iron ore being Australia’s biggest export to China. Businesses involved in commerce between Australia and China are hopeful that the relationship between the two countries, which has been somewhat strained in recent times, will improve under new Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, VALE SA, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Rio Tinto goes off market for share buyback

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 22 : 21-Sep-18

Rio Tinto will repurchase around $US3.2bn worth of its shares, including $US1.9bn ($2.6bn) of its Australian-listed stock. The off-market buyback will be financed via the proceeds from the sale of Rio Tinto’s coking coal assets in Queensland. Don Hamson of Plato Investment Management says an off-market buyback is preferable to a special dividend, given that Labor intends to abolish cash refunds for excess franking credits if it wins the next federal election. Rio Tinto had previously announced $US2.4bn worth of buybacks.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, PLATO INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE

Fortescue flags earlier start for higher grade iron ore exports

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 21-Sep-18

Pure-play iron ore producer Fortescue Metals Group has advised that it will begin exporting ore with an iron content of 60.1 per cent in December. Fortescue had previously expected to begin shipments of the higher-grade West Pilbara Fines product during the first half of 2019. Fortescue’s new Eliwana mine will be a key source of the new iron ore blend, and the company expects annual shipments of West Pilbara Fines to be around 40 million when production at Eliwana begins. Fortescue has forecast that it will export 5-10 million tonnes of West Pilbara Fines in 2018-19.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Billiton to go as BHP gets back to its roots

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Original article by Matt Chambers, Samantha Bailey
The Australian – Page: 24 : 19-Sep-18

BHP Billiton’s 2018 AGMs in Australia and the UK will include a resolution to formally drop "Billiton" from its name. The resources group has been referring to itself simply as BHP in marketing campaigns for the last 18 months. Many of the assets that BHP gained via the merger with Billiton in 2001 have since been sold or spun off into South32. Meanwhile, BHP chairman Ken MacKenzie has indicated that "social licence" will be taken into consideration when selecting directors in the future.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, ELLIOTT MANAGEMENT CORPORATION

Europe buyer pulls $438m offer for Rio aluminium assets

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Original article by Darren Gray
The Age – Page: 25 : 18-Sep-18

Rio Tinto has advised that Norway-based Hydro has terminated a deal struck earlier in 2018 to acquire its remaining aluminium assets in Europe for $US345m ($438m). The assets comprise an aluminium smelter in Iceland and Rio’s stakes in an anode plant in the Netherlands and an aluminium fluoride plant in Sweden. Competition concerns in Europe are believed to have prompted Hydro to withdraw from the deal. Rio may seek a new buyer for the assets.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, NORSK HYDRO ASA, EUROPEAN COMMISSION, LIBERTY HOUSE GROUP, UC RUSAL LIMITED

Gold mother lode unearthed underground in Kambalda delivers $15 million in just four days

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Original article by Jarrod Lucas
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 10-Sep-18

RNC Minerals still intends to sell its Beta Hunt mine near Kambalda in outback Western Australia, despite what has been described as a "once-in-a-lifetime discovery" of gold-bearing rock. Local miner Henry Dole has been credited with the discovery, with the rocks being discovered around 500 metres below the surface. Mine workers retrieved over $15 million worth of gold-encrusted rocks in just four days, with one rock weighing 90 kilograms and another weighing 60 kilograms. RNC, which is based in Canada, put the Beta Hunt mine on the market some months ago.

CORPORATES
ROYAL NICKEL CORPORATION