B08 Metal Ore Mining

Jobs shock as mine to close

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Original article by Nick Evans
The West Australian – Page: 1 : 10-Aug-17

First Quantum Minerals has advised that its Ravensthorpe nickel mine in Western Australia is likely to be placed in "care and maintenance" mode by October. The low price of nickel prompted the decision to mothball the mine, which the Canada-based group is believed to have been trying to sell since 2016. The mine has a workforce of about 500 employees and contractors.

CORPORATES
FIRST QUANTUM MINERALS LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF MINES AND PETROLEUM

BHP Nickel West charged by battery boom new revolution

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 18 : 10-Aug-17

BHP Billiton aims to capitalise on the growing demand for lithium-ore batteries, with plans to build a nickel sulfate plant at Kwinana in Western Australia. The first stage of the project will cost $US43.2m and have annual production capacity of 100,000 tonnes of nickel sulfate hexahydrate. Stage two of the project would increase the plant’s annual capacity to 200,000 tonnes. The nickel sulfate project has secured the near-term future of BHP’s Nickel West business, which was facing the prospect of closure in coming years after efforts to sell it failed.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, INDEPENDENCE GROUP NL – ASX IGO, WESTERN AREAS LIMITED – ASX WSA, NICKEL WEST, DIGGERS AND DEALERS FORUM, TESLA INCORPORATED

FMG in iron price talks amid volatility

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 20 : 9-Aug-17

Fortescue Metals Group CEO Nev Power says the pure-play iron ore miner has held talks with steel mills and industry associations about addressing recent volatility in the price of the steel input. However, he says there is unlikely to be any support for a return to the fixed pricing system. Power adds that speculative futures trading has been a major contributor to the iron ore price volatility.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, DIGGERS AND DEALERS FORUM, EASTERN GOLDFIELDS LIMITED – ASX EGS, NORTHERN STAR RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX NST, GALAXY RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX GXY, GENERAL MINING CORPORATION LIMITED

Gold mining M&A too expensive: CEOs

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 24 : 9-Aug-17

Gold Fields CEO Nick Holland says the South Africa-based company has ramped up spending on exploration to almost $A100m a year, citing factors such as a dearth of acquisition opportunities in the gold sector and the high cost of gold assets. He adds that exploration budgets had been slashed globally in recent years, while a number of gold assets in Australia are likely to reach the end of their mine life in coming years. Evolution Mining and Saracen Mineral Holdings are among the Australian-listed companies that are increasing their exploration programs.

CORPORATES
GOLD FIELDS LIMITED, EVOLUTION MINING LIMITED – ASX EVN, SARACEN MINERAL HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SAR, ST BARBARA LIMITED – ASX SBM, DIGGERS AND DEALERS FORUM, GOLD ROAD RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX GOR, RIVERSGOLD LIMITED

Anglo American vows to halve costs using technology

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 20 : 8-Aug-17

Tony O’Neill of Anglo American says the company will seek further productivity gains via technological innovation, after lifting productivity by 70 per cent over the last 4-5 years. O’Neill has outlined some of these technologies at the annual Diggers & Dealers forum, but he noted that securing regulatory permits is the main hindrance to adopting some of the innovations. Meanwhile, Roy Hill Holdings has advised that iron ore shipments from its namesake mine totalled 4.45 million tonnes in June 2017, and shipments had averaged 2.8 million tonnes during the first half of the calendar year.

CORPORATES
ANGLO AMERICAN PLC, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, DIGGERS AND DEALERS FORUM, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Yawning gap in iron ore prices here to stay

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Original article by Tess Ingram, James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 4-Aug-17

The differential between the benchmark price of iron ore and lower-grade ore has widened in recent months, which affected the earnings of miners such as Fortescue Metals Group and BC Iron in the June 2017 quarter. Fortescue expects the discount to narrow in the second half of fiscal 2018, but Rio Tinto CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques forecasts that it will be sustained for some time. He argues that the shift is structural rather than cyclical. and he says China’s move to close down inefficient steel mills has been a major driver of the shift.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BC IRON LIMITED – ASX BCI, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, MOUNT GIBSON IRON LIMITED – ASX MGX, SMORGON STEEL GROUP LIMITED

Rio could return up to $13.2b to shareholders over next 18 months

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Original article by James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 4-Aug-17

Rio Tinto shareholders will receive a full-year dividend of $US2.60 per share for calendar 2017, after the interim dividend was increased from $US0.45 to $US1.10 per share. The resources giant will also repurchase up to $US1bn worth of its London-listed shares, and Paul Young of Deutsche Bank says it has the capacity to undertake about $US2bn worth of buybacks annually from 2018. Meanwhile, CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques says Rio Tinto will only consider acquisitions that add value for shareholders.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, COAL AND ALLIED INDUSTRIES LIMITED, YANCOAL AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX YAL, IRON ORE COMPANY OF CANADA

Rio hands out China bonanza

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Original article by James Thomson, Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 22 : 3-Aug-17

Rio Tinto has posted a 2017 interim net profit of $US3.3bn, which is 93 per cent higher than previously, while underlying earnings rose by 152 per cent to $US3.9bn ($A4.9bn). The strong result was driven by its iron ore division, whose earnings rose by 87 per cent to $US3.3bn. Shareholders will receive a record interim dividend of $US1.10 a share, compared with just $US0.45 for the same period in 2016. Meanwhile, CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques is upbeat about the outlook for the Chinese economy.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, YANCOAL AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX YAL, COAL AND ALLIED INDUSTRIES LIMITED, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, BARCLAYS BANK PLC

Iron awe: metal surges but investors cautious

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 22 : 2-Aug-17

The price of iron ore for delivery to ports in China has risen to its highest level since early April 2017. However, the share prices of Australia’s three largest iron ore producers have not benefited significantly from the rise in the price of the steel input. Market observers have differing views on the reasons for the rise in the iron price, while Vale CEO Fabio Schvartsman expects it to remain at around the current level in the near-term.

CORPORATES
VALE SA, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, DOW JONES NEWSWIRES, REUTERS HOLDINGS PLC, DALIAN COMMODITY EXCHANGE, PLATTS, THE STEEL INDEX LIMITED

Rio’s chance to reward investors with jump in returns

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 28 : 1-Aug-17

Rio Tinto is widely tipped to post a 2017 interim underlying profit of $US4.12bn ($A5.16bn), compared with $US1.56bn previously. Market watchers also anticipate that Rio will lift its interim dividend from $US0.45 per share to $US1.18, with the prospect of a full-year payout of $US2.50 per share. Paul Hissey of RBC Capital Markets forecasts that a special dividend will boost Rio Tinto’s interim payout to $US1.42 a share. However, Glyn Lawcock of UBS expects the interim dividend to be $US0.93.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, ANGLO AMERICAN PLC, GLENCORE PLC, VALE SA, GREAT BRITAIN. SERIOUS FRAUD OFFICE