CAPITAL INVESTMENTS – AUSTRALIA

Rio weighs up another lithium play

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 16 : 11-Dec-24

Rio Tinto’s board is expected to approve a proposal to increase the annual production capacity of its Rincon lithium project in Argentina to 60,000 tonnes. Rio Tinto recently advised of the first production from a pilot plant at Rincon, more than two years after it acquired the project for $US825m. Barrenjoey is of the view that Rio Tinto may direct some of its $US800m worth of unallocated capital expenditure to the Rincon project. Rio Tinto is also seeking to acquire Arcadium Lithium, with the target’s shareholders set to vote on the $US6.7bn deal on 23 December.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, ARCADIUM LITHIUM PLC – ASX LTM, BARRENJOEY CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD

Australia falling behind as global LNG producer

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Original article by Colin Packham
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 15-Oct-24

ConocoPhillips Australia’s president Jan-Arne Johansen has warned that the nation’s status as one of the world’s biggest exports of LNG is under threat. He notes that both the US and Qatar are ramping up their LNG exports, while Australia’s investment in the sector is falling behind. Johansen adds that the nation’s fiscal, regulatory and project approval regimes must be internationally competitive if it is to attract the investment capital that is needed for the LNG sector. He notes that Australia has sufficient gas resources to supply the domestic and export markets.

CORPORATES
CONOCOPHILLIPS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Mining investment pipeline leaks $68bn a year

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 6 : 26-Apr-24

Data from the Minerals Council of Australia shows that the value of completed mining projects totalled $21.3bn in 2023, compared with $84bn in 2013. However, the resources project pipeline increased from just 244 in 2017 to 450 in 2023. The MCA’s analysis also shows that the value of resources projects that reached the construction stage totalled $75bn in 2023, down from $255bn in 2013. MCA CEO Tania Constable says government policy settings are responsible for a significant proportion of possible mining investment that is not going ahead.

CORPORATES
MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Mine prospecting booms as explorers look past China dip

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Original article by Elouise Fowler
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 27-Mar-24

Data from advisory firm BDO Australias shows that resources companies in the pre-revenue stage spent a total of $1.01bn on exploration in the December quarter. This was the highest level of exploration expenditure in the final three months of a calendar year in the last decade. Meanwhile, exploration companies raised a total of $2.68bn from investors during the quarter, which is 32 per cent higher than the previous three months.

CORPORATES
BDO AUSTRALIA LIMITED

First strike at Fortescue over exec pay

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 22-Nov-23

More than 52 per cent of votes cast at Fortescue Metals Group’s annual meeting on Tuesday rejected the iron ore miner’s remuneration report. Fortescue could potentially face a board spill if more than 25 per cent of shareholders vote against the report again in 2024. Major proxy advisory firms had recommended voting against the report, citing concerns such as discretionary payments to several former executives. Meanwhile, Fortescue has announced plans to build a $US550m ‘green’ hydrogen plant in Arizona and a $US150m hydrogen plant at Gladstone in Queensland. It will also build a $US50m commercial ‘green’ iron plant at its Christmas Creek iron ore mine in the Pilbara.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

Investment in new Australian wind and solar farms stalls amid ‘raft of barriers’, report finds

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Original article by Peter Hannam
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 23-Aug-23

Data from the Clean Energy Council shows that only four proposed renewable energy projects reached financial closure during the June quarter. The four wind and solar projects will have a combined generation capacity of 348 megawatts, while their combined investment value is just $225m; this compares with a rolling 12-month average of $1.3bn. CEC CEO Kane Thornton says the lack of political leadership, planning and foresight over the last decade has resulted in significant barriers to investment in clean energy projects in Australia. He adds that these barriers make Australia less attractive at a time when there are significant clean energy investment opportunities worldwide.

CORPORATES
CLEAN ENERGY COUNCIL LIMITED

Rinehart’s dire mining prediction

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Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian – Page: 13 & 18 : 17-May-23

Mining magnate Gina Rinehart notes that mining capital expenditure is currently about $40bn a year, compared with more than $100bn annually at the peak of the previous mining boom about a decade ago. Rinehart describes the $60bn investment gap as a missed opportunity for Australia. She contends that government policy needs to be more supportive of the resources sector if Australia is to continue to produce future-facing commodities that are needed for the energy transition. Rinehart adds that the remaining mine life of Hancock Prospecting’s Roy Hill project is about 10 years, but this can be extended if the regulatory regime is more amenable.

CORPORATES
HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Next Qantas CEO stares down $12.3b fleet revamp

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Original article by Lucas Baird
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 18 : 3-May-23

The pressing need to upgrade an ageing fleet will be a key challenge for Qantas veteran Vanessa Hudson when she succeeds CEO Alan Joyce in November. However, she is confident that Qantas will be able to manage the capital requirements of a fleet upgrade while continuing to reward shareholders. UBS estimates that Qants will need to spend $12.3bn on new airplanes between the 2024 and 2028 fiscal years, given that the average age of its fleet increased from 7.7 years in 2014 to 13.6 in 2022. Qantas chairman Richard Goyder has praised Hudson, noting that she has been in her current role of CFO during one of the most challenging periods in the airline’s history.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN

More big firms to get capex break

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 11 : 23-Nov-20

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is to expand the federal government’s business expense tax break so that more large companies can access it, with legislation to enact the changes to be introduced. Large companies that will now be able to access the scheme will include Coca-Cola Amatil and Boral, while large companies that will remain excluded include Wesfarmers, BHP, Telstra and Rio Tinto. Frydenberg says around 50 companies employing over 150,000 people are expected to benefit from the scheme’s expansion

CORPORATES
COCA-COLA AMATIL LIMITED – ASX CCL, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG

Tough market sours outlook for resources

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 23-Nov-20

A new report from the federal government notes that Australia’s resource and energy sector made final investment decisions on $39bn worth of projects in the year to 31 October, which is 30 per cent higher than previously. The total value of the sector’s investment pipeline has risen to $334bn in 2020. However, the Department of Industry, Science, Energy & Resources’ latest Major Projects report warns that investment is unlikely to return to the levels seen during the last boom in the minerals and energy sector.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE, ENERGY AND RESOURCES