COAL MINES AND MINING

Price jump agreed for coking coal

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 14-Dec-16

The contract price for premium hard coking coal has been settled at $US285 per tonne for the March 2017 quarter, compared with a contract price of $US200 per tonne in the final quarter of 2016. There has been a sharp rise in the price of coking coal in 2016, and the contract price was below $US81 per tonne in the March quarter. Meanwhile, Marian Hookham of IHS Markit says producers of pulverised coal injection (PCI) coal hope to secure a contract price of about $US190 per tonne for the first quarter of 2017.

CORPORATES
IHS MARKIT, GLENCORE PLC, NIPPON STEEL AND SUMITOMO METAL CORPORATION, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, MITSUBISHI CORPORATION, ANGLO AMERICAN PLC, TECK CORPORATION

Savvy mine buyers benefit from coal price lift

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 9-Sep-16

The price of coking coal has risen 47 per cent in the last month, and 105 per cent so far in 2016. Macquarie Group notes that only 510,000 tonnes of coking coal has been traded via the globalCOAL platform in the last month, and it says the low volumes have been a major driver of the spot price in recent weeks. The spot price is currently significantly higher than the contract price, which has benefited major spot price traders such as BHP Billiton.

CORPORATES
MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, GLOBAL COAL LIMITED, STANMORE COAL LIMITED – ASX SMR, VALE SA, TAURUS FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, ANGLO AMERICAN PLC, AUSTRALIAN PACIFIC COAL LIMITED – ASX AQC, COLONIAL FIRST STATE GLOBAL ASSET MANAGEMENT

Rio Tinto spin-off not likely

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Original article by James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 22 : 23-Jun-16

Paul Gait of Alliance Bernstein estimates that Rio Tinto’s newly-created energy and minerals division could be worth $US5.8bn to $US9.2 billion if it was spun off. He says Rio’s restructuring could indicate that it is considering a demerger. The energy and minerals division will comprise assets such as coal, uranium and titanium projects, plus Rio’s iron ore mines in Canada. Peter O’Connor of Shaw & Partners has downplayed the prospects of a demerger, and suggests that Rio is more likely to sell its Queensland metallurgical coal mines in the near-term.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN HOLDING LP, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, ANGLO AMERICAN PLC, MACQUARIE SECURITIES PTY LTD, JP MORGAN AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, BARCLAYS BANK PLC

Pragmatic BHP not chasing coal bargains despite fire sale

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Original article by James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 26-Apr-16

BHP Billiton executive Mike Henry says acquiring coal assets is not high on the resources giant’s list of priorities. He adds that BHP would consider any coal assets that were put on the market at very low prices, but notes that any bargains are unlikely to include quality assets. A number of mining companies are seeking to divest coal mines, and Henry expects this trend to continue. BHP CEO Andrew Mackenzie has previously indicated that the group is particularly interested in buying copper and conventional oil assets.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, VALE SA, GLENCORE PLC, PEABODY ENERGY CORPORATION, ANGLO AMERICAN PLC, APOLLO GLOBAL MANAGEMENT LLC, MITSUBISHI CORPORATION

Australian operations ‘not included’ in Peabody bankruptcy

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Original article by James Thomson, Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 14-Apr-16

The Minerals Council of Australia’s Greg Evans says the local operations of US-based Peabody Energy are unlikely to be affected by its move to seek bankruptcy protection. The debt-laden coal miner has stressed that its Australian business is not subject to the Chapter 11 filing. Peabody boasts debt of about $US6.bn (A$8.2bn), and it has been hard hit by the downturn in coal prices.

CORPORATES
PEABODY ENERGY CORPORATION, PEABODY ENERGY AUSTRALIA COAL PTY LTD, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, EXCEL COAL LIMITED, MACARTHUR COAL LIMITED, ARCH COAL INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE

BHP and Rio Tinto quietly exit coal

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Original article by Angus Grigg
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 5 : 3-Dec-15

Australian-listed BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto have both significantly reduced their thermal coal production since 2008. Rio Tinto has also offloaded some $US2bn worth of thermal coal mines in recent years, while the future of its Hunter Valley mines is uncertain, and BHP spun off some of its thermal coal mines into South32. While coal divestment lobby groups such as 350 Australia have welcomed the big miners’ move to reduce their exposure to coal, Rio Tinto’s Sebastien Jacques recently forecast that global demand for thermal coal will remain strong.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, 350 AUSTRALIA, PENGANA GLOBAL RESOURCES FUND, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, INSTITUTE FOR ENERGY ECONOMICS AND FINANCIAL ANALYSIS, UNITED NATIONS, SOUTHGOBI RESOURCES LIMITED, BLOOMBERG LP

Anglo American rallies to the defence of coal

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 11-Jun-15

Anglo American spokesman James Wyatt-Tilby notes that coal is used to generate about 41 per cent of global electricity supply at present. He expects coal to remain a primary source of energy supply for many years, and argues that a global push for investment funds to eliminate their exposure to coal producers will have no impact on demand. However, he says it will result in less funding for initiatives aimed at reducing carbon emissions.

CORPORATES
ANGLO AMERICAN PLC, AXA SA, OXFORD UNIVERSITY, UNISUPER LIMITED, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, HUNTER HALL INTERNATIONAL LIMITED – ASX HHL, GROUP OF SEVEN (G-7), GLENCORE PLC, PEABODY ENERGY CORPORATION

Rio chief says coal price slump to last

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 11-May-15

The price of thermal coal has fallen to around $US63 per tonne, compared with $US150 in 2011. Rio Tinto executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques is bearish about the outlook for thermal coal, forecasting that the price may not recover for 3-4 years. The head of the group’s coal division says his main aim at present is to ensure that all of Rio’s coal mines continue to be cash-flow positive. He has downplayed suggestions that Rio could exit the coal business, but says any asset would be for sale at the right price.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP

AngloAmerican says China crackdown adds to pressure

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 & 26 : 18-Sep-14

Anglo American is not concerned about China’s new quality requirements for thermal coal. CEO Mark Cutifani said that the ban will increase competitive pressure, but will have a small impact compared with the other challenges faced by the coal industry. He said that most coal exported from Australia is higher quality. Cutifani said that there is interest from buyers in the company’s coal assets

CORPORATES
ANGLO AMERICAN PLC, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, CHINA. NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND REFORM COMMISSION, QUEENSLAND RESOURCES COUNCIL LIMITED

Analysts turn bullish on outlook for coking coal

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Original article by Barry FitzGerald
The Australian – Page: 20 : 12-Sep-14

The price of coking coal has shed 24 per cent so far in 2014, with the spot price falling to $US113.50 per tonne. Citigroup is upbeat about the outlook for coking coal, forecasting that it will rebound to around $US143/tonne in 2015 and $US152/tonne in the following year. The firm cites factors such as rising demand for steel in China and cutbacks in coking coal output in 2014

CORPORATES
CITIGROUP PTY LTD,{SPAC}TIGERS REALM COAL LIMITED – ASX TIG