COPPER – PRICES

Base metals set to rebound in 2020: Ausbil

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 18 : 11-Nov-19

The price of copper remains below $US6000 per tonne on the London Metals Exchange, having reached a low of $US5,610/tonne in early September. However, Ausbil portfolio managers are upbeat about the outlook for copper and other base metals in 2020; they say indications that the US-China trade war is stabilising should be enough to prompt manufacturers to begin restocking their raw materials inventory.

CORPORATES
AUSBIL INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, LONDON METAL EXCHANGE LIMITED

BHP’s copper king looks past volatility

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 23-Aug-18

BHP’s Escondida copper mine in Chile had record throughput in 2017-18, while the mine’s underlying EBIT rose by 136 per cent to $US3.3bn. Danny Malchuk, the head of BHP’s Minerals Americas division, has downplayed concerns about a sharp fall in the copper price in the last two months, arguing that BHP’s focus is on the long-term outlook. He says that while global trade tensions have contributed to the pullback in the copper price, the lack of strike action at the world’s major copper mines has also had an impact on prices.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, MINERA ESCONDIDA LIMITADA, SAMARCO MINERACAO SA

BHP expects to cut Australian mine costs by further 10pc, talks up copper prices

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 29-Nov-17

BHP Billiton has told participants at its investors’ briefing on 28 November that it aims to achieve $US2 billion in productivity gains over the next 24 months, with its Australian mines expected to account for 80 per cent of that target. Its iron ore division, which achieved unit costs of $US14.60 per tonne in the year to 30 June 2017, is expected to reduce that figure to under $US13 in the medium term. Meanwhile, BHP told investors that copper prices in 2017 had been better than forecast, and that it expects prices to again be strong in 2018.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FREEPORT-McMORAN COPPER AND GOLD INCORPORATED, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Copper prices tipped to reach boomtime high

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 20 : 27-Jul-17

The copper price has risen to its highest level in two years, at around $US2.84 a pound, due to factors such as supply constraints and China’s economic growth. Freeport-McMoRan CEO Richard Adkerson says rising demand for copper is likely to push the price of the metal above $US4/pound for the first time since 2011. He notes that a mooted large increase in global copper supply in 2016 did not eventuate, and he add that developing new copper mines is not viable at prices of $US2.50/pound or less.

CORPORATES
FREEPORT-McMORAN COPPER AND GOLD INCORPORATED, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, OZ MINERALS LIMITED – ASX OZL

Analysts trim commodity forecasts, examine mining

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Myriam Robin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 10-Jul-17

The iron ore price was trading above $US62 per tonne on 7 July 2017, but the latest forecasts from Australia’s Department of Industry, Innovation & Science suggest that it could test $US48 by 2018. The Department says the price of copper could fall by 4.1 per cent in 2018, while it expects metallurgical coal to fall by 28 per cent to $US137 a tonne in 2018. Capital Economics also forecasts that the iron ore price will fall, and UBS has downgraded its forecast for the copper price in 2017-18.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, T ROWE PRICE GROUP INCORPORATED

BHP wants tailings at mine to rise 13 storeys

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 16 : 12-Jan-15

Along with those of other commodities, the price of copper has declined 15% between mid-2014 and January 2015. An earnings drop of $US1.5bn ($A1.8bn) will be suffered by BHP Billiton due to the $US0.50-a-pound drop. The company is asking the Federal Government for permission to increase the size of its tailings storage at the Olympic Dam copper and uranium mine in South Australia by a quarter. The move is part of a minor change at the facility, not a prelude to the large expansion that has been shelved by BHP

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP