EXPORTS – WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Cyclone Joyce drenches Pilbara as Port Hedland resumes exports

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 15-Jan-18

Tropical Cyclone Joyce forced the closure of Port Hedland for about 43 hours, although it is not expected to have much impact on iron ore export volumes. The cyclone resulted in heavy rains near iron ore mines operated by BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group in the Pilbara region, with 132 millimetres of rain recorded at Barimunya over four days and 102 millimetres recorded at Solomon Airport. Meanwhile, some 105 millimetres of rain fell at Marble Bar in a 24-hour period.

CORPORATES
PORT OF PORT HEDLAND, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, AUSTRALIA. BUREAU OF METEOROLOGY, DEUTSCHE BANK AG

Iron ore futures rise as cyclone forces closure of Port Hedland

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 12-Jan-18

Iron ore exports from the Pilbara may potentially be disrupted by Tropical Cyclone Joyce. The Bureau of Meteorology has warned that the cyclone could hit the region on 13 January. The towns of Tom Price and Newman are likely to be within its trajectory, although it may miss the Port of Hedland. However, the Pilbara Ports Authority has ordered all vessels to leave the port, which is used by iron ore miners such as Fortescue Metals Group. The price of iron ore for delivery to the Chinese port of Dalian rose on 11 January in response to concerns about the cyclone.

CORPORATES
PORT OF PORT HEDLAND, PILBARA PORTS AUTHORITY, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, BCI MINERALS LIMITED – ASX BCI, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Rio could surprise on ore exports

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 23 : 11-Jan-18

UBS estimates that Rio Tinto’s Pilbara iron ore shipments rose to a record 90.2 million tonnes in the December 2017 quarter, putting it on track to meet its full-year guidance of 330 million tonnes. According to UBS’s forecast, Rio Tinto’s shipments rose by 17 per cent month-on-month in December, to 32.5 million tonnes. Rio Tinto ultimately aims to lift annual shipments to 360 million tonnes, although its Pilbara rail network currently has a capacity of about 330 million tonnes. UBS estimates that the Pilbara shipments of BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals Group for the quarter totalled 71.3 million tonnes and 40.5 million tonnes respectively.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Rinehart’s Roy Hill to lift output

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 14 : 9-Jan-18

Roy Hill Holdings is seeking to lift its iron ore export capacity at Port Hedland to 60 million tonnes a year. The company reached its annual production target of 55 million tonnes in September 2017, less than two years after shipments from its namesake mine began. Roy Hill says the increased production can be achieved without investing in additional infrastructure. Meanwhile, a Federal Government report has forecast strong growth in Australia’s iron ore exports in 2018 and a fall in the price of the steel input.

CORPORATES
ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

Maiden LNG shipment departs Wheatstone for delivery to Japan

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 1-Nov-17

Chevron has dispatched the inaugural shipment from the Wheatstone LNG project. Production at the $US34bn project commenced on 9 October, after originally being slated for late 2016. Wheatstone’s annual export volumes are expected to be 8.9 million tonnes when production reaches full capacity, while 200 terajoules of its daily output will be reserved for the Western Australia market. The project’s second production train is scheduled to begin operating within 6-8 months.

CORPORATES
CHEVRON CORPORATION, JERA COMPANY INCORPORATED, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, CHEVRON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Rio sticks with record iron ore target

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 18-Oct-17

Rio Tinto scaled back its forecast for Pilbara iron ore shipments in 2017 to 330 million tonnes earlier in the year. The resources group is confident of meeting this guidance, after shipments rose by 11 per cent to 85.8 million tonnes in the September quarter. However, Rio Tinto’s export volumes will have to rise to a record 89.8 tonnes in the December quarter to achieve its revised guidance. Meanwhile, Rio Tinto has reduced its forecast for copper production in 2017 for a second time. It now expects global output to be within the range of 460,000 to 480,000 tonnes.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, YANCOAL AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX YAL, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED, DEUTSCHE BANK AG

Gas finally starts to flow at Chevron’s $44bn Wheatstone project in WA

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 20 : 10-Oct-17

Shipments from the Wheatstone LNG project will begin in coming weeks after production commenced. The project was marred by delays and cost over-runs, with its cost blowing out from $US29bn to $US34bn. The project’s two production trains will produce 8.9 million tonnes of LNG a year at full capacity. Wheatstone, in which Chevron has a 64.1 per cent stake, is one of $A200bn worth of LNG projects that have been developed in Australia in recent years.

CORPORATES
CHEVRON CORPORATION, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, KUWAIT FOREIGN PETROLEUM EXPLORATION COMPANY, APACHE CORPORATION, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC

Atlas maps out port route to beef up exports

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 30-Aug-17

Atlas Iron has posted a 2016-17 net profit of $A48m, and its iron ore shipments totalled 14.4 million tonnes. Atlas forecasts that its shipments for 2017-18 will be within the range of nine to 10 million tonnes, and MD Cliff Lawrenson says the company will seek to utilise more of its capacity at the Utah Point bulk handling facility. This would allow Atlas to reduce its production costs, which averaged $A53 per tonne in 2016-17 and are forecast to be between $A54 and $A58 in 2017-18.

CORPORATES
ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, PILBARA MINERALS LIMITED – ASX PLS

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

Miner may cut iron ore guidance: UBS

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 : 11-Jul-17

UBS estimates that Rio Tinto’s Western Australian iron ore exports fell by nearly eight per cent month-on-month in June 2017, to 24.8 million tonnes. The firm also estimates that Rio Tinto’s iron ore export volumes for the first half of 2017 totalled 154 million tonnes, which puts it well below the full-year target of 330 to 340 million tonnes. As a result, UBS suggests that Rio Tinto may scale back its full-year guidance when its production results for the second quarter are released in mid-July.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, BLOOMBERG LP, VALE SA