IRON MINES AND MINING – AUSTRALIA

MinRes aware of claims for two years

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Original article by Elouise Fowler, Mark Wembridge, Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 30-Oct-24

Mineral Resources has advised that it had hired external lawyers in June 2022 to investigate the tax evasion allegations against MD Chris Ellison. The company also disclosed that it received more detailed allegations regarding Ellison in June and November 2023; the board also discussed the issue in June 2024. However, MinRes has stated that it did not inform shareholders of the investigation because it did not think it would have a material effect on the company’s share price. MinRes has emphasised that the sales contracts in question were struck prior to its IPO in 2006, and were made by entities that became part of MinRes when the company listed on the sharemarket.

CORPORATES
MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN

Big mining dividends to drop on price slump

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Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 4-Apr-24

The 2023-24 interim dividends of iron ore majors Rio Tinto, BHP and Fortescue exceeded expectations. However, the price of the steel input has shed more than 20 per cent so far in 2024, and Morgan Stanley has warned that payouts from the big miners are likely to fall. The firm notes that BHP’s dividend payout is most at risk, citing factors such as the resources group’s debt position and the potential costs arising from legal action over the Samarco dam disaster in Brazil. Morgan Stanley says Rio Tinto is its top pick in the iron ore sector, while it has an ‘equal weight’ rating on BHP and an ‘underweight’ rating on Fortescue.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE LIMITED – ASX FMG, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Many mining stocks overvalued, warns UBS

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Original article by Tom Richardson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 14-Dec-22

Shares in BHP have gained 36 per cent in US dollar terms since the end of October. However, UBS analyst Lachlan Shaw says the firm believes that the stock has risen too quickly in a short period of time. UBS has a ‘sell’ rating on BHP and rival iron ore producers Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group. The firm also expects the iron ore price to trade at around $US100 a tonne over the first half of 2023, compared with about $US112/tonne at present; it is then forecast to fall to around $US95 a tonne in the December 2023 quarter. UBS is more upbeat about commodities such as gold, coal, zinc and lithium.

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

FMG to spend $9.2b on switch to renewables

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Original article by Matthew Cranston, Lucas Baird
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 21-Sep-22

Fortescue Metals Group has outlined an ambitious plan to decarbonise its operations by 2030. Executive chairman Andrew Forrest has advised that Fortescue will invest some $US6.2bn ($9.2bn) between 2024 and 2028 on converting its operations from fossil fuels to renewable energy. He has indicated that annual spending over this period will not exceed 10 per cent of the earnings generated by Fortescue’s flagship iron ore business in any given year. Fortescue expects the investment to generate net operating cost savings of $US818m annually from 2030. The company aims to be carbon-neutral by 2030.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

Low-carbon steel’s cost challenges stand in the way of greener Pilbara

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 25-Nov-21

BHP estimated in 2020 that 72 per cent of the world’s steel mills are blast furnaces, which use iron ore and coking coal. However, they also generate carbon dioxide in the steel-making process, even if the plant is powered by renewable energy. Electric arc furnaces are an alternative to traditional blast furnaces, and use either scrap metal or direct reduced iron as feedstock. Rio Tinto is working on a project to make direct reduced iron using ‘green’ hydrogen rather than methane, which is a greenhouse gas. Rio Tinto has cautioned that converting the world’s steel industry to this process would require massive amount of renewable energy.

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

Records roll on China iron ore sales

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Original article by Ronald Mizen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 23-Jul-21

New figures show that Australia’s iron ore shipments to China rose by $1.1bn to $14.8bn in June, despite the ongoing trade tensions between the two countries. Australia exported some $17.6bn worth of the steel input during June, with China accounting for about 85 per cent of this total. The Australian Bureau of Statistics notes that the iron ore price rose by five per cent during the month. Meanwhile, Australia’s overall exports grew by $2.8bn in June, to $41.2bn; the nation’s goods trade surplus was steady at a record $13.2bn.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Price boom powers big iron’s profits

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Original article by Sarah Turner, Jenny Wiggins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 18-Jan-21

The spot price of iron ore peaked at $US172.36 a tonne during the week ended 15 January. Milford Asset Management’s William Curtayne says earnings forecasts for Australia’s major iron ore producers will need to be significantly upgraded if the price of the steel input remains at around $US165/tonne. Jason Teh of Vertium Asset Management also anticipates strong growth in dividend payouts at BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group, as well as the potential for special dividends and share buybacks. The surging price of iron ore will also boost federal government revenue.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, MILFORD ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, VERTIUM ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Australia’s iron ore miners cashing in

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Original article by Shane Wright
The Age – Page: Online : 21-Dec-20

The federal Department of Industry has revised its export earnings forecasts in response to a surge in the iron ore price. It had forecast in September that the nation’s iron ore producers would boast sales of about $97bn in 2020-21, but this has now been upgraded to $123bn. The forecast for iron ore sales in 2021-22 has in turn been upgraded from $80bn to $95bn. However, thermal coal exports are expected to be lower in 2020-21 due to China’s restrictions on imports from Australia. Meanwhile, the nation’s overall resources and energy exports are now expected to total $278.7bn in 2020-21; this is $22.3bn higher than was forecast in September, but $11.9bn lower than in 2019-20.

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

Rift no barrier to China iron ore demand

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Original article by Michael Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 15-Jul-20

China has reported that its iron ore imports rose by 35.3 per cent year-on-year in June, following 3.9 per cent growth in May. The customs figures also show that the nation’s iron ore imports rose by 9.6 per cent to 547 million tonnes in the first six months of 2020. Xu Xiangchun of MySteel expects demand for iron ore to remain strong in coming months, but not at the same pace as June. China’s imports of Australian iron ore have not been impacted by growing tensions between the two nations.

CORPORATES
CHINA. GENERAL ADMINISTRATION OF CUSTOMS, MYSTEEL.COM LIMITED

‘Gushing cash’: iron ore miners a yield hunter favourite

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Original article by William McInnes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 24-Jun-20

The price of iron ore has risen by nearly 40 per cent since the start of 2020, and it peaked at more than $US100 a tonne in May amid supply disruptions in Brazil. Dion Hershan of Yarra Capital Management and Peter Gardner of Plato Investment Management are both bullish about BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group. They cite factors such as the major iron ore producers’ strong cash flows and high dividend yields. However, Romano Sala Tenna of Katana Asset Management says they do not offer compelling value, although he says the sector is still appealing compared with the rest of the market.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, YARRA CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, PLATO INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, KATANA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED