IRON MINES AND MINING – AUSTRALIA

Hancock hopes rising as Atlas bleeds cash

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 19 : 13-Jul-18

Atlas Iron held cash on hand of $57 million at the end of June, down from $78 million at the end of March. It shipped 2.1 million tonnes of iron ore during the June quarter, but lost an average of $3 per tonne on every tonne shipped. The amount owed by Atlas to lenders increased from $83 million to $85 million over the quarter. The rise in debt and the fall in Atlas’s cash position has boosted the likelihood that shareholders will accept Hancock Prospecting’s $390 million takeover bid.

CORPORATES
ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN

Fortescue on Belt and Road to riches

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 17 & 18 : 9-Jul-18

Fortescue Metals Group’s CEO Elizabeth Gaines has urged Australian firms to make the most of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Countries that come under the BRI have a combined population of more than four billion. Gaines notes that steel is expected to underpin the infrastructure needed for the BRI, from which Fortescue could be expected to benefit as a major supplier of iron ore to China. Fortescue has been selling iron ore to China for 10 years, and Gaines notes that it supplies 17 per cent of China’s seaborne iron ore.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

Crucial port project given no value

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Original article by Darren Gray
The Age – Page: 23 : 29-Jun-18

Access to two shipping berths to be built at Port Hedland under the long-mooted North West Infrastructure project is considered to be at the heart of the takeover battle for Atlas Iron. Fortescue Metals Group and Hancock Prospecting are vying for control of Atlas, which has been a member of NWI for some years, although the berth project is yet to come to fruition. Atlas noted in an ASX release on 28 June that the Western Australian government’s public policy is that the berths flagged under the NWI project should be set aside for junior miners. Neither Fortescue or Hancock could be considered as falling into this category.

CORPORATES
ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET

Australia’s iron ore age nears peak

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 28-May-18

Australia now accounts for about 62 per cent of all iron ore shipments to China, compared with 43 per cent in 2010. He Ming of Wood Mackenzie forecasts that Australia’s iron ore exports to China will peak at 895 million tonnes in 2020 and 2021, before holding steady at around 884 million tonnes beyond 2023. Tony Robson of Global Mining Research expects Chinese steel mills’ demand for Australian iron ore to fall in coming years, as annual steel production peaks. Factors such as increased iron ore production in Brazil are also expected to weigh on Australian producers.

CORPORATES
WOOD MACKENZIE, GLOBAL MINING RESEARCH PTY LTD, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, VALE SA, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Fortescue unfazed by trade tensions

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 21-May-18

Fortescue Metals Group CEO Elizabeth Gaines says trade tensions between the US and China did not attract much attention at a recent Bank of America/Merrill Lynch conference in the US. President Donald Trump is threatening to impose tariffs on steel and other products, but Gaines says China exports very little steel to the US. She adds that sentiment concerning mining and commodities is very positive at present.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION, MERRILL LYNCH AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, HELLOWORLD TRAVEL LIMITED – ASX HLO

Fortescue faces iron ore discount dilemma

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Original article by James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 28-Mar-18

China’s growing demand for higher-grade iron ore has boosted the profits of BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, while the widening discount for lower-grade ore slashed the interim earnings of Fortescue Metals Group. The pure-play miner has advised that its iron ore is now expected to fetch 65 per cent of the benchmark price, compared with its recent forecast of 70-75 per cent. The discount has widened from just five per cent in the March 2016 quarter to 35 per cent, but Fortescue still maintains that it is cyclical and will narrow over time. However, rival producers argue that the discount is structural.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, VALE SA, CLEVELAND-CLIFFS INCORPORATED

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

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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

Fortescue urged to reduce exports, raise iron grades

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 4-Nov-17

Andrew Hines has urged Fortescue Metals to lift its iron ore grades, even if that means reducing the level of its exports. Hines, an analyst with Evans & Partners, says doing this would help the level of pricing discounts applied to its product. He notes its recent strategy of lowering the grade of its product has reduced its production costs, but at the expense of the price it gets for its shipments. Hines says a "perfect storm of factors", including higher energy and transport costs, could see Fortescue posting a loss in fiscal 2019, compared to the $US2.1 billion ($A2.7 billion) net profit it announced in August.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

Iron ore discount now ingrained, says Ellison

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 2-Nov-17

Mineral Resources MD Chris Ellison expects lower-grade iron ore to continue to trade at a discount to the benchmark price for some time. He adds that the discount may widen further in the first few months of 2018. Fortescue Metals Group recently forecast that the discount will eventually narrow to its historic average of around 10 per cent. Meanwhile, Ellison says current iron ore pricing will have no impact on Mineral Resources’ proposed Bungalbin East and Jackson 5 mines.

CORPORATES
MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, CLEVELAND-CLIFFS INCORPORATED

Atlas looks to build buffer before returning to debt markets

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 19 : 24-Jul-17

Atlas Iron MD Cliff Lawrenson says the iron ore miner will not repay its outstanding Term Loan B debt of $A103m until it has a working capital buffer of around $A50m. He adds that a revolving credit facility is among the options being considered to provide the company with more balance sheet flexibility. Lawrenson believes that capital markets will rate Atlas Iron more highly once its Term Loan B debt has been paid off.

CORPORATES
ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO