IRON MINES AND MINING – BRAZIL

Vale’s latest legal blow boosts iron ore stocks

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 8-May-19

Brazilian miner Vale has advised that its sales of iron ore and pellets in 2019 will be at the lower end of its previous forecast of between 307 and 332 million tonnes. The revised guidance follows a court’s move to reverse its decision to allow Vale to resume production at mines that were affected by a tailings dam collapse in January. Shares in Australian iron ore miners rallied on 7 May, and Peter O’Connor of Shaw & Partners expects further volatility in the price of the steel input in the next several years.

CORPORATES
VALE SA, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED, MOUNT GIBSON IRON LIMITED – ASX MGX

Brazilian closures test iron restraint

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 27 : 7-Feb-19

UBS analysts are among those to have forecast an iron ore surplus in 2019. However, this is in doubt after a Brazilian court ordered Vale to put production at its Brucutu iron ore mine on hold in the wake of the tailings dam disaster at its Feijao mine. Vale has responded by declaring force majeure over its iron ore shipments. Vivek Dhar of the Commonwealth Bank says the iron ore price could potentially rise above $US100 per tonne following the production halt at Brucutu, whose annual output is 30 million tonnes.

CORPORATES
VALE SA, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Dam disaster fuels surge in iron ore price

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 31-Jan-19

Goldman Sachs has upgraded its 2019 forecast for iron ore after the price of the steel input rose 4.4 per cent to $US78.50 ($109) a tonne in response to another tailings dam disaster in Brazil. Goldman Sachs now has a price forecast of $US65 per tonne, compared with $US60 previously. The federal government’s mid-year budget update had forecast that the iron ore price would average $US55 per tonne in 2019. Vale has indicated that its annual iron ore production could be cut by up to 40 million tonnes due to the dam collapse. This would equate to about 10 per cent of its annual output.

CORPORATES
VALE SA, THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INCORPORATED, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, TUV SUD

BHP class action down to one

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Original article by Ben Butler
The Australian – Page: 15 : 19-Dec-18

The Federal Court has ruled that Phi Finney McDonald’s class action against BHP over the Samarco tailings dam disaster in Brazil can proceed. Rival law firms Maurice Blackburn and Johnson Winter & Slattery had also proposed class actions against the resources group, but Justice Mark Moshinsky expressed a preference for Phi Finney McDonald’s funding model. He also noted that the firm’s case was more advanced in terms of preparation.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, PHI FINNEY McDONALD PTY LTD, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, VALE SA, G&E KTMC FUNDING, HARBOUR FUND IV, ROBBINS GELLER RUDMAN AND DOWD LLP, LOS ANGELES COUNTY EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION

BHP faces new dam burst case

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Original article by Ben Butler, Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 4-Oct-18

Law firm Johnson Winter & Slattery has filed a class action against BHP Billiton on behalf of the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association. The US pension fund alleges that the value of its stake in BHP fell sharply after the miner’s shares were heavily sold down in the wake of the Samarco iron ore tailings dam collapse in November 2015. BHP is already subject to two Australian lawsuits over the disaster. Meanwhile, prosecutors in Brazil’s state of Minas Gerais are believed to be poised to announce the settlement of a civil claim against BHP and Vale.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, LOS ANGELES COUNTY EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION, JOHNSON WINTER AND SLATTERY, VALE SA, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD, PHI FINNEY McDONALD PTY LTD, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, SAMARCO MINERACAO SA

Lawyers sniff a settlement out of BHP

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 10-Aug-18

BHP Billiton has agreed to settle a class action launched by US shareholders over losses arising from the Samarco iron ore tailings dam collapse in Brazil. BHP has offered to pay $US50m ($67.2m) in compensation to settle the case, although it will not admit any liability for the disaster. Brett Spiegel of Australian law firm Phi Finney McDonald says its class action is based on similar underlying issues, adding that the US settlement has vindicated his firm’s contention that BHP had misled investors and failed to comply with disclosure requirements.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, SAMARCO MINERACAO SA, PHI FINNEY McDONALD PTY LTD, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD, HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS PTY LTD

More join BHP Samarco class action

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 23-Jul-18

More than 3,000 investors have agreed to participate in Phi Finney McDonald’s class action against BHP Billiton. They will seek damages for losses they incurred as a result of the Samarco iron ore tailings dam disaster in Brazil. The class action includes investors in BHP’s shares listed in Australia, the UK and South Africa. The class action will contend that BHP was aware of technical problems at Samarco and knew that there was a risk that the dam would collapse.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, PHI FINNEY McDONALD PTY LTD, VALE SA, SAMARCO MINERACAO SA, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, BOART LONGYEAR LIMITED – ASX BLY, TIMBERWEST FOREST LIMITED

Rio, Vale boost output and market share

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 18-Jul-18

Rio Tinto’s iron ore shipments from the Pilbara totalled 168.8 million tonnes in the first half of 2018, which is 9.4 per cent higher than previously. Rio Tinto has advised that its export volumes will be similar in the second half, and shipments for the calendar year are expected to be at the higher end of its guidance of between 330 million and 340 million tonnes. Brazilian rival Vale has reported production of 96.8 million tonnes and sales of 86.5 million tonnes of iron ore for the June quarter. It will increase production by 18 per cent in the second half, and it will target full-year output of around 390 million tonnes.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, VALE SA, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CLEVELAND-CLIFFS INCORPORATED, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

BHP in $7bn deal on Brazil disaster

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 22 : 27-Jun-18

BHP Billiton has agreed to an uncapped settlement with Brazilian prosecutors regarding a damages claim arising from the tailings dam collapse at the Samarco iron ore mine in 2015. The agreement has fully settled the initial damages claim of 20 billion Brazilian real against BHP and joint venture partner Vale, while a civil claim for 155 billion real has been suspended for two years. Tyler Broda of RBC Capital Markets says the settlement should eventually allow production at Samarco to resume.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, SAMARCO MINERACAO SA, VALE SA, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, BP PLC

Cashed-up miners are facing a global grab for royalties

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 31-Oct-17

A congressional committee recently approved the Brazilian Government’s proposal to increase the nation’s iron ore royalty rate from two per cent to four per cent. Vale has advocated increasing the royalty via a sliding scale, warning that a fixed rise could force it to reduce production at some mines. Chile in turn proposes a hike in its lithium royalty rate. Meanwhile, Lion Selection Group’s Hedley Widdup notes that mining companies would have reduced their exploration budgets if the Western Australian Government’s push to increase its gold royalty had succeeded.

CORPORATES
VALE SA, LION SELECTION GROUP LIMITED – ASX LSX, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF ECONOMIST