IRON MINES AND MINING – WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Unions putting squeeze on BHP

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 13 & 14 : 11-Jun-26

The leaders of the Electrical Trades Union and the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union expect their members to vote in favour of industrial action at BHP’s port operations in Western Australia. The outcome of the ballot will be known later today, and halting iron ore shipments from Port Hedland for up to 24 hours would cost BHP about $126m. The Australian Workers’ Union and the Mining & Energy Union are also threatening to join the strike action, while BHP is facing separate industrial action by high-voltage electrical workers at its Pilbara operations.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION, AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING WORKERS’ UNION, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION, MINING AND ENERGY UNION

Fortescue ore under scrutiny by China

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 17 : 3-Jun-26

Fortescue will replace its 60 per cent iron West Pilbara Fines product with a new low-grade product known as Fortune Fines, which has just 55 per cent iron content. Fortescue revealed plans to sell the Fortune Fines product in October, and shipments could begin as soon as July. Fortescue has acknowledged reports that the state-backed iron ore buyer China Mineral Resources Group has told some of its steel mill customers to ask questions about the Fortune Fines product, which is aimed at prolonging the life of Fortescue’s iron ore mines in the Pilbara.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE LIMITED – ASX FMG, CHINA MINERAL RESOURCES GROUP COMPANY LIMITED

Fortescue to pay $150m native title bill

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Original article by Mark Wembridge
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 & 16 : 13-May-26

Federal Court judge Stephen Burley ruled on Tuesday that Fortescue must pay $150 million to the Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation in what is the the largest native title compensation order in Australian history. The ruling relates to Fortescue’s Solomon iron ore mining hub in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, with the Corporation claiming that Fortescue has worked the Solomon hub since 2013 without permission or agreement with it. The Corporation had been seeking $1.8 billion, while Fortescue said in a statement that "it accepts that the Yindjibarndi people are entitled to compensation".

CORPORATES
FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, FORTESCUE LIMITED – ASX FMG, YINDJIBARNDI ABORIGINAL CORPORATION

MinRes braces for diesel price pain

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 17 : 1-May-26

Mineral Resources has upgraded its full-year production guidance for its mining services, iron ore and lithium divsions, including its Onslow Iron, Wodgina and Mount Marion projects. The company has also maintained full-year cost guidance across its divisions, although it noted that the rising cost of diesel fuel due to the Iran war began to have an impact on its operations. It is estimated that Mineral Resources uses about 12,000 litres of diesel fuel each day, while it also requires aviation fuel for its fleet of airplanes for its ‘fly-in, fly-out’ workforce.

CORPORATES
MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN

Status quo has shifted, union tells big miners

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 29-Apr-26

The Mining & Energy Union’s Western Australian state secretary Greg Busson contends that major iron ore miners in the Pilbara have had the upper hand in negotiations with unions for too long. He claims that the big miners cannot handle the push to re-unionise the Pilbara via the industrial relations reforms that were enacted during the current federal government’s first term in office. BHP is already dealing with industrial action by high-voltage workers who are members of the Electrical Trades Union, while the need to negotiate with unions over changes to its Pilbara rail fleet has stalled the rollout of battery-electric locomotives.

CORPORATES
MINING AND ENERGY UNION, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION

Rio bolsters copper production, eyes data centre building boom

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 22-Apr-26

Rio Tinto shipped 72.3 million tonnes of iron ore from the Pilbara in the March quarter; this was higher than the same period in 2025, despite the disruptions caused by cyclones. Rio Tinto still expects to achieve its full-year guidance of between 323 million and 338 million tonnes for 2026. Rio Tinto has estimated that the 70 per cent rise in diesel prices since the start of the Iran war will add about $US1 to the cost of producing each tonne of iron ore in the Pilbara; the iron ore price has risen by about 12 per cent since the war began. Meanwhile, Rio Tinto produced a higher-than-expected 229,000 tonnes of copper during the March quarter; demand for copper is rising in the US as technology companies ramp up their investment in AI infrastructure such as data centres.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

BHP’s iron ore head issues dire IR warning

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Original article by Tom Rabe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 21-Apr-26

BHP’s iron ore asset president Tim Day has warned that the re-unionisation of the Pilbara is probably inevitable and it is likely to happen regardless of what BHP does. Day also told an event hosted by the Chamber of Minerals & Energy of Western Australia that the re-unionisation of the Pilbara under the federal government’s industrial relations reforms will drive investment offshore. Members of the Electrical Trades Union at BHP’s sites in the Pilbara have already imposed partial work bans, while BHP recently lost a High Court bid to appeal against a ruling under the ‘same job same pay’ laws that forced it to increase the pay of 2,000 labour-hire workers in Queensland by up to $30,000 a year.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, THE CHAMBER OF MINERALS AND ENERGY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED

BHP nears end to China iron ore pricing and contracts dispute

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 13 & 20 : 15-Apr-26

BHP has declined to comment on media reports that China Mineral Resources Group Company has told a number of steel mills that they can buy some of the resources group’s Pilbara iron ore with US dollars. The possible breakthrough in the dispute, which began when CMRG imposed unofficial bans on BHP’s Jimblebar fines product in 2025, follows a visit to China by BHP’s CEO Mike Henry and his successor Brandon Craig. They are believed to have met with officials from both CMRG and steel giant Baowu. Craig will formally succeed Henry on 1 July, and has indicated that resolving the iron ore dispute is one of his top priorities.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, CHINA MINERAL RESOURCES GROUP COMPANY LIMITED, CHINA BAOWU STEEL GROUP CORPORATION LIMITED

Union boss slams miner over right-of-entry complaints

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 11-Mar-26

BHP’s CEO Mike Henry recently noted that its iron ore mines are dealing with an unprecedented level of right-of-entry requests, amid an ongoing push to re-unionise the Pilbara under the federal goverment’s industrial relations reforms. Unions have in turn criticised BHP’s decision to outsource the processing of Pilbara right-of-entry requests to the Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Western Australia, noting that rivals such as Rio Tinto still do this in-house. The CCIWA has advised that it processed 844 right-of-entry requests for BHP’s mines in 2025, while it has processed 168 so far in 2026.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA (INCORPORATED), RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Standoff with China buyer is hurting iron ore prices: BHP

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 21-Jan-26

BHP has advised that its iron ore division achieved an average realised price of $US84.71 per tonne in the December quarter. This is four per cent higher than the same period in 2024, although it represents a large discount to the benchmark price. BHP is continuing to hold talks with state-run iron ore trader China Mineral Resources Group on annual contract terms, and BHP has acknowledged that the long-running dispute has affected the price it receives for the iron ore it ships from the Pilbara. BHP has also advised that the first stage of its Jansen potash project in Canada is now expected to cost $US8.4bn ($12.5bn); this compares with a previous forecast of between $US7bn and $US7.4bn.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, CHINA MINERAL RESOURCES GROUP COMPANY LIMITED