IRON MINES AND MINING – WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Pollution controls lift FMG’s China discount

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Original article by Angus Grigg, James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 19 : 31-Oct-17

SteelHome analyst Du Hongfeng says Chinese demand for iron ore is likely to fall by 56 million tonnes between September 2017 and March 2018, as steel mills reduce output during the winter months. He adds that this will require Fortescue Metals Group to maintain its current iron ore price discount until at least March, in order to retain its market share. Fortescue’s iron ore with 58.5 per cent iron content is currently being offered at a 23 per cent discount to the benchmark price for delivery in November, while its iron ore with 56.3 per cent iron content is trading at a 40 per cent discount.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, SHANGHAI STEELHOME INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COMPANY LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Fortescue adamant that wide iron ore discount will revert

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 27-Oct-17

Fortescue Metals Group’s cash reserves rose from $US1.8bn to $US2.3bn in the September quarter. Iron ore shipments totalled 44 million tonnes, with "C1" costs falling marginally to $US12.15 per tonne. Fortescue has reduced its price realisation guidance for the second time in 2017-18, and now expects to receive between 70 and 75 per cent of the benchmark index price for its lower-grade ore. CEO Nev Power suggested earlier in 2017 that the price discount would not be sustained, but he now says it is difficult to predict when it will narrow.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

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

Twiggy’s court ruling has Roy Hill concerned over leases

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Original article by Tess Ingram, Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 6-Oct-17

Andrew Forrest obtained a ruling from the High Court in August to prevent two firms from lodging mining applications over his Minderoo cattle station in Western Australia. The ruling caused concern that other mining applications previously made in WA may not be valid, including those made by Fortescue Metals Group. Records from the relevant department in WA show that Roy Hill Holdings has lodged new applications covering its namesake iron ore project, with a company spokesperson noting that the new applications were a "precautionary step".

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF MINES, INDUSTRY REGULATION AND SAFETY, ONSLOW RESOURCES LIMITED, YARRI MINING PTY LTD, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD

Roy Hill close to achieving lender’s target

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 5-Oct-17

Roy Hill Holdings CEO Barry Fitzgerald says the company’s iron ore project reached its full capacity of 55 million tonnes a year in September. He adds that the mine is on track to meet its 90-day lender’s completion requirements by late 2017. He has downplayed concerns about the Roy Hill mine’s ore grades and purity levels, noting that some initial problems have been overcome. Fitzgerald has also indicated that Roy Hill could introduce driverless trains and autonomous drilling technology to achieve further efficiency gains.

CORPORATES
ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, WESTERN AUSTRALIAN MINING CLUB

BC Iron inks deal with Palmer firm for Pilbara

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 2-Oct-17

BC Iron reported on 29 September that it had entered into an agreement to acquire mining tenements in Western Australia’s Pilbara region from Clive Palmer’s Mineralogy company. BC Iron, in which billionaire Kerry Stokes has a 22.7 per cent stake, will pay Mineralogy $A9 million for the tenements, along with two ongoing royalties. The tenements are located near BC Iron’s Buckland iron ore project.

CORPORATES
BC IRON LIMITED – ASX BCI, MINERALOGY PTY LTD, CITIC PACIFIC MINING MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Fortescue mulls move into gold, copper, energy

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Original article by Manolo Serapio
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 28-Sep-17

Fortescue Metals Group CEO Nev Power has revealed that the pure-play iron ore miner is exploring for other minerals in Australia and South America, including gold, copper and lithium. He says Fortescue may further diversify its operations by investing in energy infrastructure projects. Meanwhile, Power expects Chinese demand for iron ore to remain strong, despite pending production cutbacks by some Chinese steel mills. He says demand may rise in regions of China that will not be affected by the production cuts during the winter months.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

Discounts on FMG’s iron ore forced higher

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Original article by Angus Grigg, Tess Ingram, James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 18-Sep-17

The discount that Fortescue Metals Group receives on sales of its iron ore with 56.7 per cent iron content has widened so far in 2017-18. This discount to the benchmark price for 62 per cent iron ore averaged 23 per cent in 2016-17, compared with an historical average of 10-15 per cent. However, the discount widened to 27 per cent in the June 2017 quarter. It increased to 32 per cent in August and rose to 35 per cent in early September. Fortescue’s outgoing CEO Nev Power expects the current discount to be maintained in the near-term.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BHP BILLITON ALUMINIUM (HOLDINGS) PTY LTD, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, VALE SA, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, SHANGHAI STEELHOME INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COMPANY LIMITED

Fortescue closer to decision on Iron Bridge magnetite project

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 14-Sep-17

Fortescue Metals Group CEO Nev Power says the pure-play iron ore miner and its joint venture partners in the Iron Bridge magnetite project are likely to decide whether to proceed with it before the end of 2017-18. Power has indicated that Fortescue, Baosteel and Taiwan-based Formosa are still considering their options for developing the project. The second stage of the Iron Bridge project was initially slated to commence in 2015, and produce magnetite concentrate with an iron content of 68 per cent.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, SHANGHAI BAOSTEEL GROUP CORPORATION, FORMOSA GROUP, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Twiggy’s court win backfires on Fortescue

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 6-Sep-17

Andrew Forrest was recently successful in obtaining a ruling from the High Court to prevent two firms from lodging mining applications over his Minderoo cattle station in Western Australia. The ruling caused concern that other mining applications previously made in WA may not be valid, including those made by Fortescue Metals Group, which was founded by Forrest. Records show that Fortescue has made applications for 16 mining leases since the High Court ruled in Forrest’s favour, with some applications appearing to be for existing Fortescue leases.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, YARRI MINING PTY LTD, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF MINES, INDUSTRY REGULATION AND SAFETY, ONSLOW RESOURCES LIMITED