IRON MINES AND MINING – WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Rio counts cost as Pilbara iron ore operations are flooded

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 15 : 21-Jan-25

Rio Tinto states it is still assessing the impact of Cyclone Sean on its iron ore operations in the Pilbara, with a spokesman noting that its port and rail infrastructure had been hit by flooding. Observing that Rio’s first priority is the safety of its workers, the spokesman noted that the town of Karratha had experienced 274mm of rain in a 24-hour period. The flooding comes less than a week after Rio disclosed that heavy rain had impacted its iron ore operations in the December quarter and forced it to make use of stockpiles, while it has remained silent about any discussions it may have held with Glencore about a merger between the two big mining companies

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, GLENCORE PLC

MinRes admits it failed to disclose related-party transactions

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Original article by Mark Wembridge
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 13-Nov-24

Iron ore and lithium producer Mineral Resources has conceded that transactions involving a British Virgin Islands-registered company should have been disclosed to investors at least two years ago. MinRes has acknowledged that the deals with Far East Equipment Holdings were related-party transactions and therefore should have been disclosed before June 2022. The deal for Far East to sell mining equipment to MinRes at inflated prices was part of a tax evasion scheme that has embroiled MD Chris Ellison. The contracts with Far East were made prior to MinRes listing on the sharemarket in 2006.

CORPORATES
MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, FAR EAST EQUIPMENT HOLDINGS

Ellison’s delayed exit will harm undervalued MinRes share price

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Original article by Mark Wembridge, Tom Rabe, Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 17 : 6-Nov-24

Sources close to Mineral Resources have suggested that MD Chris Ellison may continue to be either directly or indirectly involved with the company after he steps down within the next 18 months. Bradley Watson from Bell Potter notes that Ellison is the largest shareholder in MinRes, and there could be speculation about the future of his stake in the company when he leaves. Other market observers believe that the relatively long leadership transition could weigh on the company’s share price.

CORPORATES
MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED

Fortescue execs face bonus backlash

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 16 : 6-Nov-24

Fortescue shareholders will be given a vote on a proposal to grant performance rights to mining division CEO Dino Otranto and clean energy arm CEO Mark Hutchinson. However, Fortescue notes that granting performance rights does not require shareholder approval under the Corporations Act or ASX listing rules; the company has indicated that it will issue the performance rights even if investors vote against the resolution at its AGM on Wednesday. Three large US pension funds will oppose the resolution, with SBA Florida contending that there has been insufficient disclosure of performance targets.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE LIMITED – ASX FMG, SBA FLORIDA

Bat with bite puts end to ore plan

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 6 : 15-Oct-24

Rio Tinto has advised that it will not proceed with the Giles Mini iron ore mine, which was to be part of the broader Rhodes Ridge project in the Pilbara. Rio Tinto and its partners in Giles Mini have withdrawn their application to develop the deposit due to concerns about its impact on the habitat of the ghost bat, which is classified as a vulnerable species. However, the Rhodes Ridge project will still go ahead, despite also being home to a sub-population of the carnivorous ghost bat.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Green issues curb Hancock project target

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 : 9-Oct-24

Documents filed with the Western Australian government show that Gina Rinehart has significantly scaled back the size of her proposed Mulga Downs iron ore project. The Mulga Downs mine was initially slated to produce 20 million tonnes of iron ore each year, but this has been reduced to 12 million tonnes. The amount of vegetation to be cleared at site has also been reduced from 8,422 hectares to just 4,339 hectares. Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting has a 95 per cent stake in the subsidiary that is developing Mulga Downs.

CORPORATES
HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD

Fortescue eyes $50m carbon free kick

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 8-Oct-24

The federal government has indicated that companies will be able to start trading its Safety Mechanism Credits from early 2025. The new carbon credit scheme will reward companies with one SMC for every extra tonne of carbon they cease emitting beyond their designated target. Given that Fortescue has a goal of achieving ‘real zero’ emissions across its iron ore mines by the end of this decade, it could be in line to earn about 1.4 million SMCs in 2030. Analysts suggest that Fortescue could gain additional revenue of between $50m and $150m by selling these credits to other emitters. However, chairman Andrew Forrest has been a vocal critic of carbon offsets in the past.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE LIMITED – ASX FMG

Fortescue insists spying on families wasn’t inappropriate

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Original article by Angelica Snowden
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 21-Aug-24

Fortescue is being represented by Julian Cooke SC in its intellectual property dispute with ‘green iron’ start-up Element Zero. The company was founded by former Fortescue employees Bart Kolodziejczyk, Bjorn Winther-Jensen and Michael Masterman, allegedly using the iron ore miner’s intellectual property. Cooke has defenced Fortescue’s use of a private investigator to place the three executives and their families under surveillance, telling the Federal Court that there was a real risk that information pertaining to the pending court case could have been destroyed. The surveillance operation was followed by raids on the homes and business premises of the Element Zero directors

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE LIMITED – ASX FMG, ELEMENT ZERO PTY LTD, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Fortescue ‘portrayed former execs as dishonest’, court told

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Original article by Angelica Snowden
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 20-Aug-24

Element Zero is seeking to have search orders awarded to Fortescue in May by Federal Court judge Melissa Perry thrown out; Parry granted the orders on the back of allegations that former Fortescue executives who are now directors of Element Zero had stolen Fortescue’s intellectual property. In trying to convince Federal Court judge Brigitte Markovic that the orders granted by Parry should be thrown out, the Element Zero directors told the court on Monday that Fortescue had sought to portray them as ‘shady actors’ who were seeking to steal its ‘green iron secrets’ so as to justify its request for the orders, which saw it raid their homes and offices.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE LIMITED – ASX FMG, ELEMENT ZERO PTY LTD, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

MinRes job cuts add to thousands lost in WA’s mining sector route

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 7-Aug-24

A spokesman for Mineral Resources has confirmed that the iron ore and lithium producer will reduce its head count, although the bulk of the job cuts will be at its Perth head office. Mineral Resources has not disclosed the extent of the job losses, although it is believed to be about 100. The move follows the company’s recent decision to mothball its high-cost iron ore mines in Western Australia’s Yilgarn region and a delay in the expansion of the Wodgina lithium mine. WA’s mining sector has already been hit by massive job losses in the nickel industry in 2024.

CORPORATES
MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN