IRON MINES AND MINING – WESTERN AUSTRALIA

MinRes close to mothballing iron ore mines

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 20 : 21-Nov-14

The price of iron ore is currently trading at around $US70.20 per tonne, its lowest level in more than five years. Mineral Resources MD Chris Ellison says the group will suspend production at its iron ore mines in Western Australia if the price falls below its cash costs. He adds that it is very close to this point. Ellison forecasts that the iron ore price will trade within a range of $US75-$US85 per tonne over the next several years

CORPORATES
MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, BC IRON LIMITED – ASX BCI, IRON ORE HOLDINGS LIMITED

Roy Hill the target as Rinehart kids chase Gina’s assets

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Original article by Leo Shanahan, Andrew Burrell
The Australian – Page: 8 : 20-Nov-14

The private Hancock Prospecting vehicle of mining heiress Gina Rinehart owns 70% of the major Roy Hill iron ore project in Western Australia. It has become the subject of the latest court action against Rinehart by her two oldest children, after a previous case relating to her role as trustee of the $A4bn billion Hope Margaret Hancock Trust. Following the lifting of a suppression order by Federal Court judge Peter Jacobson, it has emerged that John Hancock and Bianca Rinehart now dispute their mother’s ownership of the Hope Downs, Mulga Downs and Roy Hill tenements

CORPORATES
HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, ROY HILL IRON ORE PTY LTD, MULGA DOWNS IRON ORE PTY LTD, HOPE DOWNS IRON ORE PTY LTD, HOPE MARGARET HANCOCK TRUST, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, THE HANCOCK FAMILY MEMORIAL FOUNDATION LIMITED, HANCOCK RESOURCES LIMITED, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES, MARUBENI CORPORATION, CHINA STEEL CORPORATION, POSCO

Palmer cut $6m pre-poll cheque

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Original article by Hedley Thomas
The Australian – Page: 8 : 31-Oct-14

Chinese state enterprise Citic Pacific is suing private vehicles of iron ore joint venture partner Clive Palmer over alleged unauthorised access to an account and the withdrawal of a total $A12,167,065. Evidence tendered to the Supreme Court of Queensland shows some of the funds were channelled to the Media Circus Network public relations firm during the federal election campaign of the Palmer United Party. The latest document lodged by the defence indicates that a cheque for $A6m was written by Palmer personally

CORPORATES
CITIC PACIFIC LIMITED, PALMER UNITED PARTY, SINO IRON PTY LTD, MEDIA CIRCUS NETWORK PTY LTD, SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND, COSMO DEVELOPMENTS PTY LTD, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, MINERALOGY PTY LTD, KOREAN STEEL PTY LTD

MUA strike threatens Gorgon gas project

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Original article by Andrew Burrell
The Australian – Page: 22 : 14-Oct-14

Talks on a new enterprise bargaining agreement between Mermaid Marine and the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) have become deadlocked, triggering a strike. The MUA says members will take protected industrial action for five days from 15 October 2014. A 10-day strike had been cancelled by the MUA in July, when it appeared that progress could be made. Among the operations that could be affected are the Gorgon LNG project and iron ore shipments by BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group

CORPORATES
MERMAID MARINE AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX MRM, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, GORGON JOINT VENTURE, CHEVRON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CHEVRON CORPORATION, MOBIL AUSTRALIA RESOURCES COMPANY PTY LTD, EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, SHELL DEVELOPMENT (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX

Setback for Rinehart in dispute over royalties

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Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 21 : 17-Sep-14

A court decision will reduce iron ore royalties for Hancock Prospecting and Wright Prospecting by $A80 million. The companies wanted $A200 million from Rio Tinto, in a dispute stemming from royalty agreements made in the 1960s with Hamersley Iron, now a subsidiary of Rio Tinto. Part of Rio’s appeal was dismissed, but the court found that the joint venture Hanright was not entitled to royalties from the Channar agreement

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, WRIGHT PROSPECTING PTY LTD, HAMERSLEY IRON PTY LTD, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Rinehart hints Roy Hill may export early

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Original article by Peter Ker, Ben Butler
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 3-Sep-14

Hancock Prospecting has previously indicated that it expects to commence exporting iron ore from its Roy Hill project in September 2015. However, mining magnate Gina Rinehart has advised that exports could begin ahead of schedule. Meanwhile, Hancock Prospecting has revealed that it has ceased all exploration activities in Mongolia and no longer has any commercial interests in the country

CORPORATES
HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, ROY HILL IRON ORE PTY LTD, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, SOUTHGOBI RESOURCES LIMITED, MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY, LINKEDIN LIMITED, ASPIRE MINING LIMITED – ASX AKM, GUILDFORD COAL LIMITED – ASX GUF, SAMSUNG C&T CORPORATION

$9.7bn boost for BHP

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 20 : 3-Sep-14

The stock of BHP Billiton closed $A0.20 higher at $A36.90 on 2 September 2014, as analysts start to recognise the gains to be made in its Western Australian iron ore operations. The disappointment at the lack of a stock repurchasing scheme has overshadowed the fact that BHP will have its value lifted by as much as $US9bn ($A9.7bn) thanks to the Pilbara mines. Their output forecast has been raised from 225 million tonnes to 290 million annually, while the cash cost will fall from as high as $US120 a tonne to under $US50

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED

BHP surge sets stage for buyback

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 & 24 : 24-Jul-14

BHP Billiton expects its iron ore output for 2014-15 to top 245 million tonnes, after production in the Pilbara region of Western Australia for 2013-14 rose to about 225 million tonnes. Most analysts had forecast that output for 2014-15 will be around 230 million tonnes. Glyn Lawcock of UBS says the upbeat production forecast could prompt BHP to reveal a share buyback program when its 2013-14 financial results are released in August 2014

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP|UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD|RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO|FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG|VALE SA|DEUTSCHE BANK AG|PENGANA CAPITAL LIMITED

Rio, FMG ramp up production rates

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 19 : 17-Jul-14

Both Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group on 16 July 2014 announced promising output data for the quarter ending 30 June, with Rio even ahead of forecasts. Iron ore production at its operations in the Pilbara region of Western Australia was up 11% year-on-year to reach 73.1 million tonnes. Fortescue meanwhile has achieved an annualised iron ore shipments figure of 155 million tonnes. However the price per tonne in the three months was a fifth below the benchmark price, at just $US82

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, DEUTSCHE BANK AG

Rinehart feud risks iron ore project: daughter

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Original article by Andrew Burrell
The Australian – Page: 6 : 24-Jun-14

Supreme Court of New South Wales judge Paul Brereton will on 24 June 2014 hear more on the suit brought by John Hancock and Bianca Rinehart against their mother, mining heiress Gina Rinehart. The issue is the latter’s control of a family trust that owns 23.4% of Hancock Prospecting and a stake worth $A10bn in the Hope Downs iron ore tenements. The daughter will argue that she is qualified to act as the new trustee after her mother has stepped down, and that to appoint someone from outside the family may trigger a clause under which partner Rio Tinto would acquire all of Hope Downs

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, HOPE DOWNS IRON ORE PTY LTD, HOPE MARGARET HANCOCK TRUST, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES