IRON ORE – AUSTRALIA

China steel stockpiles a worrying sign

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Original article by Simon Evans, Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 3-Mar-20

There are reports of growing stockpiles of steel in China, which accounts for around half of the world’s production. Stockpiles have increased because construction companies and other steel users in China have been in partial shutdown due to the coronavirus, and the growing stockpiles have sparked concern of a knock-on effect to Australian iron ore miners such as Fortescue Metals Group and BHP. However, Fortescue CEO Elizabeth Gaines says the coronavirus has not impacted on its shipping schedule at this stage, while she notes that Chinese steel mills are still operating.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL

Ports beef up virus protections

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 6-Feb-20

Australia’s iron ore and coal shipments may face delays due to the coronavirus outbreak. Ports have been advised to prevent Chinese vessels from docking unless they have been at sea for at least 14 days. However, the sailing time between China and Australia’s largest ports can be as little as 10 days. The impact of the virus on exporters has been limited to date, as the outbreak has coincided with the Lunar New Year holiday period. Meanwhile, the Health Department has ordered marine pilots to wear surgical masks and gloves when they board vessels that have come from China.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH

Share surge elevates Forrest to $13bn man

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Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian – Page: 15 & 16 : 21-Jan-20

Shares in pure-play iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group have gained more than 10 per cent so far in 2020, reaching a new intra-day high of $11.92 on 20 January. The rally has lifted Fortescue’s market capitalisation to more than $36bn, and it now ranks as Australia’s 13th largest company in terms of market cap. The stake of founder Andrew Forrest is now worth about $13bn, while his net wealth has increased by about $1bn since the start of the year and $7bn since March.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

Iron’s endless summer keeps on keeping on

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 43 : 21-Dec-19

Shares in Fortescue Metals Group are trading at an 11-year high, boosted by factors such as continued strong demand for iron ore in China and supply disruptions in Brazil. Meanwhile, Rio Tinto’s shares have regularly traded above $100 in 2019, and the stock has not fallen below $35 in the last decade. Demand for iron ore has defied expectations over the last 10 years. The price of the steel input peaked at almost $US190 per tonne in 2011; its fall to around $US80/tonne in subsequent years prompted some observers to forecast that the iron ore boom was over. However, Australia’s iron ore exports reached a record $77bn in 2018-19 and could top $81bn in 2019-20. Likewise, some experts forecast that China’s annual steel production will exceed one million tonnes for the first time in 2020.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, VALE SA

Gold beats coal as iron ore drives export record

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 13 & 18 : 19-Dec-19

The Department of Industry, Innovation & Science now expects Australia’s resources exports to top $281bn in 2019-20. This is $4bn lower than was forecast in June, although it will still be a new record. Resources exports are forecast to fall to around $256bn in 2020-21, due to factors such as an expected fall in the iron ore price and the resumption of shipments from Brazil. This will see Australia’s iron ore exports fall to $65.5bn in 2020-21, compared with expectations of $84bn in the current financial year. Gold exports are tipped to reach a new high of $27.8bn in 2019-20, before falling to $25.9bn in 2020-21.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE

Andrew Forrest’s $500m payday as iron ore rallies

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Original article by Julie-anne Sprague
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 12-Dec-19

Shares in Fortescue Metals Group closed $0.14 higher at $10.38 on 11 December, after peaking at a record $10.45. The pure-play iron ore miner’s shares have gained nearly 150 per cent in the year to date; the rally has seen the stake of founder Andrew Forrest rise to around $11.3bn, with the iron ore price trading at around $US93 per tonne. BHP’s share price is currently trading at its highest level since August, while Rio Tinto is trading at a four-month high.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

China has other options for its iron ore

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 11-Oct-19

Fortescue Metals Group CEO Elizabeth Gaines has stressed the importance of Australia’s trading relationship with China. She has told the in a Melbourne Mining Club that commodities exports to China have been a key contributor to Australia’s economic growth, and warned that China will seek other sources of iron ore if relations between the two nations deteriorates. Gaines noted that Ernst & Young has estimated that iron ore accounted for three per cent of Australia’s GDP in 2018-19.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, THE MELBOURNE MINING CLUB, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, ALUMINIUM CORPORATION OF CHINA LIMITED

Rio Tinto teams with China to cut emissions

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 26-Sep-19

Rio Tinto has signed a memorandum of understanding with China Baowu Steel Group and Tsinghua University to develop strategies aimed at reducing carbon emissions across the steel industry. Steel-making accounts for the bulk of Rio Tinto’s scope 3 emissions, which totalled 536 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent gases in 2018. In contrast, its scope 1 and 2 emissions totalled 28.6 million tonnes. BHP also recently revealed plans to address its scope 3 emissions.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, CHINA BAOWU STEEL GROUP CORPORATION LIMITED, TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, MARKET FORCES, FRIENDS OF THE EARTH

Grange raises property stake amid concerns

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 26-Apr-19

The decision by iron ore miner Grange Resources to diversify into property development continues to attract scrutiny. Grange is focusing on apartment developments in Melbourne suburbs such as Toorak and Prahran, where dwelling prices fell sharply in 2018. Some shareholders have expressed concern about the adequacy of Grange’s disclosures regarding its investment in the venture. CGI Glass Lewis has also urged investors to vote against Grange’s remuneration report at its upcoming AGM.

CORPORATES
GRANGE RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX GRR, CGI GLASS LEWIS PTY LTD, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Brazil mine ruling brings doubt

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 22 : 21-Mar-19

The iron ore price fell sharply on 20 March after a Brazilian court ruled that Vale can resume production at its Brucutu mine, whose annual capacity is 30 million tonnes. The ruling also weighed on the share price of Fortescue Metals Group, which has been a major beneficiary of reduced output in Brazil in the wake of the Brumadinho tailings dam disaster in January. Fortescue COO Greg Lilleyman has told a conference in Perth that Chinese demand for the company’s lower-grade iron ore remains strong, and stockpiles of its ore at Chinese ports have been falling.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, VALE SA, MOUNT GIBSON IRON LIMITED – ASX MGX, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, CITIGROUP PTY LTD