IRON ORE – AUSTRALIA

Fortescue investor reduces stake

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 7-Mar-19

Hunan Valin Group has capitalised on the recent rally in Fortescue Metals Group’s share price by cutting its stake in the pure-play iron ore miner by 1.14 per cent, reducing it to 13.06 per cent. China-based Hunan Valin is Fortescue’s second-biggest shareholder, and acquired its initial stake of 17.4 per cent in 2009. The company last reduced its Fortescue stake in 2016.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, HUNAN VALIN IRON AND STEEL GROUP COMPANY LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

WA digs deeper on BHP royalties

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Original article by Ben Butler
The Australian – Page: 15 & 16 : 22-Jan-19

Western Australia’s Treasurer Ben Wyatt says the state government will pursue BHP for backdated iron ore royalties totalling between $200m and $300m. He claims that an audit undertaken in 2016 had revealed that the resources group had underpaid royalties since the early 2000s. BHP had reached a $529m settlement with the Australian Taxation Office regarding its Singapore marketing hub in November 2018.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND

Rio still upbeat on Chinese demand

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 20 : 13-Nov-18

Rio Tinto CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques says the Chinese steel industry’s demand for higher-grade iron ore remains strong in the wake of production capacity cutbacks and measures aimed at reducing air pollution. He has also told the UBS Australasia conference in Sydney that structural changes in the aluminium sector will take longer to have an impact

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

China’s steel mills thriving

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 20 : 8-Nov-18

Fortescue Metals Group Elizabeth Gaines says the trade war with the US has not affected China’s steel production, which was higher than expected in September. Gaines adds that China’s infrastructure investment program has been a key driver of the high level of steel production, which in turn has prompted a rally in the iron ore price. Fortescue has signed memorandums of understanding with eight public and private steel mills at the China import expo in Shanghai.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BAOWU STEEL GROUP, HEBEI WENFENG IRON AND STEEL COMPANY LIMITED

At long last, Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting claims win in Atlas Iron takeover saga

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Original article by Stuart McKinnon
The West Australian – Page: Online : 10-Oct-18

Hancock Prospecting has gained acceptances for more than 90 per cent of Atlas Iron’s shares, allowing it to move to the compulsory acquisition stage of its takeover bid. Hancock had initially offered $0.042 per share for Atlas, valuing its bid at $390m, before subsequently increasing it to $427m. Atlas’s assets include the Mt Webber iron ore mine, while Hancock has a controlling stake in the Roy Hill iron ore mine and a 50 per cent stake in the Hope Downs project.

CORPORATES
ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN

Long-term deals key to iron-clad alliance

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 20 : 24-Sep-18

BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metal Group were among the Australian iron ore companies that were represented at the recent China International Steel & Raw Materials Conference. Australia currently supplies 62 per cent of China’s seaborne iron ore, with iron ore being Australia’s biggest export to China. Businesses involved in commerce between Australia and China are hopeful that the relationship between the two countries, which has been somewhat strained in recent times, will improve under new Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, VALE SA, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Restart at Koolan has Mt Gibson in sweet spot

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 16-Aug-18

Mount Gibson Iron has reported a 2017-18 net profit of $99.1m, with insurance proceeds arising from a seawall collapse at the Koolan Island mine contributing $64m to the result. The mine is expected to resume shipments within six months, more than four years after the incident put production on hold. Mount Gibson will benefit from a strong rise in the premium for higher-grade iron ore in the intervening years; ore with 65.5 per cent iron content such as that produced at Koolan Island is now fetching a premium of around 30 per cent to the benchmark price, compared with 3-5 per cent at the time of the collapse.

CORPORATES
MOUNT GIBSON IRON LIMITED – ASX MGX, VALE SA, KUMBA RESOURCES LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

BHP rides record iron ore wave

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 19 : 19-Jul-18

BHP Billiton will aim to produce between 241 million and 250 million tonnes of iron ore in 2018-19, after output in 2017-18 rose by three per cent to a record 238 million tonnes. BHP has attributed the 2017-18 result to factors such as record production at its Jimblebar and Mining Area C mines in the Pilbara and its rail and port operations’ productivity gains. Meanwhile, BHP has advised that its costs associated with the Samarco tailings dam disaster in Brazil are likely to rise by $US440m ($600m).

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, SAMARCO MINERACAO SA, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, JEFFERIES AND COMPANY, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Hancock hopes rising as Atlas bleeds cash

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 19 : 13-Jul-18

Atlas Iron held cash on hand of $57 million at the end of June, down from $78 million at the end of March. It shipped 2.1 million tonnes of iron ore during the June quarter, but lost an average of $3 per tonne on every tonne shipped. The amount owed by Atlas to lenders increased from $83 million to $85 million over the quarter. The rise in debt and the fall in Atlas’s cash position has boosted the likelihood that shareholders will accept Hancock Prospecting’s $390 million takeover bid.

CORPORATES
ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN

Fortescue on Belt and Road to riches

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 17 & 18 : 9-Jul-18

Fortescue Metals Group’s CEO Elizabeth Gaines has urged Australian firms to make the most of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Countries that come under the BRI have a combined population of more than four billion. Gaines notes that steel is expected to underpin the infrastructure needed for the BRI, from which Fortescue could be expected to benefit as a major supplier of iron ore to China. Fortescue has been selling iron ore to China for 10 years, and Gaines notes that it supplies 17 per cent of China’s seaborne iron ore.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG