IRON ORE – AUSTRALIA

Oil surge to drive $8.1bn LNG windfall

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 3-Jul-18

A quarterly report from the Office of the Chief Economist shows that Australia’s resources and energy exports are forecast to top $238.18bn in 2018-19, compared with $226.32bn in 2017-18. Revenue from LNG exports is expected to rise by 12 per cent to $43.5bn, while revenue from coking and thermal coal exports is tipped to be $58.1bn. Iron ore export revenue is forecast to be $57.7bn in 2018-19, while revenue expectations for 2017-18 have been scaled back from $65.3bn to $61.8bn.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF ECONOMIST, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, CHEVRON CORPORATION, ORGANISATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Australia’s iron ore age nears peak

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 28-May-18

Australia now accounts for about 62 per cent of all iron ore shipments to China, compared with 43 per cent in 2010. He Ming of Wood Mackenzie forecasts that Australia’s iron ore exports to China will peak at 895 million tonnes in 2020 and 2021, before holding steady at around 884 million tonnes beyond 2023. Tony Robson of Global Mining Research expects Chinese steel mills’ demand for Australian iron ore to fall in coming years, as annual steel production peaks. Factors such as increased iron ore production in Brazil are also expected to weigh on Australian producers.

CORPORATES
WOOD MACKENZIE, GLOBAL MINING RESEARCH PTY LTD, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, VALE SA, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Iron ore discount now ingrained, says Ellison

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 2-Nov-17

Mineral Resources MD Chris Ellison expects lower-grade iron ore to continue to trade at a discount to the benchmark price for some time. He adds that the discount may widen further in the first few months of 2018. Fortescue Metals Group recently forecast that the discount will eventually narrow to its historic average of around 10 per cent. Meanwhile, Ellison says current iron ore pricing will have no impact on Mineral Resources’ proposed Bungalbin East and Jackson 5 mines.

CORPORATES
MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, CLEVELAND-CLIFFS INCORPORATED

LNG surge powers $211b export record

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 6-Oct-17

Australia’s chief economist Mark Cully expects the nation’s mining and energy exports to top $A211bn in 2017-18. Resources exports totalled $A204m in 2016-17. Cully is particularly upbeat about the outlook for the LNG sector, with expectations that annual export volumes will rise from 36.9 million tonnes in 2016 to 73.8 million by 2019. Iron ore export volumes are also forecast to rise over the next few years, although the value of such exports is expected to fall.

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

Atlas looks to build buffer before returning to debt markets

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 19 : 24-Jul-17

Atlas Iron MD Cliff Lawrenson says the iron ore miner will not repay its outstanding Term Loan B debt of $A103m until it has a working capital buffer of around $A50m. He adds that a revolving credit facility is among the options being considered to provide the company with more balance sheet flexibility. Lawrenson believes that capital markets will rate Atlas Iron more highly once its Term Loan B debt has been paid off.

CORPORATES
ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO

Atlas Iron needs to diversify, says new chief Lawrenson

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 27-Apr-17

Atlas Iron MD Cliff Lawrenson says the proposed Corunna Downs mine remains the junior iron ore producer’s main priority. He adds that Atlas will seek to lift annual production to around 10-15 million tonnes over the long-term, but he notes that the company may need to diversify its operations to ensure that it avoids the financial problems that nearly caused its collapse in 2014. Rival iron ore producers BC Iron and Mount Gibson Iron are actively seeking to diversify.

CORPORATES
ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, BC IRON LIMITED – ASX BCI, MOUNT GIBSON IRON LIMITED – ASX MGX, KALIUM LAKES LIMITED – ASX KLL, PILBARA MINERALS LIMITED – ASX PLS

Big miners defy iron ore price slide to hold firm

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 20 : 20-Apr-17

The iron ore price has shed 33 per cent in the last month, and it has now fallen to a six-month low. However, ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has upgraded its average price forecast for 2017 from $US55 per tonne to $US66. The firm has also upgraded Rio Tinto’s "A-" credit rating from "stable" to "positive", and flagged the potential for a further upgrade within 12-18 months. Shares in Australia’s three largest iron ore producers were resilient in local trading on 19 April, despite the falling iron price.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, STANDARD AND POOR’S FINANCIAL SERVICES LLC, NIKKO ASSET MANAGEMENT GROUP, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, FREEPORT-McMORAN COPPER AND GOLD INCORPORATED

Mining exports reignite boom

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 19 & 32 : 3-Feb-17

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the value of coal and metals exports reached a new monthly high of $A13.4bn in December, compared with just $A6.4bn in January 2016. The value of coal exports rose to $A5.7bn, which is the highest level since November 2008. Iron ore exports topped $A7.7bn, which is the second-highest monthly total on record. BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto are tipped to post bumper half-year and full-year profits in coming weeks.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED – ASX WHC, RESOLUTE MINING LIMITED – ASX RSG, NEW SOUTH WALES MINERALS COUNCIL, DEUTSCHE BANK AG

Price spike breathes life into old mines

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 6-Jan-17

At $US77 per tonne in early January 2017, the price of iron ore is high enough to ensure profitability of mining projects that would otherwise be economically unfeasible. Several small Australian mining companies are reviewing their plans with the view of restarting or expanding their mines. Mount Gibson Iron intends to recommence production at Koolan Island’s main pit which ceased in November 2014.

CORPORATES
MOUNT GIBSON IRON LIMITED – ASX MGX, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, BC IRON LIMITED – ASX BCI, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AUTHORITY, CLIFFS NATURAL RESOURCES INCORPORATED, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP

Rio iron ore growth slows on China move

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 23 : 25-Nov-16

Rio Tinto CEO Jean Sebastien Jacques says uncertainty regarding the Chinese Government’s restructuring of state-owned enterprises means that China’s steel production is now unlikely to peak at one billion tonnes per year. He also notes that China’s iron ore production is believed to have risen to between 260 and 270 million tonnes a year, and the supply-demand equation would be significantly changed if China’s annual output reached full capacity of 400 million tonnes. Meanwhile, Rio Tinto may not achieve its annual export target of 360 million tonnes before 2019, although it expects shipments in 2017 to be between 330 million and 340 million tonnes.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, VALE SA, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT