IRON ORE – WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Local miners struggle to keep pace with Vale

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 17-Oct-18

Rio Tinto’s iron ore shipments from the Pilbara totalled 81.9 million tonnes in the September quarter, compared with 88.5 million in the June quarter. Rio Tinto has attributed the fall in shipments to factors such as maintenance work and the death of a worker at one of its mines. BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals Group are also tipped to report lower iron ore export volumes for the quarter. Meanwhile, Brazilian rival Vale has reported record third-quarter production of 104.9 million tonnes, while its sales rose by nine per cent to 84 million tonnes.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, VALE SA, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS

Fortescue in $500m share buy-back

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 12-Oct-18

Shares in Fortescue Metals Group closed nearly 2.5 per cent higher at $3.76 on 11 October, after the pure-play iron ore miner announced plans to repurchase $500m worth of its shares. Peter O’Connor of Shaw & Partners has welcomed the share buyback, which has coincided with the recent rise in the price of lower-grade iron. Fortescue is expected to launch the buyback following the release of its quarterly results in late October.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Pilbara mine investment to create hundreds of jobs

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Hamish Hastie
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 2-Oct-18

The mine life of the Robe River iron ore joint venture will be extended after Rio Tinto and its partners in the project announced plans to develop up to five new deposits. Rio Tinto, Mitsui and Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation will invest a combined $US1.55bn ($2.14bn) to expand the West Angelas and Robe Valley mines. Rio Tinto, which has a 53 per cent stake in the joint venture, will contribute $US820m ($1.13m). The expansion is expected to create up to 1,200 jobs.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, MITSUI AND COMPANY LIMITED, NIPPON STEEL AND SUMITOMO METAL CORPORATION, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP

Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting again lifts Atlas Iron offer to $427m

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Stuart McKinnon
The West Australian – Page: Online : 27-Sep-18

Hancock Prospecting hopes to secure control of Atlas Iron with another revised takeover offer. Atlas shareholders will receive $0.046 per share if Hancock gains acceptances for 87 per cent of the iron ore miner’s stock. Hancock recently increased its offer to $0.0445 per share, which enabled it to lift its stake in Atlas to 77.06 per cent. The latest offer is slated to close on 2 October. Iron ore rival Fortescue Metals Group has an 11.4 per cent stake in Atlas.

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

Fortescue flags earlier start for higher grade iron ore exports

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 21-Sep-18

Pure-play iron ore producer Fortescue Metals Group has advised that it will begin exporting ore with an iron content of 60.1 per cent in December. Fortescue had previously expected to begin shipments of the higher-grade West Pilbara Fines product during the first half of 2019. Fortescue’s new Eliwana mine will be a key source of the new iron ore blend, and the company expects annual shipments of West Pilbara Fines to be around 40 million when production at Eliwana begins. Fortescue has forecast that it will export 5-10 million tonnes of West Pilbara Fines in 2018-19.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Ellison puts halt to speculation of BCI bid

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 28-Aug-18

BCI Minerals plans to divest its iron ore assets in the Pilbara in order to focus on its salt and potash assets. Mineral Resources MD Chris Ellison has indicated that the company will not bid for the BCI assets, which could fetch around $100m, preferring to focus on its existing Pilbara assets. Mineral Resources recently secured a joint venture agreement regarding Brockman Mining’s Marillana project, while it bought the Koolyanobbing mine from Cleveland-Cliffs earlier in 2018.

CORPORATES
BCI MINERALS LIMITED – ASX BCI, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, BROCKMAN MINING LIMITED – ASX BCK, CLEVELAND-CLIFFS INCORPORATED, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, WROXBY PTY LTD

Fortescue delivers payday to Forrest

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 20 : 21-Aug-18

Fortescue Metals Group chairman and founder Andrew Forrest will be paid a total of $239m in dividend payments for the 2017-18 financial year. Forrest has received total franked dividend payments of $1.3bn before tax since 2011, with the bulk of these dividends being invested in his philanthropic organisation, the Minderoo Foundation. His 33.36 per cent stake in Fortescue is worth $4.33bn, based on the stock’s closing price of $4.26 on 20 August.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, MINDEROO FOUNDATION, AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL ENERGY, SQUADRON ENERGY, HOEGH LNG

Fortescue chair Forrest’s dividend hit

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

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

Fortescue Metals Group posted a net profit of $US2.09bn in 2016-17, but the consensus of analysts is that its profit for 2017-18 will be around 49 per cent lower. JPMorgan is more bearish, forecasting that Fortescue’s net profit could fall by up to 59 per cent to just $US856m. The firm expects Fortescue to announce a full-year dividend of $0.20 per share, following an interim dividend of $0.11. Company founder and chairman Andrew Forrest received $467m worth of dividend payments in 2016-17, but this could fall to just $207.7m in 2017-18 based on JPMorgan’s numbers.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, GLENCORE PLC, WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED – ASX WHC, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, EVOLUTION MINING LIMITED – ASX EVN, NORTHERN STAR RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX NST, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD

Union fury as BHP sends South Flank steel work offshore

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sean Smith
The West Australian – Page: Online : 15-Aug-18

BHP Billiton has attracted criticism for awarding a steel contract associated with its South Flank iron ore project in the Pilbara to China’s Tianjin BOMESC Offshore Engineering Company. BHP has indicated that it was necessary to give the steel fabrication contract to an offshore company to ensure that the work is completed on time. Steve McCartney, the state secretary of the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union, says local steel fabricators should have been given the contract, adding that Premier Mark McGowan should intervene.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, TIANJIN BOMESC OFFSHORE ENGINEERING COMPANY LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING WORKERS’ UNION, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET

FMG sees end in sight to discounting

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 8-Aug-18

Fortescue Metals Group CEO Elizabeth Gaines has told the Diggers & Dealers forum in Kalgoorlie that the pure-play iron ore miner still considers the price discount for lower-grade ore to be cyclical. She said the price gap will eventually narrow, although it is too soon to know when this will occur. Gaines also said Fortescue could seek a seat on Atlas Iron’s board after choosing to retain a stake in the takeover target. She added that Fortescue expects to participate in the consultation process regarding the development of new South West Creek berths at Port Hedland.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, DIGGERS AND DEALERS FORUM, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD