IRON ORE – WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Spotlight on iron ore about to shift to Rio Tinto

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 23 : 18-Jun-18

Recent announcements from BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals Group that they will develop new iron ore mines in the Pilbara has prompted speculation as to when Rio Tinto will make a similar announcement. Koodaideri is widely tipped to be Rio’s next iron ore mine, and the project was first discussed by the resources giant’s board in late 2013. Rio Tinto’s head of iron ore, Chris Salisbury, is scheduled to hold a series of briefings and site visits for investors over the next week, although an announcement on Koodaideri is not expected to be made until later in the year.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD

BHP approves $4.5b South Flank iron ore mine in Western Australia

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 15-Jun-18

Production at BHP Billiton’s South Flank iron ore mine in the Pilbara will commence in 2021, after its board approved the $US3.4bn ($A4.49bn) project. BHP will contribute $US2.9bn ($A3.8bn) to South Flank’s development, with its partners Itochu and Mitsui to provide the rest of the funding. South Flank is slated to produce 80 million tonnes of iron ore annually over a 25-year mine life, and will replace BHP’s Yandi mine. The project will increase BHP’s average iron grade from 61 per cent to 62 per cent.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, ITOCHU COAL RESOURCES AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MITSUI AND COMPANY LIMITED, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Haoma Mining shares can now be bought or sold via PrimaryMarkets trading platform – see last link under above Financial Indicators

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Original article by
Haoma Mining NL Announcements – Page: Online : 15-Jun-18

PrimaryMarkets provides a transparent and easy to use share trading platform that investors can use to trade shares in a range of companies including Haoma. The last item under the above ‘Financial Indicators’ is linked to current Trade Notices for buying and selling of shares in Haoma. Haoma’s Directors are considering how the recent significant changes in Atlas Iron shareholding could be a benefit. Haoma has a significant royalty entitlement under an agreement with Atlas Iron which involves the Mt Webber Dalton iron ore reserves. In addition Haoma holds nearly tenements which contain gold & PGM, iron ore, lithium, rare earths and nickel.

CORPORATES
HAOMA MINING NL, PRIMARY MARKETS, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO

WA wades into Atlas takeover fray

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 14-Jun-18

Atlas Iron’s port capacity at the Utah Point berth at Port Hedland and its stake in North West Infrastructure’s proposed South West Creek berth is a key driver of the bidding war for the iron ore junior. A successful bid by Mineral Resources would allow it to increase the volume of lower-grade ore that is shipped through Utah Point, which may have prompted Fortescue Metals Group and Hancock Prospecting to take blocking stakes in Atlas. Meanwhile, the Western Australian government says Utah Point is designed for smaller miners, and it would be concerned if such key export infrastructure were to be controlled by a large company.

CORPORATES
ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, NORTH WEST INFRASTRUCTURE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF MINES, INDUSTRY REGULATION AND SAFETY, CLEVELAND-CLIFFS INCORPORATED

Rio revs up driverless truck plan

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Original article by Matt Chambers, Cliona O’Dowd
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 8-Jun-18

Rio Tinto employs about 12,000 people at its iron ore operations in the Pilbara, and its automation program is not expected to have any net effect on job numbers. An internal briefing from late 2016 flagged the loss of about 850 jobs over four years as a result of initiatives such as its AutoHaul project. However, Rio Tinto has advised that the figures have since been revised to take into account the retraining and redeployment of existing staff and the need to hire additional employees for new mining projects.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, OZ MINERALS LIMITED – ASX OZL, THE MELBOURNE MINING CLUB, ALPHABETA, NATIONAL ENERGY RESOURCES AUSTRALIA, METS IGNITED

Fortescue derails MinRes bid for Atlas

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 8-Jun-18

Fortescue Metals Group has paid $A0.04 per share for a 15 per cent stake in Atlas Iron. The pure-play iron ore miner also has an economic interest in about 4.9 per cent of Atlas’s shares via a cash-settled swap, effectively giving it a stake of 19.9 per cent. CEO Elizabeth Gaines has also advised that Fortescue will not support the proposed scheme of arrangement between Atlas and suitor Mineral Resources at present, although it remains open to doing so. Atlas shares closed 12 per cent lower at $A0.028 on 7 June. Haoma Mining sold its iron ore rights at the Mt Webber Dalton deposit to Atlas in April 2012.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, ARGONAUT SECURITIES PTY LTD, FOSTER STOCKBROKING PTY LTD, AWE LIMITED, MITSUI AND COMPANY LIMITED, HAOMA MINING NL

Fortescue keeps focus on low costs as it approves new mine

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 28 : 29-May-18

Fortescue Metals Group will be able to supply higher-grade iron ore after its board approved the development of the Eliwana mine in the Pilbara. The $A1.7bn project, which also includes a rail component and a processing plant, will enable Fortescue to produce ore with 60 per cent iron content, compared with an average of 58 per cent at present. Eliwana will replace the Firetail mine, which is approaching the end of its mine life. Production at Eliwana is slated to commence in 2020, with annual output of about 30 million tonnes.

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

Forrest joins Bishop in China media attack

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 16-May-18

Fortescue Metals Group has exported more than one billion tonnes of iron ore since its inaugural shipment to a Chinese customer in May 2008. Fortescue founder Andrew Forrest has marked the 10th anniversary by criticising the Australian media’s coverage of China. He was especially scathing of the print media’s on the negative aspects of Australia’s relationship with China. Meanwhile, Forrest said Fortescue is progressing with its expansion into South America, as well as plans to diversify into other minerals.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, SHANGHAI BAOSTEEL GROUP CORPORATION

Robo trains cut Rio’s iron ore journey time by 20pc

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 15-May-18

Rio Tinto has advised that a project to automate its iron ore trains in the Pilbara should be completed and receive regulatory approval by the end of 2018. Rio Tinto executive Steve McIntosh has told a conference in Sydney that about 65 per cent of its trains are currently running in autonomous mode with a driver on board, and the automated trains can arrive at the port about 20 per cent faster than regular trains. The AutoHaul project has been marred by delays and cost over-runs.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, ANSALDO STS, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Rinehart’s Roy Hill exports yo-yo in a struggle for consistency

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 7-May-18

Roy Hill Holdings has indicated that its iron ore export volumes in April 2018 were consistent with its target of shipping 55 million tonnes a year. Although Roy Hill does not usually release data on its export volumes, Port Hedland statistics suggest that it shipped less than 11.7 million tonnes in the March 2018 quarter, which implies an annualised rate of around 47 million tonnes. Peter O’Connor of Shaw & Partners says the end of the cyclone season should enable Roy Hill to achieve its target run rate over the next three quarters.

CORPORATES
ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, PORT HEDLAND PORT AUTHORITY, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, BCI MINERALS LIMITED – ASX BCI