IRON ORE – WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Rio’s big new mine to hit full speed

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 18-Jan-23

Rio Tinto has advised that it expects iron ore shipments from the Pilbara in calendar 2023 to be within the range of 320 million to 335 million tonnes. This is in line with its 2022 guidance; its shipments for the year were at the bottom end of this range, at 321.6 million tonnes. Meanwhile, Rio Tinto has indicated that its new Gudai-Darri iron ore mine is expected to reach its maximum capacity of 43 million tonnes a year on a "sustained basis" at some stage in 2023. BHP and Fortescue Metals Group are slated to release their quarterly iron ore export data in coming days.

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

Fortescue’s finance boss wants time with family

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 11-Jan-23

Fortescue Metals Group’s outgoing chief financial officer Ian Wells says that having the opportunity to contribute to the iron ore miner has been a privilege. He will leave Fortescue on 31 January after nearly 13 years at the company, including five years as CFO. Wells says he is looking forward to spending some time with his family and friends. He adds that Fortescue is in a strong position to deliver on its short, medium and long-term growth options, including the Iron Bridge magnetite project and the Fortescue Future Industries subsidiary’s clean energy projects.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, FORTESCUE FUTURE INDUSTRIES PTY LTD

Fortescue top dogs continue their exodus

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 & 14 : 10-Jan-23

Fortescue Metals Group has advised that CFO Ian Wells will step down on 31 January in order to "pursue other opportunities". Adrian Prendergast of Morgans says the short notice period is unusual for Fortescue, given that it typically requires key executives to give six months’ written notice. Wells is the ninth senior executive to leave Fortescue in the last two years, and his departure follows the recent resignation of Guy Debelle as CFO of the Fortescue Future Industries clean energy subsidiary. George Boubouras of K2 Asset Management says further executive turnover at Fortescue is possible when Fiona Hick takes up the role of CEO at its mining division in February.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG,FORTESCUE FUTURE INDUSTRIES PTY LTD,MORGANS FINANCIAL LIMITED,K2 ASSET MANAGEMENT HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX KAM

Juukan Gorge community back mining model

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 14-Dec-22

Rio Tinto and the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people are close to finalising a co-management agreement for the Brockman 4 iron ore mine in the Pilbara. PKKP Aboriginal Corporation chairman Burchell Hayes believes that such agreements could provide stronger protection for heritage sites than federal and state laws. He adds that the federal government did not adequately consult with traditional owners regarding proposed legislation that is designed to protect heritage sites. The legislation arose from a parliamentary inquiry into Rio Tinto’s destruction of ancient Indigenous rock shelters at Juukan Gorge as part of an expansion of the Brockman 4 mine.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, PKKP ABORIGINAL CORPORATION

Debelle steps down as Fortescue CFO in latest reshuffle

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 & 18 : 24-Nov-22

Fortescue Metals Group has appointed Felicity Gooding as the interim chief financial officer at its clean energy subsidiary, Fortescue Futures Industries. This follows Guy Debelle’s decision to step down as CFO; he took up the role in March following his retirement from the Reserve Bank of Australia, where he had been the deputy governor. Debelle is still recovering from injuries sustained in a bike accident in August, and says this means he cannot do justice to the role of CFO. He will instead join FFI’s board of directors.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, FORTESCUE FUTURE INDUSTRIES PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Forrest’s Fortescue joins rare earth race

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 16 : 23-Nov-22

Fortescue Metals Group’s executive chairman Andrew Forrest has told its AGM that the company aims to expand into critical minerals. He said Fortescue has "kicked off a global stream of work" in South America aimed at securing access to critical minerals such as rare earths. He added that rare earths will be critical to Fortescue Future Industries’ projects in manufacturing, renewables and hydrogen. Forrest also said that Fortescue is close to gaining a preliminary mining licence for the Belinga iron ore project in Gabon, and that it plans to commence drilling early in 2023.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, FORTESCUE FUTURE INDUSTRIES PTY LTD

Fortescue exports up, prices down

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 13 & 17 : 28-Oct-22

Fortescue Metals Group has advised that its Pilbara iron ore shipments totalled 47.5 million tonnes in the September quarter, four per cent higher than the previous corresponding period. Fortescue expects full-year shipments for 2022-23 to be within the range of 187 million to 192 million tonnes. Meanwhile, the iron ore miner’s average cash production costs rose 16 per cent year-on-year, to $US17.69 a tonne. Fortescue chairman Andrew Forrest says rising fuel prices was the major contributor to the higher production costs during the period. Meanwhile, the average price Fortescue received for its iron ore fell to $US87.43 per dry metric tonne.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

Rio enlists Wrights to unlock phenomenal iron ore play

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Peter Ker, Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 24 : 19-Oct-22

Rio Tinto hopes to commence production at the Rhodes Ridge iron ore deposit in the East Pilbara by 2030 after reaching agreement with Wright Prospecting to modernise their joint venture arrangement. The original agreement was signed in 1972, and Rhodes Ridge has been the subject of a long-running legal dispute between the descendants of Pilbara iron ore pioneers Peter Wright and Lang Hancock. Rio Tinto’s head of iron ore Simon Trott notes that most of the ore grade at Rhodes Ridge is above the benchmark level of 62 per cent iron content. Meanwhile, Rio Tinto has advised that it shipped 82.9 million tonnes of iron ore in the September quarter.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, WRIGHT PROSPECTING PTY LTD

Traditional owners compare FMG damage to Juukan Gorge

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 12-Oct-22

Fortescue Metals Group faces a compensation claim from the Yindjibarndi people over the construction of its Solomon iron ore hub in the Pilbara. The compensation claim is based on a Federal Court ruling that part of the Solomon hub was built without the permission of the traditional owners. Fortescue has been accused of destroying sacred and significant sites, and the Yindjibarndi’s compensation claim will be based on factors such as cultural loss, pain and suffering, and economic loss. The Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation has likened the cultural significance of the traditional owners’ losses to Rio Tinto’s destruction of ancient Indigenous rock shelters at Juukan Gorge.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, YINDJIBARNDI ABORIGINAL CORPORATION, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

BHP outlines path to iron ore growth

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 15 : 4-Oct-22

BHP’s long-term goal is to increase its iron ore shipments from the Pilbara to 330 million tonnes a year. However, BHP’s head of iron ore Brandon Craig has conceded that the resources group will not be in a position to achieve this run rate until the late 2020s. Doing so will also require it to develop at least one new iron ore mine and upgrade its rail and port facilities. Craig adds that BHP’s priority in the near-term is to increase the quality of its Pilbara ore to at least 67 per cent.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP