MINING CORPORATIONS – AUSTRALIA

BHP’s Tesla nickel deal a boost for carbon transition

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 25 : 23-Jul-21

BHP has struck an agreement with electric vehicle maker Tesla to supply it with nickel from its mines and refinery in Western Australia. BHP’s chief commercial officer Vandita Pant said it was delighted to sign the agreement with Tesla, and noted that demand for nickel in batteries is tipped to rise by more than 500 per cent over the next decade. The agreement with Tesla has led to further speculation that BHP plans to divest its oil and gas assets, in addition to the sale of its remaining interests in energy coal mines.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, TESLA INCORPORATED

BHP flags long China coal ban

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 21-Jul-21

BHP has advised that it produced a record 284.1 million tonnes of iron ore in the Pilbara region of Western Australia during 2020-21. The resources group shipped 283.9 million tonnes of iron ore from the Pilbara, compared with 283.3 million tonnes for the previous financial year. BHP expects to produce 278 to 288 million tonnes of iron ore in the Pilbara in 2021-22, while the group has warned that China’s ban on Australian coal imports is likely to remain in place for some time.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Rio feels pinch as labour hit slows exports

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Weekend Australian – Page: 25 : 17-Jul-21

Rio Tinto’s iron ore shipments fell 12 per cent to 76.3 million tonnes in the June quarter, while its half-year shipments were down three per cent to 154.1 million tonnes. Rio cited a range of factors for the fall in shipments, including labour shortages and the need to revamp mine plans around Pilbara heritage sites. Rio’s previous full year guidance for shipments was between 325 to 340 million tonnes, and it now expects shipments to be at the lower end of its forecast. However, to even achieve that will require it to ship 171 million tonnes in the second half of 2021

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

‘Legacy of sadness’: Glencore says sorry to traditional owners over NT mine as it seeks expansion

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Original article by Lorena Allam
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 7-Jul-21

Steven Rooney, the general manager of Glencore’s McArthur River mine in the Northern Territory, has appeared before a federal parliamentary inquiry into the destruction of ancient indigenous rock shelters at Juukan Gorge in Western Australia. He told the inquiry that Glencore has apologised to the traditional owners for the lead and zinc mine’s impact on cultural sites and the environment. Rooney also said that Glencore is in the early stages of negotiating a land use agreement with the traditional owners.

CORPORATES
GLENCORE PLC, McARTHUR RIVER MINING PTY LTD

Fortescue vindicated on hydrogen

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 : 7-Jul-21

Fortescue Metals Group has outlined the progress it has achieved in its goal of making its iron ore operations carbon-neutral by 2030. The pure-play producer has advised that it has produced high-purity ‘green’ iron from its Pilbara iron ore via a trial decarbonisation project that is being run by its Fortescue Future Industries subsidiary. The trials have also resulted in the production of ‘green’ cement by combining waste from the green iron process with other materials.

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

No more welcome to country for Rio Tinto, Indigenous owners say

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Original article by Lorena Allan
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 6-Jul-21

The Eastern Guruma people have told Rio Tinto that they will no longer perform ‘welcome to country’ ceremonies at any of its events or any events that it sponsors. They have also refused to have any meetings with Rio Tinto for at least three months. The Eastern Guruma people are angry with Rio Tinto after it was revealed that priceless cultural materials rescued from their sacred sites were thrown in a rubbish tip in the 1990s, and that Rio did not tell them of the error. Forty per cent of Rio’s Pilbara mine holdings in Western Australia are on Eastern Guruma traditional lands.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Coal mine gets $175m federal loan

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Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 2-Jul-21

The $5 billion Northern Australian Infrastructure Facility has approved a $175 million loan to Pembroke Resources for its proposed Olive Downs coking coal mine in Queensland. The mine will support up to 700 jobs during its construction phase and over 500 jobs when it is up and running. Approval of the loan for the Olive Downs project comes only two months after federal Resources Minister Keith Pitt vetoed a $280 million loan by the NAIF for a wind farm project in North Queensland.

CORPORATES
NORTHERN AUSTRALIA INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITY, PEMBROKE RESOURCES PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE, ENERGY AND RESOURCES

Rio shuts down violence-riven South African mine

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 1-Jul-21

Rio Tinto has declared force majeure on customer contracts at its Richards Bay mineral sands project in South Africa. The resources giant has put all work at the mine and smelter on hold amid growing violence targeting the project’s workers, plant and equipment. Rio Tinto executive Sinead Kaufman says the safety of workers at the project is its top priority. The increasing violence directed at the Richards Bay project is believed to be linked to employment opportunities for local workers.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, RICHARDS BAY MINERALS

BHP sacks second worker accused of rape

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 24-Jun-21

News that BHP has sacked a second worker accused of rape will not encourage women or men to join the mining industry, according to women in mining advocate Sabina Shugg. The two former employees are both ‘fly in, fly out’ workers accused of raping female colleagues in unrelated incidents. Both have denied the police charges against them and have accused BHP of unfair dismissal.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

BHP to overtake Rio in premium iron ore

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 7-Jun-21

BHP could soon become Australia’s biggest exporter of ‘lump’ iron ore following the recent start of production at its new South Flank mine in the Pilbara. Lump iron ore is a premium product that attracts a higher price than ‘fines’, which is Australia’s biggest iron ore export. Lump iron ore can be used in steel-making without first undergoing the sintering process, which is both energy-intensive and generates carbon emissions. The South Flank mine will increase the proportion of lump in BHP’s iron ore exports to 30-33 per cent, compared with 24-25 per cent in recent years.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP