MINING CORPORATIONS – AUSTRALIA

Status quo has shifted, union tells big miners

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 29-Apr-26

The Mining & Energy Union’s Western Australian state secretary Greg Busson contends that major iron ore miners in the Pilbara have had the upper hand in negotiations with unions for too long. He claims that the big miners cannot handle the push to re-unionise the Pilbara via the industrial relations reforms that were enacted during the current federal government’s first term in office. BHP is already dealing with industrial action by high-voltage workers who are members of the Electrical Trades Union, while the need to negotiate with unions over changes to its Pilbara rail fleet has stalled the rollout of battery-electric locomotives.

CORPORATES
MINING AND ENERGY UNION, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION

BHP tapped to advise on fuel crisis fix

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Original article by Perry Williams, Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 22-Apr-26

Resources Minister Madeleine King says the federal government has been working with companies across the economy to shore up the nation’s diesel fuel supplies since the Iran war began. It has been revealed that the government accepted an offer from BHP to provide expert advice on securing diesel supplies; Rio Tinto has also been assisting Labor to navigate the fuel market, although neither of procured physical supplies for the government. However, sources have indicated that Labor had been slow to accept assistance from the corporate sector.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE AND RESOURCES

Gina Rinehart-backed Lynas Rare Earths posts record quarter

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Original article by Mark Wembridge
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 22-Apr-26

Lynas Rare Earths has advised that its sales revenue was 115 per cent higher year-on-year in the March quarter, at $265m. MD Amanda Lacaze says Lynas’s direct sales to customers helped it to sidestep the "dysfunctional" spot market. Lynas produced 3,233 tonnes of rare earths during the period, which is 69 per cent higher than previously. The average selling price across its rare earths was $84.60 a kilogram, which is 70 per cent higher than the same period in 2025. Lacaze notes that the use of renewable energy at its Mount Weld mine in Western Australia reduced its use of diesel fuel by 870,000 litres during the quarter.

CORPORATES
LYNAS RARE EARTHS LIMITED – ASX LYC

Rio bolsters copper production, eyes data centre building boom

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 22-Apr-26

Rio Tinto shipped 72.3 million tonnes of iron ore from the Pilbara in the March quarter; this was higher than the same period in 2025, despite the disruptions caused by cyclones. Rio Tinto still expects to achieve its full-year guidance of between 323 million and 338 million tonnes for 2026. Rio Tinto has estimated that the 70 per cent rise in diesel prices since the start of the Iran war will add about $US1 to the cost of producing each tonne of iron ore in the Pilbara; the iron ore price has risen by about 12 per cent since the war began. Meanwhile, Rio Tinto produced a higher-than-expected 229,000 tonnes of copper during the March quarter; demand for copper is rising in the US as technology companies ramp up their investment in AI infrastructure such as data centres.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

BHP’s iron ore head issues dire IR warning

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Original article by Tom Rabe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 21-Apr-26

BHP’s iron ore asset president Tim Day has warned that the re-unionisation of the Pilbara is probably inevitable and it is likely to happen regardless of what BHP does. Day also told an event hosted by the Chamber of Minerals & Energy of Western Australia that the re-unionisation of the Pilbara under the federal government’s industrial relations reforms will drive investment offshore. Members of the Electrical Trades Union at BHP’s sites in the Pilbara have already imposed partial work bans, while BHP recently lost a High Court bid to appeal against a ruling under the ‘same job same pay’ laws that forced it to increase the pay of 2,000 labour-hire workers in Queensland by up to $30,000 a year.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, THE CHAMBER OF MINERALS AND ENERGY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED

More BHP coal mines sitting on rocky ground

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 15 : 21-Apr-26

BHP is believed to have commenced a review of its coking coal mines in Queensland, which are owned by its BMA joint venture with Japan-based Mitsubishi. The future of the coal mines has been under scrutiny since the state’s former Labor government introduced a controversial coal royalty scheme in 2022. The spot price of premium hard coking coal is trading above $300 per tonne, so BHP is currently paying the top royalty rate of 40 per cent. There are fears of more job losses at BMA after 750 workers were retrenched in September 2025, a move that was partially attributed to the royalty regime.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, BM ALLIANCE COAL OPERATIONS PTY LTD, MITSUBISHI CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

BHP nears end to China iron ore pricing and contracts dispute

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 13 & 20 : 15-Apr-26

BHP has declined to comment on media reports that China Mineral Resources Group Company has told a number of steel mills that they can buy some of the resources group’s Pilbara iron ore with US dollars. The possible breakthrough in the dispute, which began when CMRG imposed unofficial bans on BHP’s Jimblebar fines product in 2025, follows a visit to China by BHP’s CEO Mike Henry and his successor Brandon Craig. They are believed to have met with officials from both CMRG and steel giant Baowu. Craig will formally succeed Henry on 1 July, and has indicated that resolving the iron ore dispute is one of his top priorities.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, CHINA MINERAL RESOURCES GROUP COMPANY LIMITED, CHINA BAOWU STEEL GROUP CORPORATION LIMITED

Miners fear diesel price surge

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 15 : 8-Apr-26

Listed gold producers Capricorn Metals and Ramelius Resources have indicated that the supply of diesel to their Australian mines has not yet been affected. However, Capricorn says diesel supply is a ‘material risk’ for the nation’s mining industry, while Ramelius has contingency plans in the event of fueld rationing or other supply restrictions. Meanwhile, Robex Resources says it has a 30-day supply of diesel at its Kiniero gold mine in Guinea; CEO Matthew Wilcox says supply chains have not been disrupted and the price of diesel in Guinea has risen by about five per cent since the Iran war began. Guinea imports all of its liquid fuels, and the nation does not have an oil and gas industry.

CORPORATES
CAPRICORN METALS LIMITED – ASX CMM, RAMELIUS RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX RMS, ROBEX RESOURCES INCORPORATED – ASX RXR

Rio, BHP win opens land for US copper mine

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Original article by Jessica Gardner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 18-Mar-26

The Resolution Copper joint venture between Rio Tinto and BHP in Arizona has been stalled for more than a decade. However, hopes that the project will finally proceed have been boosted after a court rejected an application to block a transfer of land from the US Forest Service to the resources groups. The Forest Service subsequently completed the transfer of land, although opponents of the project have filed an appeal against the court ruling. The copper deposit was discovered in 1995, and Rio Tinto executive Katie Jackson says it could potentially supply up to 25 per cent of the US’s copper demand for many years.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO,BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP,RESOLUTION COPPER MINING LLC,UNITED STATES. FOREST SERVICE

Woodside, BHP circle Slattery

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Original article by Perry Williams, Colin Packham, Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 11-Mar-26

Woodside Energy’s chairman Richard Goyder says its board is assessing a number of internal and external candidates to succeed former CEO Meg O’Neill; a decision is expected by the end of March. BHP’s president for Australia, Geraldine Slattery, is considered to the leading external candidate for the role, although she is also in contention to replace CEO Mike Henry when he eventually steps down; there is market speculation that BHP will name Henry’s successor by August. Saul Kavonic from MST Marquee says that recruiting an external candidate may be challenging for Woodside, given that its executive remuneration is below that of its global peers.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE ENERGY GROUP LIMITED – ASX WDS, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, MST MARQUEE