MINING CORPORATIONS – AUSTRALIA

Labor’s $1bn for Rinehart-backed rare earths

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ronald Mizen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 15-Jan-25

The federal government’s National Reconstruction Fund is set to become a cornerstone investor in Arafura Rare Earths. The fund is set to acquire $200 million worth of unsecured convertible notes in the rare earths miner, which can be converted into shares at a fixed price and after a specified period of time. The government has previously provided some $840m worth of loans and grants to Arafura, whose biggest shareholder is Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting. Arafura’s assets include the Nolans rare earths project in the Northern Territory.

CORPORATES
ARAFURA RARE EARTHS LIMITED – ASX ARU, AUSTRALIA. NATIONAL RECONSTRUCTION FUND, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD

Miner hails end to years of bitter lawfare

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 6 : 15-Jan-25

The Oakey Coal Action Alliance has withdrawn its appeal against the Queensland government’s 2022 decision to grant a water licence for an expansion of the New Acland coal mine. The decision to end the long-running legal challenge to the Stage 3 expansion of New Acland has been welcomed by New Hope Corporation’s chairman Robert Millner, after the company’s 14-year battle to get the project approved. He stresses that red and ‘green’ tape hurdes in the mining sector are not restricted to the fossil fuel industry, but can also affect projects such copper or cobalt mines.

CORPORATES
NEW HOPE CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX NHC, OAKEY COAL ACTION ALLIANCE

Syrah wins US support in tax deal

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 16 : 14-Jan-25

Australian-listed Syrah Resources has advised that it will receive an additional $US165m in tax credits via the Biden adminstration’s Inflation Reduction Act. The tax credit could be used to help finance an expansion of the graphite producer’s active anode material plant at Vidalia in Louisiana. Syrah declared "force majeure" on graphite production in Mozambique in December due to civil unrest near its Balama mine; the company also revealed that it was in default on loans from two US government agencies.

CORPORATES
SYRAH RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX SYR

Syrah wins US support in tax deal

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 16 : 14-Jan-25

Australian-listed Syrah Resources has advised that it will receive an additional $US165m in tax credits via the Biden adminstration’s Inflation Reduction Act. The tax credit could be used to help finance an expansion of the graphite producer’s active anode material plant at Vidalia in Louisiana. Syrah declared "force majeure" on graphite production in Mozambique in December due to civil unrest near its Balama mine; the company also revealed that it was in default on loans from two US government agencies.

CORPORATES
SYRAH RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX SYR

Rivals join forces to build WA green iron holy grail

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Tom Rabe, Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 18-Dec-24

BHP, Rio Tinto and BlueScope Steel will jointly build a pilot plant to produce ‘green’ iron in Western Australia. The low-emissions electric smelting furnace will be built next to BHP’s Kwinana nickel refinery at Kwinana, which was mothballed earlier in 2025. BlueScope executive Tania Archibald says Port Kembla in NSW was considered for the pilot plant, but financial incentives from the WA government persuaded the partners in the project to build it in Kwinana.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL

Arcadium investors sue over Rio takeover

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Elouise Fowler
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 17-Dec-24

Arcadium Lithium and its board of directors are facing legal action from three shareholders over the company’s acquisition by Rio Tinto. The investors contend that Arcadium’s directors had misled shareholders and failed in their fiduciary duty to maximise value in the $US6.7 billion ($9.9 billion) deal. Rio Tinto has not been named as a defendant in the lawsuits. The proposed merger will require the support of at least 75 per cent of Arcadium’s shareholders when they vote on the deal next week.

CORPORATES
ARCADIUM LITHIUM PLC – ASX LTM, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Arcadium investors sue over Rio takeover

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Elouise Fowler
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 17-Dec-24

Arcadium Lithium and its board of directors are facing legal action from three shareholders over the company’s acquisition by Rio Tinto. The investors contend that Arcadium’s directors had misled shareholders and failed in their fiduciary duty to maximise value in the $US6.7 billion ($9.9 billion) deal. Rio Tinto has not been named as a defendant in the lawsuits. The proposed merger will require the support of at least 75 per cent of Arcadium’s shareholders when they vote on the deal next week.

CORPORATES
ARCADIUM LITHIUM PLC – ASX LTM, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Rio weighs up another lithium play

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 16 : 11-Dec-24

Rio Tinto’s board is expected to approve a proposal to increase the annual production capacity of its Rincon lithium project in Argentina to 60,000 tonnes. Rio Tinto recently advised of the first production from a pilot plant at Rincon, more than two years after it acquired the project for $US825m. Barrenjoey is of the view that Rio Tinto may direct some of its $US800m worth of unallocated capital expenditure to the Rincon project. Rio Tinto is also seeking to acquire Arcadium Lithium, with the target’s shareholders set to vote on the $US6.7bn deal on 23 December.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, ARCADIUM LITHIUM PLC – ASX LTM, BARRENJOEY CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD

Rio Tinto says carbon pricing justifies emissions cuts

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 10-Dec-24

Rio Tinto’s decarbonisation general manager Stefan Kwiatkowski estimates that almost half of the mining corporation’s greenhouse gas emissions are covered by "legislative carbon penalty schemes", which include Australia’s safeguard mechanism policy. It estimates that its annual carbon compliance costs as a result of these schemes would be $US300 million per year by 2030 if it did not act to reduce emissions, rising to $US600 million per year by 2040. Rio has committed to halving its emissions by spending up to $US6 billion in the nine years to 2030, while it anticipates many of its decarbonisation projects will generate returns of between 12 per cent and 15 per cent.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Northern Star in De Grey takeover

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Brad Thompson, Valerina Changarathil
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 3-Dec-24

Northern Star Resources will acquire smaller gold producer De Grey Mining via a scheme of arrangement. The all-scrip $5bn deal has been unanimously backed by De Grey’s directors, and is subject to shareholder and court approval. Northern Star’s offer comprises 0.119 of its shares for each De Grey share; the latter’s assets include the undeveloped Hemi project in Western Australia, which is slated to produce 530,000 ounces of gold a year during the first decade of operation. Northern Star CEO Stuart Tonkin says he is not concerned about acquiring Hemi without final federal and state environmental approvals in place.

CORPORATES
NORTHERN STAR RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX NST, DE GREY MINING LIMITED – ASX DEG