MINING CORPORATIONS – AUSTRALIA

BHP signs 100-year Pilbara deal

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 6-Nov-15

BHP Billiton has signed a native title mining agreement with the Banjima people of Western Australia’s Pilbara region. The 100-year agreement covers 8,263 square kilometres of land. Banjima Native Title Aboriginal Corporation chairman Slim Parker says the agreement is worth "a lot of money", although its exact value has not been disclosed.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, YAMATJI MARLPA BARNA BABA MAAJA ABORIGINAL CORPORATION, BANJIMA NATIVE TITLE ABORIGINAL CORPORATION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

BHP says China coal tests hurt free trade

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 2-Nov-15

China’s introduction of quality-testing for imported coal has had no direct impact on BHP Billiton, whose shipments have been cleared. However, BHP executive Shaun Verner believes that some coal exporters have had to sell coal at significantly lower prices in other markets after failing to pass China’s new quality control requirements. He notes that the slump in the price of metallurgical coal means it is costly for a coal producer to have a shipment rejected.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

Fortescue offers BC Iron some rail access slack

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 28-Oct-15

The iron ore price was trading at $US51.03 per tonne on 27 October 2015. A new rail tariff deal between Fortescue Metals Group and BC Iron will reduce the latter’s costs by about $A2.3m if the price remains at around this level. The partners in the Nullagine joint venture will trial a new rail access regime whereby the tariff rate is linked to the iron ore price.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BC IRON LIMITED – ASX BCI

Mackenzie backs keeping London listing

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Original article by James Chessell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 26-Oct-15

Proxy advisers are believed to have recommended that BHP Billiton shareholders vote in favour of a new dividend sharing policy at its 2015 Australian AGM. Some fund managers have suggested that the resolution could prompt BHP to rethink its dual-listed structure, but CEO Andrew Mackenzie says there are many advantages to being listed in both Australia and the UK. He argues that it reduces the cost of raising capital, while many of its institutional shareholders prefer to invest in the UK-listed shares.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, BILLITON PLC, NIKKO ASSET MANAGEMENT GROUP, OWNERSHIP MATTERS PTY LTD, CGI GLASS LEWIS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SUPERANNUATION INVESTORS INCORPORATED, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, BRAMBLES LIMITED – ASX BXB, TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP

Spending cuts keep coming as BHP Billiton starts strongly

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 & 30 : 22-Oct-15

BHP Billiton has reported that its petroleum division’s output for the September 2015 quarter was 65 million barrels of oil equivalent. The group will reduce the division’s capital expenditure by a further $US200m ($A275m) in 2015-16, to $US2.9bn. Glyn Lawcock of UBS says that while additional cost reductions will be harder to achieve after several years of cutbacks, he believes there is potential for most cost savings. Iron ore, copper and coking coal output exceeded analysts’ forecasts for the quarter.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MORGANS FINANCIAL LIMITED

BHP may cut dividend if DLC changes fail

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 21-Oct-15

CGI Glass Lewis has recommended that BHP Billiton shareholders support a resolution to transfer funds from its Australian-listed entity to its UK-listed company. The proposed payment is necessary to allow shareholders in both companies to continue receiving the same dividend payout. CGI Glass Lewis has warned that all shareholders could face lower dividend payouts if the resolution is rejected.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, CGI GLASS LEWIS PTY LTD, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32

S2 Resources a rare ASX debut

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 35 : 20-Oct-15

Shares in S2 Resources closed at $A0.175 on debut after listing at $A0.22 on 19 October 2015. S2 is just the third mining company to list on the Australian sharemarket so far in 2015. It holds assets that were previously owned by Sirius Resources, which recently merged with Independence Group. S2 MD Mark Bennett and some analysts expect further heavy trading in the group’s shares to continue in the short-term.

CORPORATES
S2 RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX S2R, INDEPENDENCE GROUP NL – ASX IGO, SIRIUS RESOURCES NL, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, DEUTSCHE BANK AG

BHP’s London listing under fire

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 22 : 20-Oct-15

Nikko Asset Management’s head of Australian equities, Brad Potter, says it is no longer necessary for BHP Billiton to be listed on both the Australian and UK sharemarkets. He argues that rather than reducing BHP’s cost of capital, the dual listing has in fact increased it. Potter also believes that BHP’s progressive dividend policy is unsustainable. He adds that BHP may reconsider the dual listing if shareholders reject a proposal to make a payment to its London-listed company to finance a dividend for British shareholders.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, NIKKO ASSET MANAGEMENT GROUP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, ARGO INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX ARG, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, BRAMBLES LIMITED – ASX BXB, LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE

Small miners close to default: RBA

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Original article by Geoff Winestock, Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 19-Oct-15

The Reserve Bank of Australia’s latest Financial Stability Review warns that many smaller resources groups are close to defaulting on debt repayments. The central bank says the number of such companies that are at risk of default has reached its highest level since the global financial crisis. Few junior miners have collapsed in 2015, although the outlook for some is uncertain, and several mining services firms have been placed in administration.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, MIRABELA NICKEL LIMITED – ASX MBN, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, EMECO HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX EHL, TERMITE RESOURCES NL, WESTERN DESERT RESOURCES LIMITED, PLUTON RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX PLV, BANDANNA ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BND, WDS LIMITED – ASX WDS, BIG RIM PTY LTD, SARGENT, HEAVY HAULAGE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Rinehart, Wright win legal battle against Rio Tinto

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Original article by Jonathan Barrett, Marianna Papadakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 15-Oct-15

The High Court of Australia has ruled in favour of Hancock Prospecting and Wright Prospecting in a case against Rio Tinto over some $A130 million in royalties. Lawyers for the litigants argued successfully that Rio Tinto owed royalties to Hancock Prospecting and Wright Prospecting, as the mining giant still controlled the mineral tenements and exploration licences in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.

CORPORATES
HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, WRIGHT PROSPECTING PTY LTD, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, SUPREME COURT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA