MINING CORPORATIONS – AUSTRALIA

Rio Tinto says all systems go for Simandou

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 15 & 18 : 17-Jul-24

Rio Tinto has advised that the Simandou iron ore project has received final approval from the Guinean and Chinese governments. Rio Tinto is investing $US6.2bn in the development of mine, port and rail infrastructure at the Simandou project, while its share of annual production will be about 27 million tonnes. Meanwhile, Rio Tinto has indicated that a Pilbara iron ore train derailment in May affected shipments and production during the June quarter; the company shipped 158.3 million tonnes of iron ore in the first half of 2024, which will require a big increase in the second half to meet its full-year guidance of 323 to 338 million tonnes.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Liontown finally moves to send lithium to China

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 16-Jul-24

Australian-listed lithium producer Liontown Resources has previously refused to strike offtake deals with Chinese companies. However, Liontown has reach a 10-month deal to supply 100,000 tonnes of spodumene to Shenzhen Stock Exchange-listed Sinomine; this deal will help Liontown to get through a period when its Kathleen Valley project in Western Australia is likely to be operating at a loss. Liontown CEO Tony Ottaviano recently acknowledged that it cannot ignore the "biggest market in the world", given that China accounts for 80 per cent of global demand for lithium.

CORPORATES
LIONTOWN RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX LTR, SINOMINE RESOURCE GROUP LIMITED, SHENZHEN STOCK EXCHANGE

Chinese nab stake in Forrest-backed rare earths play

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

A Hong Kong-based subsidiary of China’s JL Mag Rare-Earth Company will acquire a 9.8 per cent stake in Australian-listed Hastings Technology Metals . JL Mag will receive 19.6 million shares in the rare earths explorer via the $7m investment, while it will also gain a seat on Hastings’ board. Hastings notes that the JL Mag deal is below the threshold for the Foreign Investment Review Board’s current guidelines for investments in the critical minerals sector.

CORPORATES
HASTINGS TECHNOLOGY METALS LIMITED – ASX HAS, JL MAG RARE-EARTH COMPANY LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD

Liontown’s future tied to $379m LG deal

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 : 3-Jul-24

Liontown Resources will issue South Korea-based LG Energy Solutions with five-year convertible notes as part of a $US250m ($379m) deal to help finance the Kathleen Valley lithium project in Western Australia. Based on Liontown’s current share price, LG would emerge with an equity stake of about eight per cent in the company if it chooses to fully convert the notes. LG has also extended its existing five-year offtake deal with Liontown by a decade. Meanwhile, Liontown CEO Tony Ottaviano has flagged the potential to build a battery chemical refinery in partnership with LG.

CORPORATES
LIONTOWN RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX LTR, LG ENERGY SOLUTIONS

Sev.en abandons its bid for ownership of Coronado

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Original article by Glen Norris
The Australian – Page: 15 & 18 : 26-Jun-24

Coronado Global Resources has advised that private equity firm Energy & Minerals Group has terminated a deal to sell a 51 per cent stake in the coal miner to Prague-based Sev.en. The $1.5bn deal had been slated to be completed on 22 June, but Coronado notes that amongst other things it had not received approval from the Foreign Investments Review Board by the deadline. The price of metallurgical coal has also fallen sharply since Sev.en launched its bid for control of Coronado in September, prompting doubts that the deal would proceed.

CORPORATES
CORONADO GLOBAL RESOURCES INCORPORATED – ASX CRN, ENERGY AND MINERALS GROUP, SEV.EN GLOBAL INVESTMENTS

Paladin’s $1.25bn bid for Canadian explorer

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 15 & 19 : 25-Jun-24

Paladin Energy is offering 0.1076 of its shares for every share in Canada-based Fission Uranium, valuing the target at $1.25bn. Fission’s assets include the Patterson Lake South project in the province of Saskatchewan, which Paladin has described as one of the best ndeveloped uranium projects. Paladin is also preparing to resume production at its Langer Heinrich uranium mine in Namibia. Shares in uranium producers have rallied in response to a demand-driven surge in the uranium price over the last year.

CORPORATES
PALADIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX PDN, FISSION URANIUM CORPORATION

BHP looks to SA copper growth

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 16 : 19-Jun-24

BHP executive Anna Wiley has indicated that the resources giant has largely ‘ bedded down’ its acquisition of OZ Minerals for $9.7bn in 2023. The asset president for BHP’s copper operations in South Australia says it is now pushing ahead with plans to expand these operations, including the potential to increase copper production in SA to around 700,000 tonnes per year. BHP recently abandoned a takeover bid for Anglo American which was prinarily aimed at securing the latter’s copper assets.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, OZ MINERALS LIMITED, ANGLO AMERICAN PLC

Union launches BHP same pay challenge

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 13-Jun-24

The Mining & Energy Union has filed 10 applications in the Fair Work Commission to increase the wages of BHP’s labour hire workers under the federal government’s ‘same job, same pay’ laws. The initial applications cover about 1,700 workers at three of BHP’s coal mines in Queensland’s Bowen Basin who are employed by WorkPac, Chandler McLeod and BHP’s own Operations Services subsidiary. The union is pushing for these workers to receive pay rises of between $10,000 and $40,000 in order to achieve pay parity with BHP’s direct employees. The MEU is expected to make further applications against BHP.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, MINING AND ENERGY UNION, WORKPAC PTY LTD, CHANDLER MACLEOD GROUP LIMITED

Microwave the way for Rio Tinto to go low-carbon

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 5-Jun-24

Rio Tinto will invest $215m in a microwave facility at its BioIron project in Western Australia. The plant is slated to produce one tonne of direct reduced iron per hour, and is part of the resources group’s push to reduce the carbon-intensity of steel-making. The BioIron plant will use microwave technology rather than traditional blast furnaces to produce steel, using a combination of Pilbara iron ore and biomass waste. Rio Tinto executive Simon Trott says the plant has been specifically designed for Pilbara iron ores.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

PC: mining subsidy not tax reform

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Original article by Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 5-Jun-24

Productivity Commission chair Danielle Wood has defended the federal government’s critical minerals production tax credit regime, which was a key measure in the 14 May budget. Wood has told a Senate estimates hearing that the tax credit scheme is tax policy rather than tax reform. However, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has repeatedly described the tax credits scheme as tax reform. Wood also contended that reducing Australia’s company tax rate of 30 per cent would make the nation more internationally competitive.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY