MINING CORPORATIONS – AUSTRALIA

BHP outlines path to iron ore growth

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 15 : 4-Oct-22

BHP’s long-term goal is to increase its iron ore shipments from the Pilbara to 330 million tonnes a year. However, BHP’s head of iron ore Brandon Craig has conceded that the resources group will not be in a position to achieve this run rate until the late 2020s. Doing so will also require it to develop at least one new iron ore mine and upgrade its rail and port facilities. Craig adds that BHP’s priority in the near-term is to increase the quality of its Pilbara ore to at least 67 per cent.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

FMG to spend $9.2b on switch to renewables

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Original article by Matthew Cranston, Lucas Baird
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 21-Sep-22

Fortescue Metals Group has outlined an ambitious plan to decarbonise its operations by 2030. Executive chairman Andrew Forrest has advised that Fortescue will invest some $US6.2bn ($9.2bn) between 2024 and 2028 on converting its operations from fossil fuels to renewable energy. He has indicated that annual spending over this period will not exceed 10 per cent of the earnings generated by Fortescue’s flagship iron ore business in any given year. Fortescue expects the investment to generate net operating cost savings of $US818m annually from 2030. The company aims to be carbon-neutral by 2030.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

South32 walks away from coal extension

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 16 : 24-Aug-22

Diversified miner South32 has advised that it will not proceed with a proposed US700m ($1bn) expansion of its Dendrobium coal mine in NSW. CEO Graham Kerr says the company has decided to invest its capital in other projects, although he has not ruled out reviving the expansion plans for Dendrobium in the future. Production at the mine is slated to continue until at least 2028; the expansion would have extended its mine life to 2041, after South32 scaled back plans for a larger expansion that was rejected by the NSW Independent Planning Commission in 2021.

CORPORATES
SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, NEW SOUTH WALES. INDEPENDENT PLANNING COMMISSION

BHP bets on China after $44bn profit

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 13 & 17 : 17-Aug-22

BHP has posted a record net profit of $US30.9bn ($44.2bn) for 2021-22, which is 173 per cent higher than previously. The result was boosted by a $US7.3bn gain from the merger of its petroleum division with Woodside Energy and a $US9.3bn turnaround at its Queensland coal mines. However, lower iron ore prices saw its flagship division’s underlying EBITDA fall 17.7 per cent year-on-year to $US21.71bn. BHP shipped 282.8 million tonnes of iron ore in 2021-22 and expects 2022-23 shipments to be within the range of 278 to 290 million tonnes. BHP has also indicated that it may look to eventually lift this to 330 million tonnes. However, CEO Mike Henry says Chinese demand for iron ore may be nearing its peak, although he expects commodity sales to remain strong over the next year following China emergence from lockdowns.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Fortescue’s Gaines says more gender diversity needed in ASX firms

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Original article by Stuart McKinnon
The West Australian – Page: Online : 3-Aug-22

Fortescue Metals Group’s outgoing CEO Elizabeth Gaines addressed the Diggers and Dealers forum on Tuesday. She lamented the continued lack of gender diversity among the senior ranks of Australian-listed companies, noting that she became the first female CEO of a major Australian mining company in 2018 and this has not changed much since. Gaines also noted that just seven per cent of speakers at the annual mining industry event are women, while she highlighted the fact that women comprise half of Fortescue’s board.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, DIGGERS AND DEALERS FORUM

Rio bid to iron out problems with revival in the Pilbara

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 22-Jun-22

Rio Tinto officially opened its new Gudai-Darri iron ore mine in the Pilbara on Tuesday. The mine will reduce Rio Tinto’s average costs in the Pilbara and improve the average grade of its iron ore shipments. Rio Tinto’s head of iron ore Simon Trott says Gudai-Darri will help the resources group to reclaim its title of the best iron ore operator in the Pilbara. Rio Tinto’s iron ore shipments from the Pilbara fell to 321.6 million tonnes in 2021, having peaked at 338.1 million tonnes in 2018; its cash costs of production have also risen sharply since then. Gudai-Darri will have annual production capacity of 43 million tonnes, which could potentially be expanded to 70 million tonnes.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

BHP abandons sale of Mt Arthur coal mine

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 17-Jun-22

BHP has shelved plans to sell the Mt Arthur thermal coal mine in New South Wales after the trade sale process did not attract a "viable" offer for the asset. The estimated $1bn cost of rehabilating the site when the mine closes is believed to have been a major deterrent for potential buyers. Mt Arthur had been slated to close in 2045, but BHP has advised that this will be brought forward to 2030. BHP says that keeping Mt Arthur open for another eight years will provide certainty for the mine’s 2,000 workers and the Hunter Valley community.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Fortescue signs deal for green haul trucks fleet

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 13 & 17 : 16-Jun-22

Fortescue Metals Group has struck a deal to buy 120 battery and hydrogen-powered haulage trucks for its iron ore mines in the Pilbara. The new clean energy fleet will replace about 45 per cent of the diesel-fuelled trucks at Fortescue’s mines. Sweden-based Liebherr will begin delivering the new vehicles from 2025. Fortescue’s current fleet of haulage trucks are estimated to account for about 26 per cent of its scope one and two emissions. Fortescue has a net-zero emissions target of 2030 for its Pilbara operations.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, LIEBHERR AG

$800m overshoot on new Rio Tinto mine

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 16-Jun-22

Rio Tinto’s Gudai-Darri iron ore mine in the Pilbara had been slated to cost $US2.6bn when it was commissioned in late 2018. However, the resources group has advised that the final cost of the project will be $US3.1bn. Factors such as skilled labour shortages in Western Australia during the pandemic contributed to the cost blowout. However, competition for labour in the Pilbara was rising prior to the pandemic, with BHP and Fortescue Metals Group also approving new iron ore projects at around the same time that Rio Tinto announced that Gudai-Darri would go ahead. One consolidation for the big three miners is that the iron ore price is still significantly higher than in 2018.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

Glencore tried to sell Yancoal stake to parent

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

Yankuang Energy’s bid to gain full ownership of Yancoal Australia will need the support of Glencore, which has a 6.4 per cent stake in the target. Hong Kong-listed Yankuang has a 62.26 per cent stake in Yancoal, and the support of Glencore will be needed if it is to reach the 90 per cent threshold to move to compulsory acquisition. This would also require ownership restrictions imposed on Yancoal by the Foreign Investment Review Board in 2012 to be overturned. Meanwhile, it has emerged that Glencore has sought on a number of occasions in recent years to sell its Yancoal stake to Yankuang, and it is likely to be a willing seller at the right price.

CORPORATES
YANCOAL AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX YAL, YANKUANG ENERGY GROUP COMPANY LIMITED, GLENCORE PLC