MINING CORPORATIONS – AUSTRALIA

COVID-19, wet weather see Australian gold output fall in March quarter

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Original article by Neil Watkinson
The West Australian – Page: Online : 30-May-22

Data from Surbiton Associates shows that Australia’s gold production fell by six per cent quarter-quarter in the three months to March, to 76 tonnes. Westgold and Silver Lake Resources are among the companies whose Western Australian operations were affected by COVID-19 during the period, with the latter withdrawing its guidance for the June quarter due to the pandemic and supply chain disruptions. A combination of the virus and heavy rainfall affected gold production at a number of mines across Australia.

CORPORATES
SURBITON ASSOCIATES PTY LTD, WESTGOLD RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX WGX, SILVER LAKE RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX SLR

Pilbara Minerals achieves another record lithium price at auction

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Original article by Stuart McKinnon
The West Australian – Page: Online : 26-May-22

Pilbara Minerals has advised that a 5,000-tonne cargo of its lithium concentrate has fetched $US5,955 per tonne in auction. The company says this equates to $US6,586 on a cost, insurance, freight price basis. Kaan Peker of RBC Capital Markets says the sale price is 35 per cent above the current spot price in China, and six per cent above the reported weekly Platts index price. The price of lithium has almost doubled since the start of 2022, and Pilbara Minerals MD Ken Brinsden recently forecast that the price will continue to rise.

CORPORATES
PILBARA MINERALS LIMITED – ASX PLS, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, PLATTS

CME rejects divide with Rio Tinto on Indigenous heritage protection

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Original article by Stuart McKinnon
The West Australian – Page: Online : 16-Mar-22

Rio Tinto has expressed support for moves at both state and federal level to strengthen cultural heritage protection laws. Rio Tinto has been under intensive scrutiny in the wake of its destruction of ancient indigenous rock shelters at Juukan Gorge in May 20202. The Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility has welcomed Rio Tinto’s support for legislative action at federal level, which has put the resources giant at odds with the Chamber of Minerals & Energy of Western Australia; the CME is of the view that indigenous heritage protection should be addressed at state level.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, THE CHAMBER OF MINERALS AND ENERGY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, AUSTRALASIAN CENTRE FOR CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY

Aussie gold production set to grow

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Original article by Stuart McKinnon
The West Australian – Page: Online : 16-Mar-22

Fitch Solutions is upbeat regarding the near-term outlook for Australian gold producers. The research house has forecast that local gold production will grow by an average of one per cent over 2022-2026, and gold output will rise from 10.8 million ounces in 2021 to at least 11.15 million ounces in 2031. The firm now expects the gold price to average $US1,900/oz in 2022, compared with its previous forecast of $US1,700/oz; it notes that the invasion of Ukraine has prompted renewed interest in gold as a ‘safe haven’ asset.

CORPORATES
FITCH SOLUTIONS

10 years on, ASIC drops Rio pursuit

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 15 : 1-Mar-22

Rio Tinto has agreed to settle the Australian Securities & Investments Commission’s legal action over the $US29bn writedown of its Mozambique coal assets in early 2013. The $750,000 civil penalty for breaching Rio Tinto’s continuous disclosure obligations in the lead-up to the writedown must be approved by the Federal Court. ASIC has dropped most of the original charges against Rio Tinto, as well as former CEO Tom Albanese and ex-CFO Guy Elliott. Rio Tinto had acquired Mozambique-focused Riversdale Mining for $US3.7bn in 2011.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, RIVERSDALE MINING LIMITED

10 years on, ASIC drops Rio pursuit

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 15 : 1-Mar-22

Rio Tinto has agreed to settle the Australian Securities & Investments Commission’s legal action over the $US29bn writedown of its Mozambique coal assets in early 2013. The $750,000 civil penalty for breaching Rio Tinto’s continuous disclosure obligations in the lead-up to the writedown must be approved by the Federal Court. ASIC has dropped most of the original charges against Rio Tinto, as well as former CEO Tom Albanese and ex-CFO Guy Elliott. Rio Tinto had acquired Mozambique-focused Riversdale Mining for $US3.7bn in 2011.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, RIVERSDALE MINING LIMITED

Fortescue plans huge wind and solar farm

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 18 : 10-Feb-22

Fortescue Metals Group’s clean energy arm has revealed plans to build a wind and solar energy farm to provide renewable energy for the Eliwana iron ore mine in the Pilbara. The proposed renewable energy hub will be partially built on the Uaroo pastoral station, which is owned by a subsidiary of Andrew Forrest’s private investment arm, Tattarang. Fortescue Future Industries plans to commence work on the project as soon as it receives environmental approval from the Western Australian government.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE FUTURE INDUSTRIES PTY LTD, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, TATTARANG PTY LTD

Rio’s Kakadu uranium rehabilitation hit by blowouts

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 & 18 : 3-Feb-22

Energy Resources of Australia has advised that rehabilitation work at the Ranger uranium mine in the Northern Territory is now expected to cost between $1.6bn and $2.2bn. This compares with estimated costs of $526m in 2017 and $973m in 2019. The target date for completing the rehabilitation project has also been pushed back by nearly three years. Rio Tinto has an 89 per cent stake in ERA, which may pursue another equity raising to cover the cost blowout. Uranium processing at the Ranger mine ended in early 2021.

CORPORATES
ENERGY RESOURCES OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX ERA, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Unions weigh in on Rio’s woes

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Original article by Peter Ker, David Marin-Guzman, Sally Patten
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 3-Feb-22

Mining & Energy Union president Tony Maher says the deunionisation of Rio Tinto’s workforce in the 1990s contributed to the toxic culture that has been exposed by former sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick. Her review of Rio Tinto’s culture found that conduct such as bullying, sexual harassment and racism are rife within the resources giant. Brad Gandy from the Australian Workers’ Union says it has been warning Rio Tinto of problems with its culture for many years; he adds that bullying occurs at Rio Tinto’s iron ore operations on a daily basis.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, MINING AND ENERGY UNION, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES

Relief as almost all BHP workers from Yandi mine test negative for Covid

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Original article by Danielle Le Messurier
The West Australian – Page: Online : 3-Feb-22

BHP appears to have avoided a large outbreak of COVID-19 at its Yandi iron ore mine in the Pilbara. BHP had ordered 78 workers to self-isolate at its Spinifex accommodation village after a rail maintenance contactor tested positive and spread the virus to a close contact. Most of the workers have now been cleared of the virus and have been released from isolation. However, 18 close contacts of the two positive cases must remain in isolation for 14 days, while BHP has not yet received the test results for one casual contact.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP