MINING CORPORATIONS – AUSTRALIA

Australian miners brace for fallout after Guinea coup

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 & 19 : 7-Sep-21

Alcoa of Australia has advised that it is monitoring the situation in Guinea, amid reports of a coup in the West African nation. Alumina, Alcoa and Rio Tinto have bauxite mining interests in Guinea, while Rio has two iron ore mining leases. Merriden Varrall from KPMG has warned of growing geopolitical stability in many nations, and that West African nations are becoming increasingly vulnerable to terrorism. However, Perseus Mining MD Jeff Quartermain says not all nations in the region are beset with problems, with Perseus operating gold mines in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. He notes that it has enjoyed a record year on the back of its operations in the two countries.

CORPORATES
ALCOA OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, ALCOA INCORPORATED, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, PERSEUS MINING LIMITED – ASX PRU, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

BHP flags improved offer for Noront

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 16 : 2-Sep-21

The board of Canadian nickel miner Noront Resources has noted that Andrew Forrest’s Wyloo Metals has not yet made a binding offer for the company, and it may never make such an offer. Noront is continuing to back the $C325m ($351.5m) takeover bid from BHP, arguing that is the only binding offer that has been made. BHP’s bid values Noront at $C0.55 per share, and the resources group has not ruled out matching or topping Wyloo’s non-binding offer of $C0.70 a share.

CORPORATES
NORONT RESOURCES LIMITED, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, WYLOO METALS PTY LTD

Forrest speech on handouts earns rebuke

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Original article by Brad Thompson, Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 2-Sep-21

Iron ore magnate Andrew Forrest says welfare and mining royalties have contributed to the "wanton destruction" of the culture and livelihoods of indigenous Australians. He has told a conference that Fortescue Metals Group is focused on giving indigenous people a hand up rather than a hand out, by providing them with training and employment opportunities. However, his comments have been criticised by Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation CEO Michael Woodley, who says Fortescue’s priority should be fair compensation for indigenous communities.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, YINDJIBARNDI ABORIGINAL CORPORATION

Cashed-up Forrest trumps BHP in nickel bidding war

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Original article by Brad Thompson, Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 & 16 : 1-Sep-21

Andrew Forrest’s Wyloo Metals has increased its takeover bid for Canadian nickel explorer Noront Resources to $C0.70 per share. Wyloo had initially offered just $C0.315 per share, before BHP upped the ante with an offer of $C0.55 per share. Wyloo holds a stake of about 25 per cent in Noront, although this could be increased to 37 per cent via a convertible loan. Forrest has indicated that Noront could potentially remain a listed company if Wyloo’s takeover bid succeeds.

CORPORATES
WYLOO METALS PTY LTD, NORONT RESOURCES LIMITED, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Fortescue best positioned to weather industry disruption – report

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Original article by
Mining.com – Page: Online : 25-Aug-21

GlobalData analysts have concluded that Fortescue Metals is best-placed to take advantage of future disruption in the mining industry. Fortescue was ranked first in a list of global mining companies, with a scorecard rating of 4.5. The rankings are based on leadership in 10 areas that matter the most to the mining sector. Australian companies in the list achieved an average score of 3.7. Newcrest Mining was ranked fifth.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, GLOBALDATA

BHP sale could hurt its credit rating

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 17 : 25-Aug-21

S&P Global Ratings says BHP’s proposed deal to merge its petroleum division with Woodside Petroleum will further increase its reliance on iron ore and make its earnings less diversified than rivals such as Rio Tinto and Glencore. BHP currently has a credit rating of ‘A’ from S&P, which has put it on CreditWatch negative; S&P has also flagged the possibility that the Woodside deal could prompt it to downgrade BHP’s credit rating by two notches, to ‘BBB+’.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, S&P GLOBAL RATINGS

BHP wary as nickel takeover talks proceed

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 18 : 20-Aug-21

Nickel miner Western Areas has advised that it is holding preliminary discussions with IGO Limited regarding a potential merger. IGO is keen to expand its nickel portfolio, given that its Nova project in Western Australia is nearing the end of its mine life. Further consolidation in the sector would have implications for BHP’s Nickel West division, whose Kalgoorlie smelter is highly dependent on nickel supply from smaller producers.

CORPORATES
WESTERN AREAS LIMITED – ASX WSA, IGO LIMITED – ASX IGO, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Lihir mine finally shines for Newcrest

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 19 : 20-Aug-21

Newcrest Mining has posted a record $US1.16bn profit for 2020-21, with EBITDA of $US2.44bn and revenue of $US4.58bn. Newcrest produced 2.1 million tonnes of gold during the financial year, at an average all-in-sustaining cost of $US911 an ounce. Meanwhile, CEO Sandeep Biswas believes that new mining methods could allow the company to lift production at its Lihir mine in Papua New Guinea to one million ounces per year. Shareholders will receive a final dividend of $US0.40 per share, and a full-year payout of $0.55.

CORPORATES
NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM

Elliott lurks as BHP slumps on unification plan

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 19-Aug-21

BHP’s proposal to scrap its dual-listed structure has had a lukewarm reaction from Australian investors, with its local shares falling by seven per cent on 18 August. In contrast, BHP’s London-listed shares rose by four per cent in response to the proposal. Don Hamson of Plato Investment Management says this indicates that the Australian-listed shares’ traditional premium is being erased. BHP CEO Mike Henry contends that shifting to a primary listing in Australia will make the resources giant more efficient and agile. Activist hedge fund Elliott Management has previously pushed for the dual-listed structure to be abolished.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, PLATO INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, ELLIOTT MANAGEMENT CORPORATION

Vaccine targets essential: Roy Hill

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 17 : 4-Aug-21

Roy Hill CEO Gerhard Veldsman addressed the annual Diggers and Dealers conference in Kalgoorlie on 3 August. He warned that the skilled labour shortage in Western Australia will continue while coronavirus-induced interstate travel restrictions remain in place. Veldsman also stressed the need for about 80 per cent of the nation’s population to be vaccinated, arguing that Australia risks falling behind the rest of the world. He added that the national cabinet’s latest four-stage plan to re-open the economy must include firm target dates for each of these stages.

CORPORATES
ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, DIGGERS AND DEALERS FORUM