MINING CORPORATIONS – AUSTRALIA

Rio shuts down violence-riven South African mine

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 1-Jul-21

Rio Tinto has declared force majeure on customer contracts at its Richards Bay mineral sands project in South Africa. The resources giant has put all work at the mine and smelter on hold amid growing violence targeting the project’s workers, plant and equipment. Rio Tinto executive Sinead Kaufman says the safety of workers at the project is its top priority. The increasing violence directed at the Richards Bay project is believed to be linked to employment opportunities for local workers.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, RICHARDS BAY MINERALS

BHP sacks second worker accused of rape

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

News that BHP has sacked a second worker accused of rape will not encourage women or men to join the mining industry, according to women in mining advocate Sabina Shugg. The two former employees are both ‘fly in, fly out’ workers accused of raping female colleagues in unrelated incidents. Both have denied the police charges against them and have accused BHP of unfair dismissal.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

BHP to overtake Rio in premium iron ore

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 7-Jun-21

BHP could soon become Australia’s biggest exporter of ‘lump’ iron ore following the recent start of production at its new South Flank mine in the Pilbara. Lump iron ore is a premium product that attracts a higher price than ‘fines’, which is Australia’s biggest iron ore export. Lump iron ore can be used in steel-making without first undergoing the sintering process, which is both energy-intensive and generates carbon emissions. The South Flank mine will increase the proportion of lump in BHP’s iron ore exports to 30-33 per cent, compared with 24-25 per cent in recent years.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Lynas funds jabs for staff in Malaysia

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 27-May-21

Lynas Rare Earths has responded to Malaysia’s third wave of COVID-19 by advising that workers at its processing plant will be offered employer-sponsored vaccines. The Australian-listed company has also booked out an entire hotel near the plant so workers do not have to mix in the wider community when their shifts end. A spokeswoman says there are no plans to offer vaccinations for Lynas employees in Australia, and has urged them to participate in the federal government’s vaccine rollout.

CORPORATES
LYNAS RARE EARTHS LIMITED – ASX LYC

BHP hiring as it faces critical lack of drivers

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 27-May-21

BHP plans to hire an additional 200 train drivers for its iron ore operations in the Pilbara, in response to what has been described as a ‘critical’ shortage in the sector. BHP’s iron ore asset president Brandon Craig says the new trainees will have "rewarding careers" at the resources group, which suggests that BHP will not follow Rio Tinto in shifting to driverless trains. BHP uses automated trucks at its Jimblebar iron ore mine, while the Gina Rinehart-backed Roy Hill aims to fully automate its fleet of trucks by 2023.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Pleas for Premier to back mine extension

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Original article by Michael McKenna
The Australian – Page: 4 : 26-May-21

New Hope Corporation recently advised that production at the New Acland coal mine in Queensland will end later in 2021 unless a long-delayed expansion is approved. The approvals process has been stalled for nearly 13 years due to a series of legal challenges and the state government’s inertia. The mine’s workforce has been reduced from 320 to just 120 since 2019, and the remaining workers face retrenchment. Federal Labor MP Joel Fitzgibbon has urged the state government to approve the expansion; he has also accused Labor of turning its back on coal workers.

CORPORATES
NEW HOPE CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX NHC, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

China trade tension a risk to economy: BHP mining boss

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Original article by Emmaline Stigwood
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 21-May-21

China’s unofficial ban on coal imports from Australia has forced local producers to find alternative markets for metallurgical coal. BHP Minerals Australia president Edgar Basto notes that this has resulted in the price falling by up to 50 per cent; he says this is unsustainable and action to improve Australia’s relations with China will eventually be needed, given that China is a major market for coal used in steel-making. Basto says that both nations must take action to "rebuild trust".

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Super quick payback looms on BHP’s South Flank mine

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 21-May-21

BHP commenced production at its new South Flank iron ore mine on 20 May, less than three years after the $US3.6bn project was approved. South Flank is slated to produce about 40 million tonnes of iron ore in fiscal 2022, and the mine is scheduled to reach full capacity of 80 million tonnes in its third year of operation. The iron ore price is currently trading above $US210 per tonne, compared with just $US66 per tonne when BHP’s board approved the project in June 2018.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

McGowan drive cuts FIFO numbers

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 5 : 17-May-21

The number of east coast-based ‘fly-in fly-out’ workers in Western Australia’s mining sector was estimated at between 4,000 and 5,000 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Chamber of Minerals & Energy estimates that about 2,000 of these workers have relocated to WA since Premier Mark McGowan urged them to do so in May 2020. CME CEO Paul Everingham says the number of FIFO workers in the state’s mining sector could eventually fall to around 1,000. However, he believes that a labour shortage means that resources groups will need to continue to recruit workers from interstate.

CORPORATES
THE CHAMBER OF MINERALS AND ENERGY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET

Heritage spats slow BHP plans

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 28-Apr-21

BHP struck the Olympic Dam Agreement with the Kokatha, the Kuyani and the Barngarla people in 2008. However, a native title ruling in 2014 deemed that the Kokatha people were the sole traditional owners of the land that encompasses the Olympic Dam copper mine. The Kokatha people contend that the existing agreement is outdated and must be replaced, and that BHP should not be consulting with the Kuyani and the Barngarla with regard to the management of heritage sites for which they no longer have any native title rights. BHP in turn contends that the terms of the 2008 agreement require it to consult with all three indigenous groups.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP