MINING CORPORATIONS – AUSTRALIA

Tax law loss delivers $82m hit to BHP

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Original article by Ben Butler
The Australian – Page: 19 : 30-Jan-19

The full Federal Court has overturned the Administrative Appeals Tribunal’s ruling that BHP and its London-listed arm are not associates for tax purposes. The case centred on the Australian Taxation Office’s dispute with BHP over its controversial marketing hub in Singapore. The ATO had alleged that BHP’s dual-listing agreement meant that its Australian division had to pay tax on the British arm’s profits under rules governing controlled foreign corporations.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS TRIBUNAL, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, HUNTER VALLEY COAL CORPORATION

OZ says copper won’t be hit by slowdown

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Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 25-Jan-19

OZ Minerals CEO Andrew Cole is confident that strong demand for copper and the lack of major new discoveries means the copper price will ride out any downturn in the global economy. Meanwhile, production at OZ Minerals’ Carrapateena mine in South Australia is scheduled to begin in the final quarter of 2019, and Cole says it should reach full production within 18 months. He is also optimistic that the Prominent Hill mine’s will remain in production beyond 2030, when it is currently slated to close.

CORPORATES
OZ MINERALS LIMITED – ASX OZL, ANGLO AMERICAN PLC, VALE SA, MMX MINERACAO E METALICOS SA

Runaway train set to derail BHP earnings

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 15 & 16 : 23-Jan-19

BHP has advised that it produced 135 million tonnes of iron ore in the first half of 2018-19, with output falling by four million tonnes due to a train derailment in the Pilbara in early November. BHP’s copper output in turn was affected by problems at the Olympic Dam mine in South Australia and the Spencer mine in Chile. Shaw & Partners says BHP can still meet its full-guidance provided it has a strong second half. BHP shares closed 1.3 per cent lower at $32.77 on 22 January.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, VERTIUM ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, ORD MINNETT GROUP LIMITED

WA digs deeper on BHP royalties

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Original article by Ben Butler
The Australian – Page: 15 & 16 : 22-Jan-19

Western Australia’s Treasurer Ben Wyatt says the state government will pursue BHP for backdated iron ore royalties totalling between $200m and $300m. He claims that an audit undertaken in 2016 had revealed that the resources group had underpaid royalties since the early 2000s. BHP had reached a $529m settlement with the Australian Taxation Office regarding its Singapore marketing hub in November 2018.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND

Rio Tinto eyes cash returns, record tonnage

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Original article by Melissa Yeo
The Australian – Page: 16 : 22-Jan-19

Glyn Lawcock of UBS says Rio Tinto could potentially expand its share buyback program and pay a special dividend in 2019 using the proceeds of asset sales. He estimates that the resources group still has about $U4.4bn on hand from asset sales that could be returned to shareholders. Meanwhile, UBS forecasts that Rio Tinto will produce 353 million tonnes of iron ore in 2019, compared with the miner’s own guidance of 338 million to 350 million tonnes.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Offers flood in as South32 readies for South Africa coal exit

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 15 & 16 : 18-Jan-19

Diversified miner South32 expects final bids for its South African thermal coal assets to be submitted by the end of July. CEO Graham Kerr says the assets have attracted strong interest from potential bidders, and this is likely to result in 2-3 firm offers. Meanwhile, South32 has advised that CFO Brendan Harris has become its chief marketing officer, while Katie Tovich in turn has been appointed CFO.

CORPORATES
SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, ALUMINA LIMITED – ASX AWC, ALCOA INCORPORATED, WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED – ASX WHC

Whitehaven on track for record profit in 2019

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Original article by Luke Housego
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 18-Jan-19

Whitehaven Coal has advised that it still expects to meet its 2018-19 production guidance of 22-23 million tonnes. Production rose by 11 per cent year-on-year in the December quarter, although sales were seven per cent lower than previously. Whitehaven has indicated that its full-year costs are expected to increase by 4.7 per cent to $67 per tonne. Whitehaven shares closed 3.7 per cent higher at $4.71 on 17 January.

CORPORATES
WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED – ASX WHC, MORGANS FINANCIAL LIMITED

BHP and BlueScope to sink local crews after 17 years

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 17 : 16-Jan-19

The Maritime Union of Australia has criticised BHP and BlueScope Steel for opting against renewing contracts to charter two iron ore bulk carriers. The vessels are used to ship iron ore from BHP’s mines in the Pilbara to BlueScope’s Port Kembla steelworks; a BHP spokesman says the contracts are a legacy of BlueScope’s spin-off in 2002. The ships were the last two iron ore vessels to be manned by Australian crews. The MUA says the crews will be replaced by low-paid foreign workers.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, TEEKAY SHIPPING CORPORATION

Fortescue could benefit from Rio’s port blaze

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 19 : 15-Jan-19

Lower-grade iron ore is currently trading at a discount of about 27 per cent to the benchmark price, compared with 45 per cent a year ago. Peter O’Connor of Shaw & Partners says the discount may narrow further in the wake of a fire at the port of Cape Lambert in Western Australia. Rio Tinto ships about 30 million tonnes of lower-grade iron ore via Cape Lambert, and while it still assessing the damage, it has declared force majeure over shipments from the port. Fortescue Metals Group ships some 170 million tonnes of lower-grade iron ore each year.

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

Gascoyne taps bank to fend off takeovers

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 15 : 14-Jan-19

Potential takeover target Gascoyne Resources has appointed Macquarie as its adviser to help it defend any unwanted bids. Gascoyne’s main asset is the 1.3 million ounce Dalgaranga gold project in Western Australia, but Gascoyne has encountered issues with its processing plant and lower-than-expected grades from some pits, while the company has been the subject of management instability in recent times, with the resignation of both MD Mike Dunbar and chairman Ian Murray. Gascoyne advised on 24 December that it expected Dalgaranga to produce between 92,000 and 102,000 ounces of gold in calendar 2019.

CORPORATES
GASCOYNE RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX GCY, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, SILVER LAKE RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX SLR, DORAY MINERALS LIMITED – ASX DRM, RAMELIUS RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX RMS, EXPLAURUM LIMITED – ASX EXU, APHRODITE GOLD LIMITED, EXCELSIOR GOLD LIMITED, NORTHERN STAR RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX NST, TRIBUNE RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX TBR, RAND MINING LIMITED – ASX RND