MINING CORPORATIONS – AUSTRALIA

Pilbara mine investment to create hundreds of jobs

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Original article by Hamish Hastie
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 2-Oct-18

The mine life of the Robe River iron ore joint venture will be extended after Rio Tinto and its partners in the project announced plans to develop up to five new deposits. Rio Tinto, Mitsui and Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation will invest a combined $US1.55bn ($2.14bn) to expand the West Angelas and Robe Valley mines. Rio Tinto, which has a 53 per cent stake in the joint venture, will contribute $US820m ($1.13m). The expansion is expected to create up to 1,200 jobs.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, MITSUI AND COMPANY LIMITED, NIPPON STEEL AND SUMITOMO METAL CORPORATION, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP

Rio pushes closure of Grasberg deal into first half of next year

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 1-Oct-18

PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium has signed binding agreements with Rio Tinto and Freeport McMoran to assume control of the Grasberg copper mine in Indonesia. However, the agreements are still subject to a number of conditions, and Rio Tinto has advised that the transaction may not be settled until mid-2019. Rio Tinto will receive $US3.5bn ($4.8bn) for its stake in the mine, and much of the proceeds are expected to be returned to shareholders.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FREEPORT-McMORAN COPPER AND GOLD INCORPORATED, PT INDONESIA ASAHAN ALUMINIUM, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, BP PLC, MERIT ENERGY

Welcome to the futures: Dalian’s iron ore pitch

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 20 : 1-Oct-18

Glencore and Trafigura are among the international companies that have commenced trading iron ore on the Dalian Commodity Exchange since it was opened to foreign companies in May. The exchange’s CEO Wang Fenghai would like BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group to trade on the exchange, adding that an unnamed Australian company already does so. The Dalian exchange launched iron ore trading contracts five years ago, and it now accounts for 96 cent of global iron ore futures trading.

CORPORATES
DALIAN COMMODITY EXCHANGE, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, GLENCORE PLC, TRAFIGURA BEHEER BV, CARGILL INCORPORATED, HEBEI IRON AND STEEL COMPANY LIMITED, VALE SA

Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting again lifts Atlas Iron offer to $427m

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Original article by Stuart McKinnon
The West Australian – Page: Online : 27-Sep-18

Hancock Prospecting hopes to secure control of Atlas Iron with another revised takeover offer. Atlas shareholders will receive $0.046 per share if Hancock gains acceptances for 87 per cent of the iron ore miner’s stock. Hancock recently increased its offer to $0.0445 per share, which enabled it to lift its stake in Atlas to 77.06 per cent. The latest offer is slated to close on 2 October. Iron ore rival Fortescue Metals Group has an 11.4 per cent stake in Atlas.

CORPORATES
ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN

BHP fire halts work as nickel stages a revival

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 23 : 26-Sep-18

BHP Billiton is still assessing the damage to its nickel smelter in Kalgoorlie after a fire in the plant’s furnace room on 23 September. A spokeswoman has indicated that it is uncertain as to when production will resume. The smelter is part of BHP’s Nickel West business, which the resources group had unsuccessfully tried to sell in recent years. Rising demand for nickel has boosted the fortunes of Nickel West, and BHP may elevate it to a core asset. Macquarie Group is upbeat about the outlook for nickel, forecasting that it will average $US13,800 per tonne in 2018 and $US20,000/tonne in 2019.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, NICKEL WEST, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, DIGGERS AND DEALERS FORUM, LONDON METAL EXCHANGE LIMITED, WMC RESOURCES LIMITED, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32

Coronado tips coal prices above $US170

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 25-Sep-18

Coronado Global Resources will have a market capitalisation of more than $4bn after its proposed IPO. The company, whose primary listing will be in Australia, proposes to issue 166.5 million CHESS Depositary Interests to local shareholders; its only shareholder Coronado Group will in turn sell more than 123 million CDIs. Coronado Global Resources’ assets include the Curragh coking coal mine in Queensland and several coking coal mines in the US. MD and founder Garold Spindler expects the price of coking coal to remain above $US170 per tonne in the near-term, due to continued strong demand.

CORPORATES
CORONADO GLOBAL RESOURCES INCORPORATED, CORONADO GROUP, ENERGY AND MINERALS GROUP, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, BM ALLIANCE COAL OPERATIONS PTY LTD, MITSUBISHI CORPORATION, MMG LIMITED – ASX MMG, VIVA ENERGY GROUP LIMITED – ASX VEA

South32 has part victory in Colombia

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 25-Sep-18

Colombia’s Constitutional Court has partially overturned a ruling against diversified miner South32 regarding its Cerro Matoso nickel mine. The court had ruled in March that South32 must compensate indigenous communities that had experienced adverse health effects due to waste from the mine and provide ongoing health care to these communities. The court has struck out the compensation order following an appeal, although South32 must still comply with some elements of the original judgment.

CORPORATES
SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, CONSTITUTIONAL COURT (COLOMBIA)

Lynas dives on hostile review fears

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 28 : 25-Sep-18

Media reports in Malaysia have suggested that a mooted government review of Lynas Corporation’s rare earths processing plant in the province of Kuantan may be headed by a politician who has been a critic of the miner in the past. Lynas has advised that the Malaysian Government has yet to confirm that it will undertake a review of the refinery, but this has been widely anticipated since the election of the nation’s new coalition government. Shares in Lynas closed 18 per cent lower on 24 September.

CORPORATES
LYNAS CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX LYC

Long-term deals key to iron-clad alliance

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 20 : 24-Sep-18

BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metal Group were among the Australian iron ore companies that were represented at the recent China International Steel & Raw Materials Conference. Australia currently supplies 62 per cent of China’s seaborne iron ore, with iron ore being Australia’s biggest export to China. Businesses involved in commerce between Australia and China are hopeful that the relationship between the two countries, which has been somewhat strained in recent times, will improve under new Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, VALE SA, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

BHP chair happy with portfolio

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 26 : 21-Sep-18

Analysts who attended BHP Billiton’s recent briefing in London say chairman Ken MacKenzie gave strong indications that the petroleum division is still regarded as a core asset. However, he signalled that further exploration success will be needed for BHP to remain in the sector. BHP’s petroleum division faces a decline in production in coming years as key gas and oil fields become depleted. MacKenzie also told analysts that BHP may be open to retaining its Nickel West assets due to growing demand for batteries.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, NICKEL WEST