MINING CORPORATIONS – AUSTRALIA

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

Rio Tinto goes off market for share buyback

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 22 : 21-Sep-18

Rio Tinto will repurchase around $US3.2bn worth of its shares, including $US1.9bn ($2.6bn) of its Australian-listed stock. The off-market buyback will be financed via the proceeds from the sale of Rio Tinto’s coking coal assets in Queensland. Don Hamson of Plato Investment Management says an off-market buyback is preferable to a special dividend, given that Labor intends to abolish cash refunds for excess franking credits if it wins the next federal election. Rio Tinto had previously announced $US2.4bn worth of buybacks.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, PLATO INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE

Fortescue flags earlier start for higher grade iron ore exports

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

Pure-play iron ore producer Fortescue Metals Group has advised that it will begin exporting ore with an iron content of 60.1 per cent in December. Fortescue had previously expected to begin shipments of the higher-grade West Pilbara Fines product during the first half of 2019. Fortescue’s new Eliwana mine will be a key source of the new iron ore blend, and the company expects annual shipments of West Pilbara Fines to be around 40 million when production at Eliwana begins. Fortescue has forecast that it will export 5-10 million tonnes of West Pilbara Fines in 2018-19.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Shutdowns to hit China coal hardest

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 19-Sep-18

New Hope Corporation has posted a 2017-18 underlying profit of $253m, which is 96 per cent higher than previously. The result was underpinned by higher commodity prices and increased production. Meanwhile, CEO Shane Stephan forecasts that demand for Australian coal will remain strong over the next six months, despite looming industrial production cutbacks in China. He argues that the traditional winter shutdown in China primarily reduces demand for local rather than imported coal, which tends to be of higher quality.

CORPORATES
NEW HOPE CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX NHC, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Billiton to go as BHP gets back to its roots

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Original article by Matt Chambers, Samantha Bailey
The Australian – Page: 24 : 19-Sep-18

BHP Billiton’s 2018 AGMs in Australia and the UK will include a resolution to formally drop "Billiton" from its name. The resources group has been referring to itself simply as BHP in marketing campaigns for the last 18 months. Many of the assets that BHP gained via the merger with Billiton in 2001 have since been sold or spun off into South32. Meanwhile, BHP chairman Ken MacKenzie has indicated that "social licence" will be taken into consideration when selecting directors in the future.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, ELLIOTT MANAGEMENT CORPORATION

Europe buyer pulls $438m offer for Rio aluminium assets

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Original article by Darren Gray
The Age – Page: 25 : 18-Sep-18

Rio Tinto has advised that Norway-based Hydro has terminated a deal struck earlier in 2018 to acquire its remaining aluminium assets in Europe for $US345m ($438m). The assets comprise an aluminium smelter in Iceland and Rio’s stakes in an anode plant in the Netherlands and an aluminium fluoride plant in Sweden. Competition concerns in Europe are believed to have prompted Hydro to withdraw from the deal. Rio may seek a new buyer for the assets.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, NORSK HYDRO ASA, EUROPEAN COMMISSION, LIBERTY HOUSE GROUP, UC RUSAL LIMITED

BHP buys Solgold stake as battle with Newcrest heats up

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 6-Sep-18

BHP Billiton has purchased a 6.1 per cent stake in Solgold, which operates a copper-gold project in Ecuador. It had previously sought to acquire a 10 per cent in Solgold in late 2016, but lost out to Newcrest Mining. Newcrest Mining is currently Solgold’s largest shareholder, owning around 14.5 per cent of the Brisbane-based company. BHP and Newcrest both have interests in Ecuador apart from their Solgold investment, while Fortescue Metals Group and Hancock Prospecting also have exploration tenements in Ecuador.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, SOLGOLD PLC, NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, GUYANA GOLDFIELDS INCORPORATED