MINING CORPORATIONS – AUSTRALIA

Iron ore miners tipped to have record quarter

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

UBS estimates that Rio Tinto’s iron ore shipments from the Pilbara totalled 88.9 million tonnes in the June quarter. BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals Group are also expected to have had record quarterly shipments, at 71.7 million tonnes and 46.3 million tonnes respectively. Brazilian rival Vale is also expected to report record quarterly shipments, at 96.3 million tonnes. Meanwhile, UBS forecasts that BHP’s shipments from the Pilbara totalled 274 million tonnes in 2017-18, which is slightly below the resources group’s full-year guidance of 275-280 million tonnes.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, VALE SA, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE

Aussie miner in trade war crossfire

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Original article by Alexandra Stevenson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 13-Jul-18

China’s domination of the global rare earths market gives the nation significant power in a trade war with the US. Rare earth minerals are an essential component of consumer goods such as smartphones and electric cars. Chinese-made goods containing rare earths are among those being targeted by the Trump administration’s latest round of tariffs. Amanda Lacaze, the CEO of Australian-listed rare earths producer Lynas Corporation, says China could easily restrict global supply if a full-scale trade war erupts. Lynas produced about 12 per cent of global rare earths supply in 2017.

CORPORATES
LYNAS CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX LYC, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, ADAMAS INTELLIGENCE

Grasberg a done deal for Rio and Indonesia

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 13-Jul-18

Freeport McMoran has entered into a heads of agreement with the Indonesian Government to reduce its stake in the Grasberg copper mine from around 91 per cent to just under 50 per cent. Control over its divested stake will be assumed by the state-owned PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium Persero. Rio Tinto does not have a direct stake in Grasberg, but it owns the rights to a certain amount of the mine’s production, and it could potentially benefit from the change of ownership to the tune of more than $US3bn ($4.1bn).

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FREEPORT-McMORAN COPPER AND GOLD INCORPORATED, PT INDONESIA ASAHAN ALUMINIUM, NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM

Hancock hopes rising as Atlas bleeds cash

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 19 : 13-Jul-18

Atlas Iron held cash on hand of $57 million at the end of June, down from $78 million at the end of March. It shipped 2.1 million tonnes of iron ore during the June quarter, but lost an average of $3 per tonne on every tonne shipped. The amount owed by Atlas to lenders increased from $83 million to $85 million over the quarter. The rise in debt and the fall in Atlas’s cash position has boosted the likelihood that shareholders will accept Hancock Prospecting’s $390 million takeover bid.

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

BHP’s shale sale to reap dividends

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 19 : 12-Jul-18

BHP Billiton chairman Ken MacKenzie has told shareholders that the resources group hopes to secure at least one deal for its US shale assets by the end of 2018. He said there has been strong interest in the assets due to factors such as US company tax cuts and a rise in the crude oil price. MacKenzie also signalled that BHP is likely to return some of the sale proceeds to shareholders via share buybacks or increased dividends. He also said there is still strong support at boardroom and executive level for BHP’s conventional oil assets.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, BP PLC, CHEVRON CORPORATION, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, ELLIOTT MANAGEMENT CORPORATION

BHP’s 100-year Pilbara mines plan gets green light

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Original article by Ben Harvey
The West Australian – Page: Online : 11-Jul-18

Western Australia’s Environmental Protection Authority has approved BHP Billiton’s long-term plan for its iron ore operations in the Pilbara. However, the EPA’s deputy chairman Robert Harvey has stressed that BHP will still need to submit each development proposal for environmental approval. BHP’s Pilbara Expansion-Strategic Proposal includes the expansion of existing iron ore mines and the potential development of up to 13 new mines in the Pilbara.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AUTHORITY

Austar coal workers in doubt

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 19 : 10-Jul-18

Yancoal Australia has redeployed most of the workers at its Austar coal mine in New South Wales after it was issued with two prohibition notices by the state’s Resources Regulator. Yancoal will seek a ruling from the Industrial Relations Commission on whether it can access the mine in the wake of the two most recent "coal burst" incidents that forced its closure. Yancoal hopes to at least retrieve longwall mining equipment, even if it cannot resume production.

CORPORATES
YANCOAL AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX YAL, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT. RESOURCES REGULATOR, INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMISSION OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Fortescue on Belt and Road to riches

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 17 & 18 : 9-Jul-18

Fortescue Metals Group’s CEO Elizabeth Gaines has urged Australian firms to make the most of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Countries that come under the BRI have a combined population of more than four billion. Gaines notes that steel is expected to underpin the infrastructure needed for the BRI, from which Fortescue could be expected to benefit as a major supplier of iron ore to China. Fortescue has been selling iron ore to China for 10 years, and Gaines notes that it supplies 17 per cent of China’s seaborne iron ore.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

Rio looks to next iron ore play

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 6-Jul-18

A Rio Tinto spokesman has indicated that the resources giant expects to complete a pre-feasibility study on its Western Range iron ore deposit in Western Australia by mid-2019. Chris Salisbury, Rio Tinto’s head of iron ore, also recently described Western Range as an "important" project for the future of its Paraburdoo operations. Rio Tinto’s board is expected to approve development of the $US2.2bn ($2.98bn) Koodaideri project by the end of 2018, with initial production of 40 million tonnes a year.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, DEUTSCHE BANK AG

Pure play coal just doesn’t make the cut for UniSuper

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Original article by Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 5-Jul-18

UniSuper’s Talieh Williams says the superannuation fund takes into account a range of factors when deciding whether to invest in a stock. UniSuper has relatively little exposure to the coal sector, and pure-play coal miners in particular, which she attributes to the super fund’s rigorous investment processes. Meanwhile, QSuper says it invests across the S&P/ASX 200 Index and therefore does have exposure to pure-play coal producers. Yancoal Australia recently blamed fund managers’ lack of interest in a capital raising for its proposal for a dual listing in Hong Kong.

CORPORATES
YANCOAL AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX YAL, UNISUPER LIMITED, QSUPER LIMITED, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, HEALTH EMPLOYEES’ SUPERANNUATION TRUST AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED – ASX WHC, NEW HOPE CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX NHC, CLIMATE ACTION 100+, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, ADELAIDE BRIGHTON LIMITED – ASX ABC, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL