MINING CORPORATIONS – AUSTRALIA

Rinehart plans to share Pilbara riches

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 5-Jul-18

Mining magnate Gina Rinehart has launched a profit-sharing scheme for employees of her Roy Hill iron ore project. The share of profits to be distributed to Roy Hill workers will be linked to the company’s iron ore export volumes, with the first payment to be made in December. Roy Hill is seeking government approval to lift the mine’s capacity from 55 million tonnes to 60 million tonnes. Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting, which has a 70 per cent stake in Roy Hill, has also formally opened its $A390m takeover bid for Atlas Iron.

CORPORATES
ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, REDSTONE CORPORATION PTY LTD, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, MARUBENI CORPORATION, POSCO

Rio nears sale of Grasberg mine stake

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 23 : 4-Jul-18

Rio Tinto is believed to have reached agreement on a deal to sell its stake in Indonesia’s Grasberg copper and gold mine to the state-owned Indonesia Asahan Aluminium. The Indonesian Government must still strike a deal with the mine’s operator, Freeport McMoran, as part of its push to take a minimum stake of 51 per cent in the project. Rio Tinto may gain around $US3.5bn from the sale of its interest in the mine, and the proceeds are tipped to be returned to shareholders via a buyback or increased dividend payout.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, PT INDONESIA ASAHAN ALUMINIUM PERSERO, FREEPORT-McMORAN COPPER AND GOLD INCORPORATED, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, INDONESIA. DEPT OF STATE-OWNED CORPORATIONS

Forrest rebuff over Rinehart bid

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 3-Jul-18

The Takeovers Panel has declined to conduct proceedings in relation to Gina Rinehart’s $A390 million offmarket bid for Atlas Iron. NCZ Investments, a unit of Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Metals, sought to restrain Rinehart’s bid, which is being conducted through Hancock Prospecting subsidiary Redstone, in the week ending 29 June.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. TAKEOVERS PANEL, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, NCZ INVESTMENTS, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, REDSTONE CORPORATION PTY LTD

Crucial port project given no value

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Darren Gray
The Age – Page: 23 : 29-Jun-18

Access to two shipping berths to be built at Port Hedland under the long-mooted North West Infrastructure project is considered to be at the heart of the takeover battle for Atlas Iron. Fortescue Metals Group and Hancock Prospecting are vying for control of Atlas, which has been a member of NWI for some years, although the berth project is yet to come to fruition. Atlas noted in an ASX release on 28 June that the Western Australian government’s public policy is that the berths flagged under the NWI project should be set aside for junior miners. Neither Fortescue or Hancock could be considered as falling into this category.

CORPORATES
ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET

Fortescue bid for Atlas rests on port rights

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 20 : 28-Jun-18

The status of Atlas Iron’s right to develop new berths at Port Hedland is likely to determine whether Fortescue Metals Group makes a takeover bid. The pure-play iron ore miner has asked Atlas to clarify its priority rights to develop the South West Creek berths. The Western Australian Government recently gave indications that Atlas no longer holds these rights, and that junior miners should have priority access to the berths. This would exclude both Fortescue and Hancock Prospecting from using the berths.

CORPORATES
ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF TRANSPORT

BHP in $7bn deal on Brazil disaster

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 22 : 27-Jun-18

BHP Billiton has agreed to an uncapped settlement with Brazilian prosecutors regarding a damages claim arising from the tailings dam collapse at the Samarco iron ore mine in 2015. The agreement has fully settled the initial damages claim of 20 billion Brazilian real against BHP and joint venture partner Vale, while a civil claim for 155 billion real has been suspended for two years. Tyler Broda of RBC Capital Markets says the settlement should eventually allow production at Samarco to resume.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, SAMARCO MINERACAO SA, VALE SA, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, BP PLC

Rio coy on big copper discovery

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 19 : 25-Jun-18

Rio Tinto has declined to confirm or deny reports that it has established an exploration camp in the Pilbara’s North Paterson province. Satellite photos suggest that the resources giant has set up a camp in the province’s sand dunes, which in turn has prompted speculation of a major copper find. The northern part of the province is largely unexplored due to the presence of sand, but the southern region includes the Telfer gold mine and the Woodie Woodie manganese mine.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, ALLOY RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX AYR, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, SIPA RESOURCES INTERNATIONAL LIMITED – ASX SRI, NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, NEWMONT AUSTRALIA LIMITED, ANTIPA MINERALS LIMITED – ASX AZY

Atlas board backs Rinehart’s $390m bid

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 22-Jun-18

Mineral Resources will be entitled to a break fee of $A3.12m after Atlas Iron’s board recommended that shareholder accept the rival bid from Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting. Atlas had previously endorsed Mineral Resources’ scrip offer of $A0.036 per share, which was trumped by Hancock’s cash bid of $A0.042 per share. Fortescue Metals Group could also make a counter-bid for Atlas in the wake of its recent move to acquire a 19.9 per cent stake in the iron ore producer.

CORPORATES
ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, REDSTONE CORPORATION PTY LTD, CLEVELAND-CLIFFS INCORPORATED

Bottled-up investment plans freed

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 36 : 22-Jun-18

Australian mining companies are capitalising on factors such as rising commodity prices and strong balance sheets to ramp up investment. BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals Group recently announced plans for new iron ore mines in the Pilbara, while South32 has struck a deal to acquire Arizona Mining. However, much of the new investment is intended to replace projects that are nearing the end of their mine life, while miners are also pursuing growth plans that were put on hold following the end of the mining boom.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, ARIZONA MINING INCORPORATED, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, OZ MINERALS LIMITED – ASX OZL, PEMBROKE RESOURCES PTY LTD, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, EMR CAPITAL PTY LTD, PT ADARO ENERGY TBK, GLENCORE PLC

MinRes yields to Rinehart in Atlas race

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 21-Jun-18

Atlas Iron directors are expected to recommend that shareholders accept a $A390m takeover bid from Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting, after Mineral Resources advised that it will not match the offer. However, Fortescue Metals Group could leverage its 19.9 per cent stake in Atlas to block the deal; Peter O’Connor of Shaw & Partners suggests that if Fortescue does so it could then potentially seek an agreement with Hancock to split Atlas’s assets. O’Connor adds that Fortescue could also make a counter-bid for Atlas.

CORPORATES
ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, REDSTONE CORPORATION, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED