MINING CORPORATIONS – AUSTRALIA

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

Rinehart plans to share Pilbara riches

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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