MINING CORPORATIONS – AUSTRALIA

Olympic Dam gets a $40m injection

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Original article by Cameron England
The Australian – Page: 16 : 4-Feb-25

A joint venture between Fluor Australia and Hatch has been awarded a major contract for the proposed expansion of BHP’s copper smelter and refinery at its Olympic Dam project. BHP’s procurement officer Rashpal Bhatti says the two companies that were selected for the $40m engineering, procurement and construction management contract have "significant shared experience" in delivering major projects. BHP expects to make a final investment decision on the expansion during the first half of the 2026–27 financial year.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, FLUOR AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, HATCH ENGINEERING

Red Hawk backs $254m Fortescue takeover bid

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Original article by Giuseppe Tauriello
The Australian – Page: 16 : 29-Jan-25

Red Hawk Mining’ board has unanimously endorsed a $254m takeover offer from pure-play iron ore miner Fortescue. The off-market cash bid values Red Hawk at $1.05 per share, although this will rise to $1.20 if Fortescue secures at least 75 per cent of the target’s shares by 4 February. Fortescue says its offer represents a ‘significant and attractive premium’ for Red Hawk shareholders, while Red Hawk’s ND Steven Michael describes the offer as an ‘attractive outcome’ for the company’s shareholder. Red Hawk’s Blacksmith iron ore project is located near Fortescue’s Solomon hub.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE LIMITED – ASX FMG, RED HAWK MINING LIMITED – ASX RHK

Fortescue posts record tonnes amid tariff threat

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Original article by Elouise Fowler
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 24-Jan-25

Pure-play iron ore miner Fortescue has advised that its shipments from the Pilbara rose to a record 97.1 million tonnes in the first half of 2024-25. This includes 49.4 million tonnes in the three months to 31 December. Fortescue has maintained its full-year guidance of 190-200 million tonnes. Fortescue’s shares have shed four per cent in recent days, amid fears that the tariff policies of US President Donald Trump will dampen the Chinese steel industry’s demand for iron ore.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE LIMITED – ASX FMG, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

BHP corruption probe tipped to expand as contractors axed

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 24-Jan-25

A whistleblower has claimed that there is widespread corruption among contractors working for BHP’s Queensland coal mining operations, and that they had raised their concerns with the Australian ­Securities & Investments Commission and police. BHP has so far axed dozens of contractors who were hired for work at its Saraji mine, with it being suggested these sackings are just the tip of the iceberg. The whistleblower has indicated that the corruption has been going on for a number of years, and that tens of millions of dollars were involved.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

Coal miner set to move fast after court win

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Original article by Mackenzie Scott
The Australian – Page: 6 : 22-Jan-25

New Hope Corporation will ramp up work on the much-delayed stage three expansion of its New Acland thermal coal mine in Queensland. There are currently about 280 workers at the site, but New Acland Coal’s general manager Dave O’Dwyer says this will increase to 400 over the next year. New Hope’s initial application to expand the mine was submitted more than 15 years ago, but the project has been delayed by ongoing legal challenges. However, the Oakey Coal Action Alliance recently withdrew its appeal against the state government’s 2022 decision to grant a water licence for the project.

CORPORATES
NEW HOPE CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX NHC, NEW ACLAND COAL PTY LTD, OAKEY COAL ACTION ALLIANCE

Rio counts cost as Pilbara iron ore operations are flooded

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 15 : 21-Jan-25

Rio Tinto states it is still assessing the impact of Cyclone Sean on its iron ore operations in the Pilbara, with a spokesman noting that its port and rail infrastructure had been hit by flooding. Observing that Rio’s first priority is the safety of its workers, the spokesman noted that the town of Karratha had experienced 274mm of rain in a 24-hour period. The flooding comes less than a week after Rio disclosed that heavy rain had impacted its iron ore operations in the December quarter and forced it to make use of stockpiles, while it has remained silent about any discussions it may have held with Glencore about a merger between the two big mining companies

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, GLENCORE PLC

Unions build case for same job, same pay

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Original article by Euan Black
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 21-Jan-25

The Mining & Energy Union and the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union are testing the federal government’s ‘same work, same pay’ laws in the Federal Court. They want workers at three BHP mines who are employed either by labour hire firms or BHP units and who are doing the same jobs as people directly employed by BHP to be paid the same amount, with the federal court hearing the difference in pay between those directly employed by BHP and those who are not being but are performing the same role can be as much as $49,000 a year. Should BHP lose the case, its estimates suggest it will have to pay an extra $1.3 billion a year.

CORPORATES
MINING AND ENERGY UNION, AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING WORKERS’ UNION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Labor’s $1bn for Rinehart-backed rare earths

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Original article by Ronald Mizen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 15-Jan-25

The federal government’s National Reconstruction Fund is set to become a cornerstone investor in Arafura Rare Earths. The fund is set to acquire $200 million worth of unsecured convertible notes in the rare earths miner, which can be converted into shares at a fixed price and after a specified period of time. The government has previously provided some $840m worth of loans and grants to Arafura, whose biggest shareholder is Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting. Arafura’s assets include the Nolans rare earths project in the Northern Territory.

CORPORATES
ARAFURA RARE EARTHS LIMITED – ASX ARU, AUSTRALIA. NATIONAL RECONSTRUCTION FUND, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD

Miner hails end to years of bitter lawfare

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 6 : 15-Jan-25

The Oakey Coal Action Alliance has withdrawn its appeal against the Queensland government’s 2022 decision to grant a water licence for an expansion of the New Acland coal mine. The decision to end the long-running legal challenge to the Stage 3 expansion of New Acland has been welcomed by New Hope Corporation’s chairman Robert Millner, after the company’s 14-year battle to get the project approved. He stresses that red and ‘green’ tape hurdes in the mining sector are not restricted to the fossil fuel industry, but can also affect projects such copper or cobalt mines.

CORPORATES
NEW HOPE CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX NHC, OAKEY COAL ACTION ALLIANCE

Syrah wins US support in tax deal

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 16 : 14-Jan-25

Australian-listed Syrah Resources has advised that it will receive an additional $US165m in tax credits via the Biden adminstration’s Inflation Reduction Act. The tax credit could be used to help finance an expansion of the graphite producer’s active anode material plant at Vidalia in Louisiana. Syrah declared "force majeure" on graphite production in Mozambique in December due to civil unrest near its Balama mine; the company also revealed that it was in default on loans from two US government agencies.

CORPORATES
SYRAH RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX SYR