MINING CORPORATIONS – AUSTRALIA

Rio revs up driverless truck plan

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Original article by Matt Chambers, Cliona O’Dowd
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 8-Jun-18

Rio Tinto employs about 12,000 people at its iron ore operations in the Pilbara, and its automation program is not expected to have any net effect on job numbers. An internal briefing from late 2016 flagged the loss of about 850 jobs over four years as a result of initiatives such as its AutoHaul project. However, Rio Tinto has advised that the figures have since been revised to take into account the retraining and redeployment of existing staff and the need to hire additional employees for new mining projects.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, OZ MINERALS LIMITED – ASX OZL, THE MELBOURNE MINING CLUB, ALPHABETA, NATIONAL ENERGY RESOURCES AUSTRALIA, METS IGNITED

Fortescue derails MinRes bid for Atlas

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 8-Jun-18

Fortescue Metals Group has paid $A0.04 per share for a 15 per cent stake in Atlas Iron. The pure-play iron ore miner also has an economic interest in about 4.9 per cent of Atlas’s shares via a cash-settled swap, effectively giving it a stake of 19.9 per cent. CEO Elizabeth Gaines has also advised that Fortescue will not support the proposed scheme of arrangement between Atlas and suitor Mineral Resources at present, although it remains open to doing so. Atlas shares closed 12 per cent lower at $A0.028 on 7 June. Haoma Mining sold its iron ore rights at the Mt Webber Dalton deposit to Atlas in April 2012.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, ARGONAUT SECURITIES PTY LTD, FOSTER STOCKBROKING PTY LTD, AWE LIMITED, MITSUI AND COMPANY LIMITED, HAOMA MINING NL

BHP’s US shale gets low-ball bid

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 20 : 7-Jun-18

A Bloomberg News report has suggested that BHP Billiton is seeking at least $US10bn for its US shale oil and gas assets if they are sold as a package, and up to $US13bn if they are broken up. However, the report claims that the initial offers have been within the range of $US7bn to $US9bn. Peter O’Connor of Shaw & Partners stresses that first-round bids are typically low and will be increased when final bids are submitted. Some analysts expect the recent rise in the crude oil price to boost the sale price of the shale assets.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, BLOOMBERG LP, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, ELLIOTT MANAGEMENT CORPORATION, PETROHAWK ENERGY CORPORATION, BP PLC, CHEVRON CORPORATION, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, THE BLACKSTONE GROUP LP

Lithium processing in WA grows to five plants

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 7-Jun-18

Neometals proposes to build a lithium hydroxide plant near Kalgoorlie, with an annual processing capacity of 10,000 tonnes. Should the project proceed, it will increase the potential lithium processing capacity in Western Australia to around 200,000 tonnes a year, given that four other plants have either been proposed or are under construction in the state. Neometals plans to source spodumene for the plant from the Mount Marion lithium mine. A final investment decision is expected in mid-2019.

CORPORATES
NEOMETALS LIMITED – ASX NMT, KIDMAN RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX KDR, SOCIEDAD QUIMICA Y MINERA SA, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, TIANQI LITHIUM CORPORATION, ALBERMARLE CORPORATION, MORGAN STANLEY AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, GLOBAL ADVANCED METALS PTY LTD, RESOURCE CAPITAL FUNDS, SUPREME COURT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA, CITY OF KALGOORLIE-BOULDER

Junior miners lead surge in mergers

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 17 & 18 : 4-Jun-18

Australian-listed mining companies have been involved in nearly $US12 billion ($A15.8 billion) worth of mergers and acquisitions since the start of 2017-18, the highest level of activity since the 2012 financial year, when the mining boom was at its peak. Most deals involve small and medium-sized mining firms, with Eddie Rigg of advisory firm Argonaut saying it "has never been busier". He says some smaller firms are taking the view that the best way to "realise value" is to be acquired, rather than trying to develop deposits themselves.

CORPORATES
ARGONAUT SECURITIES PTY LTD, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, LION SELECTION GROUP LIMITED – ASX LSX, SOJITZ CORPORATION

New Hope mined area outside its Acland parameters

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Original article by Jared Owens
The Australian – Page: 6 : 31-May-18

The Queensland Government will investigate claims that New Hope Group has expanded production at its New Acland coal mine beyond the mine pit footprint which had been approved by the Department of the Environment, The allegations, which were made by the Oakey Coal Action Alliance, have been disputed by New Hope. Meanwhile, anti-coal activists have appealed against the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn a Land Court ruling with regard to the mine’s proposed stage three expansion.

CORPORATES
NEW HOPE CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX NHC, NEW HOPE GROUP, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT AND HERITAGE PROTECTION, OAKEY COAL ACTION ALLIANCE, SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND, LAND COURT OF QUEENSLAND, ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENDERS OFFICE

BHP, Queensland settle royalty stoush

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Original article by Matt Chambers, Ben Butler, Charlie Peel
The Australian – Page: 24 : 30-May-18

BHP Billiton has secured a confidential out-of-court settlement with the Queensland Government over a $A329m coal royalties dispute that centred on the miner’s marketing hub in Singapore. The case had been slated to be heard by the Supreme Court in coming days, and the settlement will enable BHP to avoid disclosing details of the Singapore hub. BHP also faces legal action from the Australian Taxation Office over a disputed tax bill of $A87m. The case will be heard in the Federal Court in Melbourne on 31 May.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND, QUEENSLAND. TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, MITSUBISHI CORPORATION, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE, NEW SOUTH WALES. THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS TRIBUNAL

Haoma establishes share trading hub Ecosystem with PrimaryMarkets for secondary trading of Haoma Mining Shares

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Haoma Mining NL Announcements – Page: Online : 29-May-18

Since being unnecessarily delisted by the ASX in February, Haoma has worked to identify a suitable and cost-effective platform for easy trading of Haoma’s shares and can now advise that this has been achieved with the appointment of PrimaryMarkets to establish on their platform a Haoma Mining NL private share trading hub known as the ‘EcoSystem’. Existing Haoma shareholders or prospective shareholders wishing to sell or purchase shares in Haoma Mining will be able to register buy and sell offers within the Ecosystem. Sell and buy offers will be transacted and settled in accordance with the Haoma share trading rules as published on the Ecosystem. The Ecosystem will open on Wednesday June 6, 2018. Further details on the benefits of using the Ecosystem are available at this PDF link.

CORPORATES
HAOMA MINING NL, PRIMARYMARKETS

Fortescue keeps focus on low costs as it approves new mine

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 28 : 29-May-18

Fortescue Metals Group will be able to supply higher-grade iron ore after its board approved the development of the Eliwana mine in the Pilbara. The $A1.7bn project, which also includes a rail component and a processing plant, will enable Fortescue to produce ore with 60 per cent iron content, compared with an average of 58 per cent at present. Eliwana will replace the Firetail mine, which is approaching the end of its mine life. Production at Eliwana is slated to commence in 2020, with annual output of about 30 million tonnes.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS

Australia’s iron ore age nears peak

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 28-May-18

Australia now accounts for about 62 per cent of all iron ore shipments to China, compared with 43 per cent in 2010. He Ming of Wood Mackenzie forecasts that Australia’s iron ore exports to China will peak at 895 million tonnes in 2020 and 2021, before holding steady at around 884 million tonnes beyond 2023. Tony Robson of Global Mining Research expects Chinese steel mills’ demand for Australian iron ore to fall in coming years, as annual steel production peaks. Factors such as increased iron ore production in Brazil are also expected to weigh on Australian producers.

CORPORATES
WOOD MACKENZIE, GLOBAL MINING RESEARCH PTY LTD, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, VALE SA, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD