MINING CORPORATIONS – AUSTRALIA

Rio Tinto sells Hail Creek to Glencore

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 21-Mar-18

Glencore will acquire Rio Tinto’s 82 per cent stake in the Hail Creek coking coal mine and its stake in the Valeria coal project in Queensland. The $US1.7bn ($A2.2bn) deal follows Rio Tinto’s sale of its Hunter Valley coal assets in New South Wales to Yancoal Australia for $US2.69bn in 2017. The sale of the Queensland assets has prompted speculation that Rio Tinto could use the proceeds to return capital to shareholders, as it did after the Yancoal deal.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, GLENCORE PLC, YANCOAL AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX YAL, AUSTRALIAN FOUNDATION INVESTMENT COMPANY LIMITED – ASX AFI, NEW HOPE CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX NHC, COMMITTEE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF AUSTRALIA, WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED – ASX WHC, EMR CAPITAL PTY LTD, ADARO ENERGY

BHP to change gear at Escondida copper

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 19-Mar-18

BHP Billiton has spent $US8 billion over the last six years on improvements to Escondida, the giant copper mine in Chile in which it and Rio Tinto own stakes of 57 per cent and 30 per cent respectively. Escondida is tipped to produce between 1.13 million and 1.23 million tonnes of copper in 2018, and BHP is aiming for annual production of 1.2 million tonnes per annum over the next decade. However, the quality of the copper grade produced by Escondida is expected to decline over this period.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Forrest weighs return to High Court in cattle station battle

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 16-Mar-18

Western Australia’s Court of Appeal has ruled in favour of Onslow Resources in the latest round of a legal dispute with mining magnate Andrew Forrest. The court has rejected an appeal by Forrest’s private company against the Supreme Court’s ruling that a licence associated with Onslow’s sand mining operations should be renewed. Onslow mines sand from the Ashburton River, which runs through Forrest’s Minderoo cattle station. A spokesman for Forrest says the businessman will consider appealing the decision.

CORPORATES
ONSLOW RESOURCES LIMITED, COURT OF APPEAL (WESTERN AUSTRALIA), FORREST AND FORREST, YARRI MINING PTY LTD, SUPREME COURT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF MINES, INDUSTRY REGULATION AND SAFETY, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

Newcrest in dark on Cadia restart

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 21 : 16-Mar-18

Analysts have scaled back their 2017-18 production forecasts for Newcrest Mining’s Cadia gold mine after the company advised that it is uncertain when production will resume. Peter O’Connor of Shaw Stockbroking expects output for the fiscal year to be about 570,000 ounces following the collapse of a tailings dam wall. Full-year output at the mine had been slated to be within the range of 680,00 to 780,000 ounces. Newcrest CEO Sandeep Biswas says the cause of the incident remains unknown, and it does not appear to be linked to recent seismic activity.

CORPORATES
NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, SHAW STOCKBROKING LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, SAMARCO MINERACAO SA

No hurry to unwind BHP stock split: UBS

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 22 : 16-Mar-18

A report from UBS concludes that BHP Billiton would be better off retaining its dual-listed structure for now, noting that abolishing it would have implications in terms of taxes and franking credits. The firm concludes that there may be a case for scrapping the dual listing in three years’ time, when BHP has exhausted its tax credits. A recent analysis by FTI Consulting on behalf of activist hedge fund Elliott Management concluded that the financial benefits of shifting to a primary listing in Australia could be worth around $US22bn ($A28bn) for BHP.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, ELLIOTT MANAGEMENT CORPORATION, FTI CONSULTING INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

MCA cedes ground to BHP over climate

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

BHP Billiton may back down on its threat to withdraw from the Minerals Council of Australia after the lobby group released its revised climate policy. The MCA has been criticised by BHP for advocating coal-fired power generation, but its revised policy adopts a similar position to BHP regarding a "technology-neutral approach" to low-emission energy sources. Rio Tinto in turn has welcomed the MCA’s new policy stance and urged shareholders to reject resolutions to be put before its upcoming AGM by the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, AUSTRALASIAN CENTRE FOR CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY

Mongolia anti-corruption squad seeks info from Rio unit

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

Turquoise Hill Resources has advised that the Mongolian Anti-Corruption Authority is investigating the potential abuse of power by "authorised officials" during negotiations for the Oyu Tolgoi investment agreement in 2008. Turquoise Hill, which has a 66 per cent stake in the copper mine, is in turn controlled by Rio Tinto. Turquoise Hill – which was called Ivanhoe Mines negotiations were being held – has stressed that there are no indications that Oyu Tolgoi itself is being investigated. Rio Tinto held a stake of less than 10 per cent in the company at the time.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, TURQUOISE HILL RESOURCES LIMITED, OYU TOLGOI LLC, MONGOLIAN ANTI-CORRUPTION AUTHORITY, MONGOLIAN TAX AUTHORITY, SOMO

BHP oil division stymies S&P upgrade

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 14-Mar-18

BHP Billiton has reduced its net debt by US10.5bn ($A13.3bn) since Standard & Poor’s downgraded its credit rating from "A+" to "A" in 2016. Although S&P has since upgraded BHP’s outlook from "negative" to "stable", analyst Elad Jelasko says a decline in BHP’s portfolio diversification has contributed to the lack of a credit rating upgrade. He notes that the downturn in earnings from BHP’s petroleum division has helped to offset the positive impact of the reduction in net debt. Jelasko adds that the proposed sale of BHP’s US shale assets is unlikely to affect its credit rating.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, STANDARD AND POOR’S FINANCIAL SERVICES LLC, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, SAMARCO MINERACAO SA

$750m wiped off Newcrest as quake rocks goldminer’s forecasts

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 28 : 13-Mar-18

Shares in Newcrest Mining closed 4.6 per cent lower at $A20.60 on 12 March, after the company advised that its 2017-18 earnings will be hit by another earthquake at its Cadia gold mine. Newcrest had previously forecast that gold output for the full year would be within the range of 2.4 million and 2.7 million ounces. Production at the New South Wales mine has been put on hold after part of the tailings dam wall collapsed. A previous earthquake disrupted production in April 2017.

CORPORATES
NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS

Rio Tinto’s New Hope

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Original article by James Chessell
The Australian Financial Review Boss – Page: 12 : 9-Mar-18

Jean-Sebastien Jacques became CEO of Rio Tinto in July 2016, after just five years at the resources giant. He spends more time travelling than in his office at Rio Tinto’s London headquarters, meeting with staff, customers and suppliers. Jacques questions whether corporate head offices are still relevant, particular for geographically diverse companies such as Rio Tinto. He argues that senior executives and other staff should be constantly meeting with customers and suppliers rather than spending their time in an office. Meanwhile, Jacques aims for Rio Tinto to be the world’s most profitable mining company, rather than the biggest.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, PECHINEY SA, ALCAN INCORPORATED, CORUS GROUP PLC, TATA STEEL, RIVERSDALE MINING LIMITED, UNITED STATES. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET