MINING CORPORATIONS – AUSTRALIA

Rio Tinto and former bosses charged with fraud by US regulator over Mozambique coal

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Original article by Michael Janda
abc.net au – Page: Online : 19-Oct-17

Rio Tinto and former CEO Tom Albanese will contest the fraud charges that have been filed against them in the US. The Securities & Exchange Commission will contend that Albanese and ex-CFO Guy Elliott deliberately concealed the true value of a Mozambique coal project for which Rio Tinto had paid $US3.7bn in 2011. The SEC will allege that Rio only disclosed the real value of the coal assets after an executive informed chairman Jan du Plessis of the valuation discrepancy in early 2013. Rio Tinto subsequently wrote down the value of the assets by $US3bn and sold the project for just $US50m in 2014.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, UNITED STATES. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION, RIVERSDALE MINING LIMITED, RIO TINTO COAL MOZAMBIQUE, VEDANTA RESOURCES PLC, GREAT BRITAIN. FINANCIAL CONDUCT AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

Rio sticks with record iron ore target

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 18-Oct-17

Rio Tinto scaled back its forecast for Pilbara iron ore shipments in 2017 to 330 million tonnes earlier in the year. The resources group is confident of meeting this guidance, after shipments rose by 11 per cent to 85.8 million tonnes in the September quarter. However, Rio Tinto’s export volumes will have to rise to a record 89.8 tonnes in the December quarter to achieve its revised guidance. Meanwhile, Rio Tinto has reduced its forecast for copper production in 2017 for a second time. It now expects global output to be within the range of 460,000 to 480,000 tonnes.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, YANCOAL AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX YAL, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED, DEUTSCHE BANK AG

Haoma Mining NL requested trading halt because ASX would not release details on Haoma’s recovering ‘flat – watermelon seed-like’ nuggets from conglomerates at the Comet Mine near Marble Bar

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Original article by
Australian Stock Exchange Announcements – Page: Online : 17-Oct-17

On 11 October 2017, Haoma Mining commenced surface sampling of Fortescue Group type rocks at four locations at Bamboo Creek and three locations at the Comet Mine near Marble Bar. Bulk samples of approximately 50kg were collected from the above seven conglomerate outcrop locations. Those samples are now being processed and analysed at Haoma’s Bamboo Creek laboratory. "Flat" gold nuggets and "fine" gold were collected from the conglomerate outcrop "C2" located to the South West of the Comet Mine near Marble Bar. Other gold nuggets were also collected from "C3", located to the North West of the Comet Mine. At location "C2" a significant number of "flat" gold nuggets were collected over a 150 metre section of the strike zone, which is approximately three kilometres long. The nuggets were collected just below the surface of the conglomerate outcrop (about 30 meters wide) which continues to the South West of the Comet Mine. View Full Haoma ASX Release here.

CORPORATES
HAOMA MINING NL – ASX HAO

Upbeat Evolution flags higher 2018 cash flow

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 17-Oct-17

Evolution Mining produced 220,971 ounces of gold in the September 2017 quarter, which is 1.3 per cent higher than in the three months to June. The gold miner has reported an all-in sustaining cost of $US620 ($A786) per ounce for the latest quarter. Evolution’s operating cash flow rose to a record $707m in 2016-17, and finance director Lawrie Conway believes that this can increase by 15-20 per cent in 2017-18. This is despite the recent sale of the Edna May mine to Ramelius Resources.

CORPORATES
EVOLUTION MINING LIMITED – ASX EVN, RAMELIUS RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX RMS, GLENCORE PLC, BARRICK GOLD CORPORATION, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS

AFIC shuts down BHP activists over ‘agitating change’

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 11-Oct-17

Activist hedge fund Elliott Management is believed to have renewed its push for a restructuring at BHP Billiton. However, Australian Foundation Investment Company MD Ross Barker says investors should give BHP’s new chairman Ken MacKenzie sufficient time to make his mark on the resources group before advocating change. He adds that BHP’s management team seems to be acting in the interests of shareholders and there is no need for change at present.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, ELLIOTT MANAGEMENT CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN FOUNDATION INVESTMENT COMPANY LIMITED – ASX AFI, DJERRIWARRH INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX DJW, CGI GLASS LEWIS PTY LTD, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Nahan buries ALP’s $400m gold grab

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Original article by Andrew Burrell
The Australian – Page: 5 : 11-Oct-17

Western Australia’s Opposition Leader Mike Nahan says the State Government’s proposed increased in the gold royalty was aimed at funding its election promises rather than budget repair. The 50 per cent royalty increase faces defeat in the upper house after Liberal Party MP voted to block the bill, which had already been rejected by the National Party and crossbenchers. The mining industry had also opposed the royalty increase, warning that it would result in widespread job losses.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, ONE NATION PARTY, THE CHAMBER OF MINERALS AND ENERGY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE

Short sellers set sights on Rio Tinto despite price spike

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 28 : 10-Oct-17

Rio Tinto ranks among the 20 Australian-listed stocks that are most frequently targeted by short sellers. Short positions now account for about nine per cent of Rio Tinto’s shares, compared with less than one per cent three years ago. The resources group’s shares have posted double-digit gains over the last seven weeks, which has coincided with a sharp fall in the iron ore price, and some analysts expect further weakness in the price of the steel input. Peter O’Connor of Shaw & Partners says arbitrage trading may have contributed to the rise in short selling activity, given the price gap between Rio’s Australian and UK shares.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP

Newcrest looks to solar power for Cadia mine

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 9-Oct-17

Soaring power prices have prompted Newcrest Mining to consider installing a solar farm at its Cadia mine in New South Wales. CEO Sandeep Biswas says it has been to both California and Israel to see what technology is available at the moment. He says that given Cadia is expected to be operational for some years, installing a solar farm is a viable option. He notes that there are currently solar farms capable of generating 600 megawatts, whereas Cadia would only require one that produces 150 megawatts.

CORPORATES
NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, EVOLUTION MINING LIMITED – ASX EVN

LNG surge powers $211b export record

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 6-Oct-17

Australia’s chief economist Mark Cully expects the nation’s mining and energy exports to top $A211bn in 2017-18. Resources exports totalled $A204m in 2016-17. Cully is particularly upbeat about the outlook for the LNG sector, with expectations that annual export volumes will rise from 36.9 million tonnes in 2016 to 73.8 million by 2019. Iron ore export volumes are also forecast to rise over the next few years, although the value of such exports is expected to fall.

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

Twiggy’s court ruling has Roy Hill concerned over leases

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Original article by Tess Ingram, Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 6-Oct-17

Andrew Forrest obtained a ruling from the High Court in August to prevent two firms from lodging mining applications over his Minderoo cattle station in Western Australia. The ruling caused concern that other mining applications previously made in WA may not be valid, including those made by Fortescue Metals Group. Records from the relevant department in WA show that Roy Hill Holdings has lodged new applications covering its namesake iron ore project, with a company spokesperson noting that the new applications were a "precautionary step".

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF MINES, INDUSTRY REGULATION AND SAFETY, ONSLOW RESOURCES LIMITED, YARRI MINING PTY LTD, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD