RAILROADS – FREIGHT – WESTERN AUSTRALIA

BHP silent on reports driver of runaway 268-car iron ore train in Pilbara is pursuing claim of unfair dismissal

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Original article by Stuart McKinnon
The West Australian – Page: Online : 11-Jan-19

BHP has advised that the train driver who was in charge of a Pilbara iron ore train that had to be derailed in November no longer works for the company. However, the resources group has declined to comment on reports that the driver intends to pursue an unfair dismissal case. BHP has indicated that mechanical failure and human error contributed to the incident in which it was forced to deliberately derail the train after it travelled for 50 minutes without a driver.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Rio head says the public does not trust miners

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 10-Dec-18

Chris Salisbury, the head of Rio Tinto’s iron ore division, notes that many Australians do not trust the mining sector, while many are not aware of Rio Tinto’s contribution to the domestic economy. He says the resources group contributed $42.7 billion to GDP in 2017 and paid some $5bn in taxes and royalties. Meanwhile, Rio Tinto expects to meet its deadline of 31 December to fully implement its AutoHaul project in Western Australia.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, WESTERN AUSTRALIAN MINING CLUB, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVATION, HITACHI LIMITED, ANSALDO STS, ERNST AND YOUNG

Mystery still shrouds BHP derailment

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 13-Nov-18

BHP Billiton has resumed rail operations in Western Australia’s Pilbara region after it was forced to detail an iron ore train on 5 November. The cause of the incident is still being investigated, but sources within BHP have suggested that the problem may have been linked to maintenance issues. Meanwhile, heavy rain and flash flooding is believed to have contributed to the derailing of an empty iron ore train that was returning to Mineral Resources’ Koolyanobbing mine on 11 November. The company does not expect the incident to affect the mine’s output.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, BROOKFIELD ASSET MANAGEMENT INCORPORATED, ARC INFRASTRUCTURE

BHP train wreck hits contracts

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 22 : 8-Nov-18

BHP Billiton hopes to partially resume rail operations in the Pilbara in the next week, after it was forced to deliberately derail a train that was carrying iron ore to Port Hedland. BHP is using its iron ore stockpiles at Portland to meet its contractual obligations, but the resources giant has conceded that they will be exhausted before rail shipments resume. Glyn Lawcock of UBS says the benchmark price of iron ore could rally, depending on the length of BHP’s supply disruption.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN TRANSPORT SAFETY BUREAU, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE NATIONAL RAIL SAFETY REGULATOR

BHP derails 268-car Pilbara iron ore train which travelled 92km without driver

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Original article by Peter Milne
The West Australian – Page: Online : 6-Nov-18

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau will investigate an incident on 5 November in which BHP Billiton lost control of a train carrying iron ore from Newman to Port Hedland. The train travelled for 92km without anyone on board after the driver alighted to inspect a wagon. BHP was forced to deliberately derail the train about 120 km from Port Hedland. The company has suspended all of its train operations in the Pilbara pending the outcome of the investigation.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, AUSTRALIAN TRANSPORT SAFETY BUREAU

Robo trains cut Rio’s iron ore journey time by 20pc

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 15-May-18

Rio Tinto has advised that a project to automate its iron ore trains in the Pilbara should be completed and receive regulatory approval by the end of 2018. Rio Tinto executive Steve McIntosh has told a conference in Sydney that about 65 per cent of its trains are currently running in autonomous mode with a driver on board, and the automated trains can arrive at the port about 20 per cent faster than regular trains. The AutoHaul project has been marred by delays and cost over-runs.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, ANSALDO STS, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Trains give Rio’s iron ore unit a push

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Original article by James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 19-Apr-18

Rio Tinto has advised that its Pilbara iron ore shipments totalled 80.3 million tonnes in the March 2018 quarter, which is 11 per cent lower than the December quarter but five per cent higher year-on-year. The resources group still expects shipments for the full year to be within the range of 330 million and 340 million tonnes. Rio Tinto has also advised that it expects the AutoHaul autonomous train project to be completed in 2018, and says the proportion of trains that are operating in autonomous mode rose from 60 per cent to 65 per during the quarter.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, ROYAL BANK OF CANADA, QUEENSLAND ALUMINA LIMITED, RUSAL

Rio speeds up plan for driverless ore trains

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 15 & 24 : 23-Jan-18

Rio Tinto’s AutoHaul project to fully automate its iron ore trains in the Pilbara is slated for completion by the end of 2018. The project was first mooted in 2008 and it was initially expected to be completed in 2015, while it is likely to cost significantly more than the $US518m that had originally been budgeted. However, Rio Tinto expects the move to driverless trains will allow it to ship an additional 20 million tonnes of iron ore each year, which will in turn significantly increase its profits.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

AutoHaul fix nearing for Rio Tinto

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 2-Nov-16

Andy Barr, the CEO of Italy-based Ansaldo STS, says the group is close to completing some major projects in Australia. Ansaldo is a key supplier for Rio Tinto’s AutoHaul project to automate trains at its iron ore mines in Western Australia. Although Barr did not name Rio Tinto, the resources giant is believed to be one of the customers to which he was referring, The AutoHaul project has been delayed by software problems, which have prompted Rio Tinto to scale back its iron ore export forecasts for 2016 and 2017.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, ANSALDO STS, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, QUEENSLAND RAIL

Qube benefits from Brockman’s maverick move on Pilbara

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Original article by Jenny Wiggins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 30-Mar-16

Australian-listed iron ore group Brockman Mining still aims to gain access to the rail network of Fortescue Metals Group in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Brockman has secured an agreement for logistics group Qube Holdings to transport iron ore from its Maverick project by road to Port Hedland, but large-scale production will require transport via rail. Brockman estimates that the project’s operating costs will be around $US35 per tonne.

CORPORATES
BROCKMAN MINING LIMITED – ASX BCK, QUBE HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX QUB, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, COURT OF APPEAL (WESTERN AUSTRALIA)