STRATEGIC PLANNING – AUSTRALIA

Iluka adds rare earths to mineral sands for a bigger bang

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 & 20 : 8-Feb-21

Australian mineral sands producer Iluka Resources is seeking to expand into the rare earths sector. The company is hinting that it wants to become an integrated producer of heavy and light rare earth oxides, with the next step in its rare earths goals involving spending $35 million to boost the product from its mineral sands mine at Enebba in Western Australia to a 90 per cent concentrate. It could consider sending this concentrate to Lynas Rare Earths’ cracking and leaching plant in Kalgoorlie. Goldman Sachs has suggested that Iluka is capable of developing the first fully integrated rare earths operation on Australian soil by 2025 at a cost of around $1.2 billion.

CORPORATES
ILUKA RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX ILU, LYNAS RARE EARTHS LIMITED – ASX LYC, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Santos sticks to gas, earmarking $1bn for Narrabri development

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 16 : 2-Dec-20

Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher says the oil and gas producer will not diversify into renewable energy or electricity generation. He contends that global demand for fuels will remain strong for a long time, while gas will play a major role in reducing carbon emissions over coming decades. Meanwhile, Santos expects to make a final investment decision on its Narrabri gas project in the first half of 2023, with the first phase of its development slated to cost $US650m. Santos has also advised that its Barossa LNG project will cost significantly less to develop than initially forecast.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO

Forrest unveils ambitious Fortescue renewables plan

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 & 18 : 12-Nov-20

Fortescue Metals Group has outlined plans to become a major player in the energy sector via a massive investment in renewables. Fortescue chairman Andrew Forrest had told the pure-play iron ore miner’s AGM that it will initially aim to produce 235 gigawatts of energy via renewables, as it transition to an "renewables and resources" company. Meanwhile, CEO Elizabeth Gaines has stressed the importance of Australia’s trading relationship with China.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

South32 aims for next mine to be carbon-neutral

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 28-Oct-20

Diversified miner South32 may aim for its new Hermosa mine in Arizona to be carbon neutral from the outset. Initial production at the zinc, lead and silver project is some years away, and South32 MD Graham Kerr notes that it is much easier to build a new mine that is carbon neutral than to retrofit an existing one to solely use renewable energy. South32 has commenced discussions with energy utilities about supplying electricity to the mine, and Kerr says it could potentially be powered completely or almost only via renewables.

CORPORATES
SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32

Pressure builds for AMP break-up

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 12-Oct-20

Simon Mawhinney of Allan Gray Australia says breaking up AMP would be the best option for unlocking the wealth manager’s value. He adds that if a suitor opts to acquire the entire company they are likely to sell off parts of the business. AMP recently revealed plans to undertake a portfolio review, and its board is believed to be planning to update investors on a possible sale of all or part of the company before the end of 2020. Alan Kwan of Australian Eagle Asset Management says AMP may choose to press ahead with a turnaround plan, given the challenges involved in ‘disentangling’ and divesting parts of the business.

CORPORATES
AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, ALLAN GRAY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN EAGLE ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Seven West’s five-year fightback

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 19 : 24-Aug-20

Former Fairfax Media CEO Greg Hywood has completed a review of West Australian Newspapers, amid ongoing speculation about the future of the Seven West Media division. WAN’s editor-in-chief Anthony De Ceglie says Hywood’s recommendations will be taken into account in developing a five-year plan for the newspaper publisher. He adds that WAN will continue to publish print editions for some time, while there has been strong growth in digital subscriptions since WAN paywalled its news websites in mid-2019. Seven West will report its 2019-20 financial results on 25 August.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, WEST AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPERS HOLDINGS LIMITED, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED

News Corp rolls out 50 digital mastheads

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 19 : 13-Jul-20

News Corp Australia has chosen Ballarat, Port Lincoln and the Clare Valley as the launch sites for its new digital mastheads. The first 15 digital-only newspapers will be launched by September, with plans to launch more than 50 over the next three years. The mastheads will feature ‘hyperlocal’ news content, while subscribers will have access to content from metropolitan newspapers and the media group’s NCA NewsWire service. News Corp already has 92 digital-only mastheads, including 76 whose print editions were recently discontinued.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

News in shared digital strategy

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Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 19 : 8-Jun-20

News Corp Australia veteran Peter Blunden will head the media group’s new specialist network teams of journalists, which will produce content across its metropolitan, community and regional mastheads. He says the traditional ‘silo model’ of journalism is no longer relevant, and quality content must be shared across its portfolio of mastheads. Blunden has also defended the decision to adopt a digital-only model for some regional and community newspapers, arguing that the print editions were not sustainable.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Jobs go as Ten closes 10 Daily website

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 15 : 19-May-20

The Ten Network has advised that its 10 Daily news and entertainment website will be discontinued as part of the network’s integration with US parent company ViacomCBS. About 20 jobs are expected to be lost due to the closure of 10 Daily, although it is uncertain as to whether the broader integration strategy will result in more job cuts at Ten. ViacomCBS Australia’s chief content officer Beverley McGarvey has stressed the need for Ten to be "platform-agnostic".

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, VIACOMCBS INCORPORATED

V-shaped recovery unlikely: BHP

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 13 : 13-May-20

BHP CEO Mike Henry expects global demand for copper and steel to fall sharply in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, while he warns that demand for oil may not return to pre-virus levels for at least 18 months. Henry has told a Bank of America conference that a V-shaped economic recovery is now unlikely, except in China, and he has signalled that BHP will further reduce exploration capital expenditure when its 2019-20 full-year results are released.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP