Eurobench.com

voda 26 april 2012 17:03

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Rio Tinto starts exporting coal from Mozambique in May

Mr Eric Finlayson MD of Rio Tinto Coal Mozambique said that the first lots of coal mined by Anglo Australian group Rio Tinto in Tete, Mozambique, are due to start being exported to the Asian market, specifically India in mid May 2012.

Mr Finlayson said that the trains and coal trucks acquired by the company to carry the coal mined in Moatize to the port of Beira along the Sena Railroad had been tested and approved by state rail and port manager Portos e Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique.

According to Mozambican daily newspaper Notícias, Mr Finlayson also noted the importance of finishing building work at the provisional coal terminal at the rail and port complex in Beira, as export capacity is currently limited by development of facilities to transport the product.

He added that the Rio Tinto group is setting itself up in Mozambique to become the largest exporter of coal from the Moatize basin, a region which has large coal reserves.

Source - Macau Hub

voda 30 april 2012 16:26

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BHPB warns on unrest at coking coalmines in Queensland

BHP Billiton has warned that strikes could affect production at its Queensland coking coalmines, after blaming industrial action and wet weather for missing March 2012 quarter production expectations.

The mining giant said that the poor coking coal performance was offset by strong iron ore and petroleum output. It added that "The extent to which industrial action will continue to affect production, sales and unit costs (in coking coal) is difficult to predict; however, with inventories now severely depleted, the impact on future quarters may be significant."

Coking coal production was up by 10% YoY at 7.34 million tonnes. This was down by 14% QoQ because of heavy rain and rolling strikes across the seven Queensland mines it runs in a JV with Mitsubishi.

Iron ore production was 14% YoY higher at 37.94 million tonnes but down by 8% QoQ as compared with the December 2011 quarter because of cyclones in Western Australia's Pilbara region.

The Construction Forestry Mining & Energy Union has accused BHP Billiton of exaggerating the impact of the industrial action.

Mr Andrew Vickers, general secretary of the union's mining and energy division, said BHP would be unable to distinguish between the impact of industrial action and the rain on production. He added that "They wouldn't be able to because they are incompetent."

He said that BHP was seeking to beat up the impact of the industrial action in an attempt to gain an advantage in its long running dispute with unions.

Meanwhile, resource sector employers said that they would seek to overturn a Fair Work Australia ruling that, if allowed to stand, would potentially restrict their ability to conduct drug and alcohol testing of employees.

The Australian Mines & Metals Association is backing an appeal by Endeavour Energy, after the tribunal ruled the company could administer only saliva based drug testing rather than urine tests.

Source - The Australian

voda 2 mei 2012 17:13

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Rio Tinto hopes to sell alumina plants by Sept

Reuters reported that Rio Tinto hopes to seal the sale of 4 alumina plants in France and Germany by the end of September advancing its push to reduce its footprint in the highly competitive sector.

Rio Tinto Alcan said at the end of March that it had received a binding offer from private equity group HIG for its three specialty alumina plants in France and one in Germany and would respond to the offer after consulting unions.

Ms Jacynthe Cote head of the unit said that the deal now looks set to be concluded in the next five months. It is going very well and if all goes well we should finish the transaction some time in the Q3.

Rio Tinto unveiled plans last October to sell 13 assets only 4 years after buying aluminium giant Alcan in one of the sector's biggest ever deals. The world's third largest diversified miner is selling the non metallurgical grade alumina plants in Gardanne, La Bathie and Beyrede in southern France and Teutschenthal in Germany as part of a worldwide plan to scale back its aluminium business.

Energy hungry aluminium production is under threat in Europe from smelters in countries with lower fuel prices, notably China and the Middle East. Rio Tinto is also looking to spin off its Australian Pacific Aluminium business but is prepared to wait to get the best value from any asset sale.

Ms Cote said that on our Australia and New Zealand businesses, we are not rushing into any transactions and until now there has been no decision made on the methodology. The company had not yet decided whether to sell Pacific Aluminum or hold an initial public offering.

She said that the world aluminium market looks broadly balanced or even slightly oversupplied this year but that providing there is no global economic downturn the aluminium market could start to tighten next year.

Source - Reuters

voda 4 mei 2012 16:13

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BHP Billiton denies plan to restart coal mine

BHP Billiton Ltd said that it has no plan to restart its Norwich Park coal mining operation in Australia by employing new workers, refuting a labor union's claim that a leaked company document points to a confidential five-year plan for the mine.

The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union earlier said it had written to BHP demanding to know the company's intentions for the mine after anonymously receiving a document that appears to outline a plan to utilize the assets at Norwich Park and achieve revenue and earnings targets.

The union's claim and the company's denial come amid a tense labor dispute between the mine's owners BHP and Japan's Mitsubishi Corp and around 3,500 workers from three labor unions. The workers have for months staged rolling strikes at BHP-Mitsubishi mines in Queensland, cutting into production volumes.

BHP last month said it would cease production at the Norwich Park mine indefinitely after a seven-week study failed to identify a way to return the mine to profitability.

A BHP spokeswoman denied that the company had a plan to replace the workers at the mine. She said that "This latest attempt to mislead BMA's employees needs to be seen in the context of the enterprise agreement ballot process currently being conducted by BMA.”

BHP Mitsubishi Alliance, the joint venture between BHP and Mitsubishi Corp is asking the roughly 3,500 workers at its BHP-Mitsubishi coal mines to vote on a new workplace agreement, although the three bargaining unions have rejected the offer. The workers continue to stage rolling strikes at the operations, curtailing production of the steelmaking commodity.

The draft document obtained by the union is on BHP Mitsubishi Alliance letterhead but isn't dated other than a heading that says "5 Year Plan FY2013."

The CFMEU said it believes one of BHP's aims is to drive unions out of the coal industry.

Mr Stephen Smyth a district president at the union said that "Having a document turn up apparently showing BHP has a five year plan to employ new workers at a mine that is supposed to be closed in eight days does nothing to allay these fears.”

Mr Smyth said the union has called on BHP to extend the timeframe for closing the mine and to consult with the workforce, which numbers close to 1,400 with contract workers.

BHP in April said that coal stockpiles at its Queensland mines had been depleted as the strikes continued and warned that the impact on future quarters could be significant

Source - BHP Billiton

voda 4 mei 2012 16:13

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Rio Tinto launches review of coal expansion plans

According to a report by The Australian Financial Review, sharply rising capital costs and pressure from investors to return more cash to shareholders have prompted Rio Tinto to launch a review of its coal expansion plans, making Rio the latest global miner to reassess spending plans.

Those two factors rising capital costs and investor pressure have mixed with a weakened outlook for commodities to force a series of miners to re-evaluate plans, with BHP Billiton having recently said it is conducting a spending review, which will include the USD 20 billion expansion of the Olympic Dam mine in South Australia.

The AFR reported that Rio's review could put in jeopardy its planned USD 2 billion Mount Pleasant coal project in NSW.

In the face of escalating costs, Rio is refocusing its attention on its Pilbara iron ore expansion plans in Western Australia. Rio chief executive Mr Tom Albanese is thought to have raised the high cost of doing business in Australia as an issue during meetings with Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Resources Minister Martin Ferguson this week, as Mr Albanese is in Australia ahead of Rio's annual general meeting.

Among the other issues Mr Albanese raised during government meetings is the prospect of Labor cutting the diesel rebate in next Tuesday's budget, which would cost Rio an additional USD 500 million annually,.

Source - www.businessspectator.com

voda 8 mei 2012 17:10

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Chinese tycoons plan to take Guinea mine Simandou from Rio Tinto

It is reported that a secretive group of Chinese tycoons is plotting to take away the world largest undeveloped iron ore project from Rio Tinto.

The swoop by China International Fund set up by a syndicate of Hong Kong traders and Sonangol, Angola state oil monopoly is the latest turn in the fight over Simandou an ore reserve that will turn Guinea in West Africa into the world third-largest iron ore producer after Australia and Brazil.

Rio Tinto last year paid USD 700 million to the Guinean government to recover rights to half the project after they were taken away by the previous regime. The other half was snapped up by Mr Beny Steinmetz a billionaire Israeli diamond trader who then sold a stake to Vale of Brazil landing him a multi billion dollar paper profit.

Rio plans to spend at least USD 10 billion to develop its side of Simandou with its partners Chinalco, Beijing state aluminium company and the International Finance Corporation an arm of the World Bank. CIF, however has made its own pitch for the project. The group is the second-biggest investor in Bellzone a London listed miner with a small iron ore development in Guinea after chief executive Mr Nik Zucks.

In a presentation seen by The Sunday Times, CIF and Bellzone promise to develop the project, despite Rio already having rights to it.

The presentation said "The Simandou deposit is currently a massive unrealized potential for the Guinean people and their economy and should have been developed. This deposit will be developed by CIF and its partner Bellzone."

The presentation was dated last August, four months after Rio announced its binding contract with the Guinean government to develop the mine. The plan includes the construction of a railway corridor across the country.

Source - theaustralian

voda 9 mei 2012 17:14

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BHP and Anglo follow copper down

Bloomberg reported that BHP Billiton and Anglo American followed copper down with the BHP share price dropping 0,46% to ZAR 240,98 and Anglo dipping 0,75% to ZAR 284,35.

Copper declined in New York after Socialist Mr Francois Hollande was elected president of France, prompting concerns that austerity measures may be derailed and US payrolls rose by the least in 6 months.

Mr Harry Denny broker at Hoboken, New Jersey based PVM Futures said that "The French election outcome is weighing on copper. People are moving to safer havens such as the dollar."

July delivery metal on the COMEX fell as much as 1,5% to USD 3,67 per pound the lowest for the most active contract since April 24th 2012 before paring losses and trading down 0,1% at USD 3,72. August delivery copper on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed 1,2% lower at CNY 57590 per tonne.

According to CRU, a metals researcher, declines were limited as a government report showed that German factory orders increased more than economists forecast in March. The country is the world’s third-biggest copper consumer in 2010. China is the top user followed by the US. This bit of positive news should provide some support.

Mr Hollande defeated Mr Nicolas Sarkozy to be the first Socialist president in 17 years and told his supporter’s austerity isn’t inevitable after he received about 52% of the vote against 48% for Mr Sarkozy.

An interior ministry projection showed that his comments were echoed in Greece, where voters flocked to groups opposed to austerity, leaving the two main parties a seat short of a majority if they govern together.

Mr Li Peng an analyst at Guotai Junan Futures said that "The elections in Europe indicate uncertainties in resolving Europe’s debt issues which has led to a broad market reaction.”

Source - Bloomberg

voda 9 mei 2012 17:21

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BHP Billiton expands hearing protection contract in Australia

Sonomax Technologies Inc announced that BHP Billiton Iron Ore, through its distributor Australasian Safety Services Inc, has agreed to protect an additional 4,000 workers in its facilities in Western Australia, a contract valued at AUD 600,000.

The product used to protect these workers will be the existing V3 ProFit version. BHP Billiton Iron Ore has the potential of an additional 8,000 workers to be protected with the new V5, currently in the final stages of development and testing.

Mr Michael Dean CEO of Australasian Safety Services said that "Our company has been servicing the mining industry for over 5 years now and we are finally starting to gain serious traction with this customer base who is very dedicated to health & safety. We are extremely proud to count BHP as one of our largest customers in Australia. The Sonomax product is now a proven commodity in the mining sector. This agreement is a result of extensive testing over the years. We are excited to get our hands on the V5 this fall to service this customer base of over 200,000 workers."

Mr Nick Laperle CEO of Sonomax "We are happy to report such an important contract to our shareholders for many reasons. Sonomax is much more than earphones. Hearing protection and the prevention of hearing loss has always been the heart of the company. There are over 100 million workers around the world who are at risk and miners are at the top of that list. With a commitment to excellence from top mining companies like BHP and our new robust self fit scalable product line, we will be able to protect a great number of these workers from losing their hearing. This breakthrough is made possible by the hard work of distribution partners like Michael Dean."

Source - Sonomax Technologies Inc

voda 9 mei 2012 17:22

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Rio Tinto Coal Mozambique to spend USD 160 million this year on local acquisitions

Rio Tinto Coal Mozambique plans this year to spend USD 160 million on local acquisitions to bolster its mining activities in the Moatize district, in the central Mozambican province of Tete.

The acquisitions are intended to cover the operating requirements of Rio Tinto in terms of consultancy services, office materials, fuel, catering, replacement parts, vehicles, explosives, staff transport, security services, personal safety equipment, medical assistance, and logistics.

Local acquisitions made by Rio Tinto Coal Mozambique in 2011 were in excess of USD 120 million, which did not include costs of building facilities to mine the and process the coal.

In order to ensure that Mozambican companies benefit from business opportunities offered by Rio Tinto a partnership was set up with the Mozambican Confederation of Economic Associations, the Centre for Investment Promotion and the Office for Accelerated Development Economic Zones.

Rio Tinto also said it had set up a partnership with international organizations to develop and support small and medium-sized companies and that, as well as this, it had opened a centre in Tete this month to help local companies to understand how to become Rio Tinto suppliers.

The Benga coal mining project, in Moatize, involves Anglo-Australian group Rio Tinto and India’s TATA Steel which owns a 35% stake.

Source - macauhub

voda 10 mei 2012 17:14

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BHP Billiton merges Stainless Steel Materials and Aluminum Sector

BHP Billiton announced that its Stainless Steel Materials and Aluminum Customer Sector Groups will consolidate into a single CSG to be named Aluminum and Nickel.

The new CSG will be headquartered in Perth, Australia, under the leadership of Mr Glenn Kellow as president (currently president Stainless Steel Materials).

The Aluminum and Nickel CSG will include all current nickel and aluminum assets in the portfolio: Nickel West and Worsley (both Australia), Cerro Matoso (Colombia), Mozal (Mozambique), Hillside and Bayside (South Africa), and two non operated joint ventures, Alumar and Mineracao Rio do Norte (both Brazil).

Mr Alberto Calderon CEO Aluminum, Nickel and Corporate Development at BHP Billiton said that "Despite the current challenges, BHP Billiton is committed to Aluminum and Nickel as commodities that may benefit from later phases of economic development in the emerging economies."

He added that “However, individually, Aluminum and Nickel are small divisions relative to the other businesses in BHP Billiton. The combination of these into a single business unit will provide appropriate scale within the BHP Billiton portfolio, as well as simplifying the functional structure of the business to assist in our efforts to make it a more efficient and competitive organisation."

Source - BHP Billiton

voda 11 mei 2012 16:25

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Rio Tinto spending to focus on Australia iron ore growth

Rio Tinto said that it expects to pour most of its capital spending into its Australian iron ore expansion, where it says the returns outshine other mining projects globally.

Rio Tinto chairman Jan du Plessis told shareholders that "But if for example I look at our plans over the next year or two or three, the bulk of our capital expenditures are going to go toward the expansion of the Pilbara operation in Western Australia, which frankly I still believe is probably the most attractive single investment opportunity anywhere in the industry today.”

He said while the company was well aware of shareholders clamoring for capital to be returned rather than splashed on costly expansions, the company was unlikely to consider buying back its Australian shares as long as they continued to trade at a substantial premium to its UK-listed shares.

Source - Thomson Reuters

voda 11 mei 2012 16:26

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Rio Tinto appoints Mr Lynch as Audit committee member

Rio Tinto announced that Mr Chris Lynch, who joined the Boards of Rio Tinto plc and Rio Tinto Limited on September 1st 2011 as a Non executive director will become a member of the Audit committee with effect from June 1st 2012.

Source - Rio Tinto

voda 11 mei 2012 16:27

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BHP Billiton fails worker obligations

Resources giant BHP Billiton failed to adequately consult workers after ordering the closure of a Queensland mine, a tribunal has found.

BHP Billiton last month announced its joint venture company with Japan's Mitsubishi - Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance would cease production at the Norwich Park coal mine, southeast of Dysart.

The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union took the mining giant to Fair Work Australia over concerns from workers that BHP was not open about its redeployment and retrenchment plans.

The tribunal sided with the union, ruling that BHP failed in its legal obligations to consult its 340 full time workers at the mine.

Under the ruling, BHP must outline its future labour plans for the mine and reveal mining job vacancies at its other Bowen Basin coal mines.

It must also provide Dysart workers with a list of company accommodation at other nearby mining towns and a running list of any employment changes including redeployments and redundancies.

BHP has also been ordered to consult with unions until June 8 to minimise dismissals resulting from the mine's closure.

CFMEU district president Mr Stephen Smyth said that it is disappointing the matter had to go before the tribunal in the first place. He said that "At least now Norwich Park workers will have a bit more at hand to help them decide on their careers and where their families might live.”

Source - www.news.com.au

voda 17 mei 2012 17:10

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BHP sees Chinese crude steel production reach 1 billion tonnes per annum by 2025

It is reported that BHP Billiton expects Chinese crude steel production to reach 1.1 billion tonnes per annum by 2025. This equates to a 650 million tonne per annum increase in global seaborne iron ore demand.

The outlook provides a major opportunity for BHP Billiton and its competitors.

The company noted that scrap generation is an increasingly important consideration post 2025. The availability of secondary iron units will constrain market growth in the very long term.

Source - Rtnews

voda 18 mei 2012 14:41

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BHP and Rio foresee harder times for miners

It is reported that BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto have signalled that harder times lie ahead for global miners but have given little indication of where the cuts if any will come to the billions of dollars worth of mining projects they have in the pipeline in Australia and globally.

Neither is backtracking on its view of China long term demand for iron ore and coal, but it is now clear not every project is guaranteed in the present environment and those that do get off the ground will be phased in across a longer period.

Any paring back in capital expenditure will be positive for shareholders with one eye on their dividends, who have turned away from BHP, Rio and the wider sector since commodity prices came off the boil last year.

Mr Marius Kloppers BHP chief executive said "Clearly what we've seen over the last 12 months or so is that our projected rate of cash generation has changed. So on balance while we still want to invest throughout the cycle, it just means that our ability to do those projects will change as the cashflow generation has changed."

BHP will be running the rule over its operations for its annual five-year planning process and, like rivals including Rio, it has pointed to the depreciation in prices for commodities such as coal, cost increases, the strong Australian dollar and struggles accessing labour.

Mr Jacques Nasser the mining giant chairman made it even clearer the USD 80 billion that BHP had said previously would be invested in its mining and petroleum businesses across five years, was no longer a target.

He said that "I think we should pause and take a deep breath, and wait and see where the pieces fall out around the world."

The company won't elaborate, but analysts have speculated that although investment in iron ore is almost assured, projects such as the massive expansion of the Olympic Dam copper-uranium mine in Australia and the potash development in Canada are far less certain.

Source - Theaustralian

voda 19 mei 2012 16:39

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Workers to strike at BHP Billiton Australia coal mines

Reuters quoted the workers' union said workers at global miner BHP Billiton's Bowen Basin mines will strike for seven full days starting late next week after voting to reject a new employment contract proposed by BHP for the second time.

The action comes as BHP, the world biggest diversified mining company, scales back capital spending across business units due to slowing global commodities demand.

The workers at BHP Billiton-Mitsubishi Alliance coal mines in the Bowen Basin of Queensland state have been staging rolling work stoppages for almost a year as they battle with the global miner over work schedules.

A BHP spokeswoman said further industrial action was "unnecessary and would be harmful for all concerned. She said "We are focused on finalising an agreement and will resume discussions to complete the agreement as soon as possible."

BHP had already declared force majeure on shipments from the mines as it struggles to meet supply contracts. Force majeure is a legal manoeuvre releasing companies of immediate supply obligations due to circumstances beyond their control.

In total, the mines under the partnership have an output capacity of more than 58 million tonnes a year representing about a fifth of annual global trade in metallurgical coal.

Mr Stephen Smyth, district president of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, said the workers were determined to continue to press for their terms.

He said that "This result proves BHP is still radically out of touch with its workforce, an overwhelming majority of whom is still not prepared to give up crucial conditions around safety, rosters, housing and equality for contractors."

BHP, in its March quarter production report, blamed a 14% drop in metallurgical coal production on work stoppages and other industrial action by roughly a third of its workforce, compounded by heavy rains that hurt operations.

Source - Reuters

voda 20 mei 2012 17:17

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Rio Tinto seeks approval for W Australia iron ore mine

Rio Tinto PLC has unveiled its latest iron ore mine development plans to start the construction next year of its Turee Syncline project in Western Australia, according to referral documents posted Friday on the Australian government's environmental website.

Rio Tinto is seeking government approvals to develop Turee Syncline, approximately 15 kilometres north east of Paraburdoo which is expected to produce up to 10 million tons a year of iron ore over 16 years.

A company spokesman said the proposed development will ensure continued supply for Rio Tinto ongoing iron ore expansions in the Pilbara.

Rio said in its referral provided all relevant approvals are obtained, production may begin in 2014. The mine initial stage will involve transport of ore by road for processing at Paraburdoo with a view to potentially developing an on-site processing plant and rail loop if required.

Rio Tinto has approved an expansion of its overall Pilbara production capacity to 283 million metric tons a year due to come on stream in 2014. A final investment decision for a proposed second expansion to 353 million tons a year is due in the second half of this year.

Source - Rio Tinto PLC

voda 21 mei 2012 16:46

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BHP may delay two mega projects to rein in spending - Report

Reuters reported that BHP Billiton is likely to delay signing off on at least two mega projects after its chairman put the brakes on an USD 80 billion plan to grow the company's iron ore, copper and energy operations.

In BHP bleakest outlook yet, Mr Jacques Nasser Chairman of BHPB said the company expects commodity markets to deteriorate further and that investors have lost confidence in the longer term health of the global economy. Mr Nasser stopped short of announcing a spending cut, but said BHP was re thinking its expansion plans everyday and that the company won't spend USD 80 billion over five years as outlined by Chief Executive Mr Marius Kloppers in 2011.

Mr Glyn Lawcock UBS analyst said "The major message is 'We can't approve anything right now. We don't have a spare cent to spend.”

Three projects are vulnerable: the Outer Harbour development at Port Hedland in Western Australia crucial to its iron ore growth, the expansion of the Olympic Dam copper and uranium mine in South Australia and its Jansen potash project in Canada.

BHP has said it plans to take all three projects to the board later this year and has not backed away from that yet.

Source - Reuters

voda 21 mei 2012 16:48

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Rio Tinto may pause iron ore expansion - Report

The Australian reported that Rio Tinto has raised doubts over further major expansion of its iron ore operations in Australia, as rising costs and calls for higher returns to shareholders lead to a more cautious approach.

Rio CEO Mr Tom Albanese said in a May 15 presentation in Miami that the company will, given certain constraints, probably pause for breath once it reaches its target of 353 million tonnes a year production capacity.

Mr Albanese said at that point the company will seek further debottlenecking.

Rio Tinto had earlier planned to add a further 100 million tonnes to production when the current board approved program was complete.

Source - The Australian

voda 22 mei 2012 16:59

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Rio Tinto agrees sale of Alcan Cable

Rio Tinto has reached an agreement to sell Alcan Cable to General Cable Corporation for USD 185 million. The sale is expected to close later this year after the transaction receives all necessary regulatory clearances.

Alcan Cable, which employs 1051 people, has five manufacturing operations, a distribution centre and a dedicated technology development center in North America and an operation in Tianjin, China.

Source - RIO Tinto

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