Australia/New Caledonia/Papua New Guinea Mining – Page 50

Freeport CEO Open to All Options, Even Sale, After Grasberg – by Danielle Bochove (Bloomberg News – October 8, 2018)

October 9, 2018

https://www.bloomberg.com/

With a resolution to Freeport-McMoRan Inc.’s Indonesian saga in sight, Chief Executive Officer Richard Adkerson says any strategic move is now possible, including acquisitions, partnerships, or even a sale of the entire company.

Freeport is planning to remain an independent entity, Adkerson said Thursday in a wide-ranging, 90-minute phone interview. “But if an opportunity for us to sell to another company would arise, and that would be good for our shareholders, you would see us trying to get the best deal we can get as opposed to being a company where management is trying to protect itself.”

Freeport has been engrossed in intensive negotiations with Indonesia to cede majority control of its flagship Grasberg mine to local interests for almost two years. With a package of agreements close to being sealed, “the future, strategically for us, is going to be wide open,” Adkerson said. “We have enormous resources.”

Australia resources exports heading for record; country takes lithium crown – by Esmarie Swanepoel (MiningWeekly.com – October 2, 2018)

October 3, 2018

http://www.miningweekly.com/

ERTH (miningweekly.com) – Australia’s resources and energy exports are forecast to hit a record high of A$252-billion in 2018/19, helped along by a decline in the Australian dollar over the past quarter.

In its newest Resources and Energy Quarterly, the Office of the Chief Economist notes that the new outlook has been revised by about A$13.7-billion from the June quarter report, reflecting the weaker Australian/US dollar exchange rate, which is expected to add A$10.6-billion in export values, while higher-than-expected thermal coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices account for the rest of the forecast gain.

Federal Resources Minister Matt Canavan on Tuesday said that Australia was now the world’s number-one exporter of lithium, while coal was expected to be the nation’s number-one export earner in 2018/19 at more than A$61-billion, narrowly ahead of iron-ore at A$60-billion.

Mining downturn makes way for ‘mini-boom’ as WA businesses warn against population cap – by Eliza Borrello (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – October 3, 2018)

October 3, 2018

http://www.abc.net.au/

When Australia’s population hit 25 million earlier this year, Liberal senator Dean Smith called for a national population debate. Possibly lost in some of the headlines was his point that in parts of regional Australia, populations are not growing fast enough.

In Kalgoorlie-Boulder, in Senator Smith’s home state of Western Australia, the mining sector is going through what some are calling a “mini-boom” and businesses are struggling to get staff.

Eagle Petroleum, a Kalgoorlie-based company that runs service stations and transports fuel in bulk to mine sites, is a case in point. “Trying to find a truck driver is very, very difficult at this point in time,” the company’s chief executive Jessica Biddle said.

Top Iron Ore Shipper Warns China Is at ‘Peak Steel’ – by Krystal Chia (Bloomberg News – October 2, 2018)

October 2, 2018

https://www.bloomberg.com/

The world’s largest steel market is about to go into reverse. Production in China will peak in 2018 and then shrink next year as local demand drops, according to forecasts from the Australian government, which says the shift will add to headwinds for core ingredient iron ore.

Mainland steel production is “forecast to peak in 2018,” the Department of Industry, Innovation & Science said in a quarterly report on Tuesday. After topping out at 886 million metric tons, output is expected to drop to 861 million tons in 2019 and hit 842 million in 2020, the department said. Over the same time frame, local demand is seen contracting by 34 million tons.

China accounts for half global steel output, and trends in its mammoth industry shape the worldwide market. This year, the sector has boomed with local mills — the largest buyers of seaborne iron ore — making record volumes as Beijing’s drive to curb overcapacity and fight pollution aids margins.

Do Australians still want to be miners? – by Chris Lo (Mining Technology – October 1, 2018)

October 1, 2018

https://www.mining-technology.com/

Mines across Australia – especially in Queensland and Western Australia – are recovering fast after a long downturn, but many firms are struggling to fill positions as they ramp up operations, despite offering attractive salaries. The lack of interest is being attributed to changing attitudes to the mining work style, among other factors. How can Australian mining firms recruit enough staff to take advantage of a new commodities boom?

After several years of depressed commodity prices, consolidation and reduced spending, the mining industry is bouncing back. According to PwC’s Mine 2018 report, subtitled ‘Tempting times’, the world’s top 40 mining companies increased their revenue by 23% in 2017, reaching a combined total of around $600bn.

The PwC report acknowledges the benefits the industry is seeing as a result of the mining commodities upswing, along with the prospect of a new projects boom, as miners look to capitalise on growing demand.

Rio Tinto pushes Grasberg deal closure into 2019 – by Peter Ker (Australian Financial Review – September 30, 2018)

October 1, 2018

https://www.afr.com/

Rio Tinto could be waiting up to nine months for the proceeds of its Grasberg copper divestment to flow through, despite clearing a significant hurdle on the transaction in recent days.

Indonesian state-owned company PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Inalum) signed binding agreements with Rio and its partner Freeport McMoran to reshape the ownership structure of the mine, under a deal that will give Inalum majority ownership and Rio $US3.5 billion in cash proceeds.

But the “binding” deals were said to be conditional on further approvals, including from anti-trust regulators in several nations.

Mining revival drives jobs – by Jason Mennell (The West Australian – September 27, 2018)

September 28, 2018

https://thewest.com.au/

A rebounding WA resources sector has driven the number of people employed in mining across the State to record levels. Statistics announced yesterday by the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety for the 2017-18 financial year show more than 112,000 people directly employed in the mining industry.

The statistics also reveal the mineral and petroleum industry reported sales of $114.9 billion, up $10 billion from the previous year.

The amount was the second highest financial year sales value on record, behind only the $123 billion achieved in 2013-14, with a number of commodities reaching record production levels including gold, iron ore, LNG and lithium.

Freeport Seals Pact With Indonesia on Giant Grasberg Mine – by Eko Listiyorini and Viriya Singgih (Bloomberg News – September 27, 2018)

September 27, 2018

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. and Indonesia signed a binding landmark agreement for the U.S. miner to hand over majority control of the giant Grasberg copper and gold mine to a local state-owned firm, in the country’s biggest ever divestment by a foreign resources company.

Freeport Chief Executive Officer Richard Adkerson and PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium President Director Budi Gunadi Sadikin signed a divestment deal and two other pacts in Jakarta on Thursday. The transfer of majority shares to Asahan Aluminium will happen once the company makes a payment of $3.85 billion to Rio Tinto Group and Freeport, Sadikin said.

The U.S. producer will continue to operate the mine under the agreement, which culminates more than a year of talks. The accord will allow Indonesia to issue a special mining license for Freeport to run the world’s second-largest copper mine through 2041. Freeport and Asahan Aluminium, known as Inalum, will complete the transaction before the year-end, Sadikin said.

Coal miner’s $4.4b IPO world’s largest mining listing since boom – by Cole Latimer (Sydney Morning Herald- September 24, 2018)

September 24, 2018

https://www.smh.com.au/

An Australian coal miner is carrying out the world’s largest mining listing since the height of the mining boom, going against the tide of shrinking coal markets.

Coronado Coal’s $4.4 billion listing comes as steelmaking coal prices fall sharply month on month on the back of escalating trade tensions between China and the United States, and the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science forecasts prices to fall heavily.

Despite this, the IPO has an indicative price of between $4 and $4.80 per share, valuing the company – which has coal mines in Queensland and the US – between $3.8 billion and $4.4 billion.

No shoes or high vis: Dampier’s old boys recall laidback life in remote Pilbara port town – by Kendall O’Connor (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – September 23, 2018)

September 24, 2018

http://www.abc.net.au/

When Pauline Hill’s husband read about a job going in remote Western Australia offering double his current wage, they thought it was too good an opportunity to pass up. “He was reading the Advertiser one day and saw a job advertised for Hamersley Iron, which we didn’t know anything about,” she said.

They planned to stay in the mystery town for two years, but ended up living there for 14 years. “We just loved it,” she said. Thirty-seven years later, Mrs Hill has returned to the Pilbara port town for the second annual reunion of people who lived in the town between the 1960s and 80s.

The idea for the Old Boys Reunion came from Dave Randle, who now lives on the Gold Coast. “I went to a Pilbara reunion down in Perth and I just felt that it wasn’t the right place for it,” he said.

Australian mining’s macho image worsens pain of labor shortage – by Melanie Burton (Reuters U.S. – September 21, 2018)

September 21, 2018

https://www.reuters.com/

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – When the song “Eagle Rock” played at a bar in an outback Australian mining town of Kalgoorlie late one night, a dozen young men scattered around a pool table dropped their trousers and heartily sang along in their underwear.

Later that night, they piled behind the counter of the bar attached to the Western Australian School of Mines (WASM), singing an anthem that began, “We are engineers,” and finished with an obscene description of how they treat women.

The scenes, in the background of an industry conference, cut against a hard reality the sector faces: a dearth of skilled applicants, and a workforce hurting for diversity and struggling to hire women.

[Nuclear Testing Australia] Remembering The Black Mist – by Karen Wyld (IndigenousX.com – September 19, 2018)

September 19, 2018

INDIGENOUSX.com

Karen Wyld is an author and freelance writer of Martu descent, living on Kaurna country in South Australia

Recently I viewed the Black Mist Burnt Country exhibition at the National Museum of Australia. Launched on 27 September 2016, to mark the 60th anniversary of nuclear bomb testing at Maralinga in South Australia, the exhibition has already covered a lot of ground touring the eastern states.

This exhibition is a vivid and reflective collation that is raising awareness of the impact of nuclear testing in Australia. The cost for British and Australian army personnel and civilians was high. More so for Aboriginal people, who often weren’t even considered before the bombs went off.

Given re-emergence of interest in uranium mining and intent to construct waste dumps on Aboriginal lands, despite strong community opposition, this exhibition is also a stark reminder of how little some people have learnt from the past.

BHP ditching ‘Billiton’ from its name, trims CEO pay rise – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – September 18, 2018)

September 18, 2018

http://www.mining.com/

World’s largest miner BHP Billiton (ASX, NYSE:BHP) (LON:BLT) is rolling out the second phase of a $10 million rebranding campaign launched last year, which may see it become dropping “Billiton” from its name an attempt to emphasize its Australian roots.

Documents released Tuesday to the Australian Securities Exchange, show the miner will ask shareholders at the annual meeting in October to vote to rename the company as BHP Group.

The rebranding, the first since BHP used the late actor Bill Hunter 30 years ago in its “Big Australian” promotion, can also be seen as an effort to regain public trust after the damage to the firm’s image caused by the November 2015 dam burst at its Samarco joint-venture in Brazil.

The rare rainforest tree that bleeds metal (MyJoyOnline.com – September 17, 2018)

September 17, 2018

https://www.myjoyonline.com/

Pycnandra acuminata is a rare tree native to the shrinking rainforests of New Caledonia that has the rare ability to collect large quantities of nickel from the ground. Its blue-green sap reportedly contains up to 25% nickel.

Trees, or plants in general for that matter, and heavy metals like nickel and zinc don’t really go well together, and that’s what makes Pycnandra acuminata and a few other rare tress species known as “hyperaccumulators” so special.

They have somehow evolved to suck out normally toxic levels of heavy metals from the soil and store it in their stems, leaves and seeds. Unfortunately, heavy deforestation in New Caledonia has put this remarkable tree on the list of endangered trees before scientists could even figure out how and why it can tolerate such high quantities of nickel in its latex-like sap.

RNC Minerals does it again with another Beta Hunt gold haul in Kambalda – by Josh Chiat (The West Australian – September 16, 2018)

September 17, 2018

https://thewest.com.au/

The Kambalda mine that produced more than $15 million worth of spectacular gold specimens a fortnight ago from a single deep cut 500m underground has turned out another precious stone after development restarted after the announcement.

A specimen stone weighing 43kg and estimated to contain 1100 ounces of gold, valued at about $1.8 million, was recovered after work resumed underground at the Beta Hunt gold mine.

The stone, along with another piece weighing 7kg and containing 190oz, will be taken to the Perth Mint and added to a haul that included what was believed to be two of the biggest gold specimens discovered.