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BHP to spend $7.5-billion on Saskatchewan potash mine as it quits oil – by Andrew Willis (Globe and Mail – August 18, 2021)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The world’s largest mining company, BHP Group Ltd., signalled its future is focused on sustainable industries by committing $7.5-billion to a massive Saskatchewan potash project while exiting the oil and gas business.

On Tuesday, Melbourne, Australia-based BHP announced it is moving forward with the Jansen mine, mothballed for several years after more than $5-billion of development spending, and it will begin shipping potash in 2027. The project will create 3,500 construction jobs and permanent work for 600 employees.

BHP also announced it will spin out its energy business to Australia’s Woodside Petroleum Ltd., creating one of the world’s largest independent oil and gas companies. BHP shareholders will receive Woodside shares that give them a 48-per-cent stake in the energy company.

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OPINION: Faced with fight or flight, BHP chooses to flee – by Stephen Bartholomeusz (WA Today – August 16, 2021)

https://www.watoday.com.au/

The confirmation of speculation of an imminent sale of BHP’s petroleum business to Woodside poses a question. What’s the better course for carbon-intensive businesses, fight or flight?

Rio Tinto opted for flight and the sale of its coal mines in 2018. BHP is in the process of exiting thermal coal, with the sale of its interest in the Cerrejon mine in Colombia in June and its Mt Arthur mine in NSW and its 80 per cent interest in the BMC joint venture with Mitsui in Queensland also on the market.

An exit from petroleum – Woodside disclosed on Monday, after intense recent speculation, that it was in discussion with BHP about a potential merger that would see it acquire BHP Petroleum by issuing Woodside shares to BHP shareholders – and a successful exit from thermal coal would mean that only BHP’s dominant metallurgical coal division would remain from its most carbon-intensive assets.

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Noront Resources’ board likes what BHP has to offer – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – August 10, 2021)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Environmental groups claim Ring of Fire mine developer is hiding something, wants OSC to investigate

Ring of Fire mine developer Noront Resources is urging its shareholders to accept BHP Group’s offer to buy its nickel, copper and chromite properties in Ontario’s Far North.

BHP, one of the world’s largest mining companies, entered the picture in late July with a cash offer of $325 million, or $0.55 cents a share, to best a hostile insider takeover offer made by its Australian rival Wyloo, Noront’s biggest shareholder at 25 per cent. Wyloo is owned by Australian mining magnate Andrew Forrest.

In a mere formality, Noront said it has filed a directors’ circular recommending its shareholders accept the BHP offer. Noront’s board of directors said it represents a 129 per cent higher premium than where Noront’s shares were trading before Wyloo made its unsolicited bid at the end of May, and is 75 per cent higher than $0.315 share offer proposed by Wyloo.

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NEWS RELEASE: Noront Files Directors’ Circular in Support of BHP’s All-Cash Offer for Noront and Recommends Shareholders Accept the Offer (Noront Resource – August 9, 2021)

TORONTO, Aug. 09, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Noront Resources Ltd. (TSXV: NOT) (“Noront” or the “Company”) today announced that it has filed a directors’ circular (the “Directors’ Circular”) in connection with the proposed acquisition of Noront by BHP Western Mining Resources International Pty Ltd (“BHP” or the “Offeror”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of BHP Lonsdale Investments Pty Ltd. (“BHP Lonsdale”).

The Transaction

As announced on July 27, 2021, Noront entered into a definitive Support Agreement pursuant to which BHP has made a take-over bid to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Noront (the “Noront Shares”) for C$0.55 per Noront Share in cash (the “Offer”). The total equity value of the transaction is C$325 million (based on 100% of the fully diluted shares outstanding).

The cash consideration of C$0.55 per Noront Share (the “Offer Price”) represents a premium of 129% to Noront’s unaffected closing price of C$0.24 on May 21, 2021, the last trading day prior to the date that Wyloo Metals Pty Ltd. (“Wyloo”) first publicly announced its intention to make an offer for Noront, and is C$0.235 per share, or 75%, higher than the C$0.315 per share proposed by Wyloo in its announcement on May 25, 2021.

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NEWS RELEASE: Coalition Finds Noront Has Not Disclosed Business Risk from Indigenous Opposition, Calls for OSC to Investigate Ring of Fire Proponent (August 6, 2021)

Osgoode Hall Law School’s Environmental Justice & Sustainability Clinic research into Noront Resources Ltd. shows that the junior mining firm has not disclosed risks to its business stemming from significant Indigenous opposition to its flagship project in its most recent annual reports, annual information forms, management discussions and analyses, and news releases.

“Indigenous opposition, and the regulatory risk it poses, can have a material impact,” said Dr. Dayna Nadine Scott, Associate Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School and Co-Director of the Clinic. “If known, First Nation opposition to projects should be disclosed to investors. Companies should not be cherry-picking information and only mentioning relationships with communities that support their projects. That’s why we are urging Ontario regulators to conduct an investigation into Noront’s disclosures in the Ring of Fire, where Indigenous interests are significant and the communities are divided.”

Just as competing offers to buy Noront by two major mining companies, BHP and Wyloo Metals, are bringing increased attention to the company, Osgoode Hall Law School’s Environmental Justice & Sustainability Clinic, Greenpeace, the Council of Canadians, and MiningWatch Canada today wrote to the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), Ontario’s corporate regulator, asking for an investigation into the adequacy of Indigenous risk disclosure by Noront.

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BHP to expand nickel operations to meet soaring demand – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – August 3, 2021)

https://www.mining.com/

BHP (ASX, LON, NYSE: BHP) will make a final investment decision on a major expansion of the processing plant at its Mt. Keith nickel mine in Western Australia as it invests further in battery metals to meet expected soaring demand.

Nickel is a key component for EVs cathodes, and the world’s no. 1 miner sees nickel demand growing faster than anticipated due to a spike in the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), as governments commit to decarbonizing their economies and set end dates for combustion engine sales.

“We believe that over 2020 to 2030, overall nickel demand will grow at 5% compound annual growth rate, and that nickel-in-battery demand will grow at a rate of 21% CAGR,” BHP Nickel West president Eddy Haegel told the annual Diggers and Dealers conference on Tuesday.

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BHP was rebuffed twice by Noront’s biggest shareholder before making takeover bid – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – July 31, 2021)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

BHP Group Ltd. had designs on Ring of Fire exploration company Noront Resources Ltd as early as the spring, but on two occasions its plans were stymied by Wyloo Metals Ltd., Noront’s biggest stakeholder.

Melbourne-based BHP on Tuesday made a $0.55 a share takeover offer for Noront, obliterating a previous $0.315 approach by fellow Australian company Wyloo Metals.

A regulatory filing this week shows that BHP first approached Toronto-based Noront in April with a proposal to acquire a 9.9 per cent stake in the company.

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BHP charges up Nickel West with clean energy – by Nickolas Zakharia (Australian Mining – July 30, 2021)

Home

BHP plans to install two solar farms and a battery storage system to power the Mt Keith and Leinster mines at its Nickel West operations in Western Australia.

The clean energy sources are expected to cut emissions from electricity at the two mines by 12 per cent based on its 2020 financial year levels.

The Northern Goldfields Solar Project will include a 27.4-megawatt solar farm at Mt Keith, and a 10.7-megawatt solar farm and 10.1-megawatt battery at Leinster to reduce diesel and gas power.

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BHP and Forrest may be better together on nickel play (Australian Financial Review – July 28, 2021)

https://www.afr.com/

BHP might have trumped Andrew Forrest’s bid for a Canadian nickel miner, but there’s no reason the pair can’t form a partnership on this project.

The prospect of iron ore titans Andrew Forrest and BHP duking it out over a Canadian nickel junior is obviously delicious. But the rational move is for the old foes to get into bed together on what both clearly see as a great opportunity amid a broader rush for battery minerals.

BHP announced on Tuesday night a $C325 million ($351 million) bid for Noront, which has a highly rated nickel project called Eagle’s Nest in Ontario’s Ring of Fire region (how Game of Thrones is that?) some 1200 kilometres north of Toronto.

The Big Australian’s bid, which has the support of the Noront executive team (which owns 9.9 per cent of the company), is pitched at a 75 per cent premium to the takeover bid by Forrest’s Wyloo Metals in May.

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Fight over nickel assets heats up with BHP’s $258m Noront bid – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – July 27, 2021)

https://www.mining.com/

BHP (ASX, LON, NYSE: BHP) has offered C$325 million ($258.45 million) for Canadian nickel miner Noront Resources (TSX-V: NOT), trumping a bid by Australian mining billionaire Andrew Forrest’s Wyloo Metals, as top miners race to secure supplies of battery metals.

The world’s largest miner is offering C$0.55 per share of Noront, representing a premium of 129% to the firm’s closing price on May 21, a day before Wyloo’s proposal.

Noront is recommending that shareholders accept the bid, which comes through BHP Lonsdale, a subsidiary that already owns 3.7% of the Canadian nickel producer.

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BHP strikes friendly deal to buy Ring of Fire explorer Noront for $325-million – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – July 28, 2021)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

BHP Group Ltd. has reached a friendly agreement to acquire Ring of Fire explorer Noront Resources Ltd. for $325-million, trumping an earlier unsolicited approach from Australian private equity firm Wyloo Metals Pty Ltd.

Melbourne-based BHP said it intends to pay 55 cents a share in cash for Toronto-based Noront, 69-per-cent higher than the company’s closing price on the TSX Venture Exchange on Monday. The offer is also significantly higher than the $0.315-a-share proposal made by Wyloo, currently Noront’s largest shareholder, in May.

The Ring of Fire, situated 550 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay in the James Bay Lowlands in Ontario’s Far North, has had an almost mythical hold on the Canadian mining industry for more than a decade, but so far no company has succeeded in building any mines in the region.

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Australian company BHP makes takeover bid for Canada’s Noront Resources (CBC Thunder Bay – July 27, 2021)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/

Another Australian company is moving forward with a takeover bid for Noront Resources, with a cash offer for all outstanding and issued shares of the Canadian company.

Noront’s board of directors is recommending shareholders accept the offer from BHP, which would pay 55 cents cash for each share.

This is the second Noront takeover bid by an Australian company this year. In May, Wyloo Metals offered 31.5 cents cash for Noront shares.

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BHP beats Forrest in takeover battle for prized nickel project – by Brad Thompson (Australian Financial Review – July 27, 2021)

https://www.afr.com/

BHP has made a sensational bid to snatch a high-grade nickel project in Canada from the clutches of Andrew Forrest in another sign of how determined it is to secure a future in battery metals.

The BHP bid for Noront Resources unveiled on Tuesday night trumps a takeover offer lobbed by Dr Forrest’s privately-owned Wyloo Metals in May.

How Dr Forrest will react to the BHP raising the takeover stakes by a substantial premium remains unclear, with Wyloo controlling about 37 per cent of Noront stock.

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BHP swoops on Canadian nickel miner, trumping Forrest – by Thomas Biesheuvel (Bloomberg News – July 27, 2021)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

BHP Group agreed to buy Noront Resources Ltd. to add a nickel project in Canada, trumping a bid by Australian mining magnate Andrew Forrest, as the world’s biggest miner accelerates its push into metals poised to benefit from the green-energy transition.

BHP is increasingly gearing its portfolio toward so-called commodities of the future, as investors put greater weight on resource companies’ environmental credentials. The company is in the process of exiting thermal coal and is considering getting out of oil and gas.

At the same time, it’s putting greater emphasis on metals like copper and nickel, needed to support the green revolution. Last week it sealed a nickel supply agreement with Tesla Inc. and is expected to sanction a giant potash project later this year.

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NEWS RELEASE: BHP makes recommended all-cash offer of C$0.55 per share for Noront (July 27, 2021)

Noront Board recommends shareholders accept the offer

  • Consideration of C$0.55 per share represents a 129% premium to Noront’s unaffected closing price on May 21, 2021 and a 69% premium to Noront’s closing price on July 26, 2021, the last trading day prior to announcing this transaction.
  • The members of the Noront Board who voted on the matter unanimously recommend shareholders accept the offer.
  • Noront directors and senior management and a major shareholder holding an aggregate of 9.9% of the Noront shares on a fully diluted basis1 have agreed to tender all of their Noront shares to the offer.
  • Noront represents a growth opportunity in a prospective nickel basin capable of delivering a scalable, new nickel-sulphide district and provides the BHP group with more growth options in future facing commodities.
  • With proven expertise and capabilities in both exploration and bringing complex base metals projects into production, the BHP group is well positioned to advance Noront’s Ring of Fire projects through the next stages of development.
  • To tender your shares contact your broker or Kingsdale Advisors. Contact information is included below.

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