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Mijnen,Rio...bhp

1. voda 4 januari 2017 17:14

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   Mining companies using Robots to Mine 24 Hours a day
   
   Mining company Rio Tinto has 73 of these titans hauling iron ore 24 hours a day at four mines in Australia’s Mars-red northwest corner. At this one, known as West Angelas, the vehicles work alongside robotic rock drilling rigs. The company is also upgrading the locomotives that haul ore hundreds of miles to port the upgrades will allow the trains to drive themselves, and be loaded and unloaded automatically.
   
   Rio Tinto intends its automated operations in Australia to preview a more efficient future for all of its mines one that will also reduce the need for human miners. The rising capabilities and falling costs of robotics technology are allowing mining and oil companies to reimagine the dirty, dangerous business of getting resources out of the ground.
   
   BHP Billiton, the world’s largest mining company, is also deploying driverless trucks and drills on iron ore mines in Australia. Suncor, Canada’s largest oil company, has begun testing driverless trucks on oil sands fields in Alberta.
   
   Mr Herman Herman director of the National Robotics Engineering Center at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh said that “In the last couple of years we can just do so much more in terms of the sophistication of automation.” The center helped Caterpillar develop its autonomous haul truck. Mining company Fortescue Metals Group is putting them to work in its own iron ore mines. Mr Herman said that the technology can be deployed sooner for mining than other applications, such as transportation on public roads. He said that “It’s easier to deploy because these environments are already highly regulated.”
   
   Rio Tinto uses driverless trucks provided by Japan’s Komatsu. They find their way around using precision GPS and look out for obstacles using radar and laser sensors.
   
   Mr Rob Atkinson, who leads productivity efforts at Rio Tinto said that the fleet and other automation projects are already paying off. The company’s driverless trucks have proven to be roughly 15 percent cheaper to run than vehicles with humans behind the wheel, says Atkinson a significant saving since haulage is by far a mine’s largest operational cost. He said that “We’re going to continue as aggressively as possible down this path.”
   
   Trucks that drive themselves can spend more time working because software doesn’t need to stop for shift changes or bathroom breaks. They are also more predictable in how they do things like pull up for loading. “All those places where you could lose a few seconds or minutes by not being consistent add up,” says Atkinson. They also improve safety, he says.
   
   The driverless locomotives, due to be tested extensively next year and fully deployed by 2018, are expected to bring similar benefits. Atkinson also anticipates savings on train maintenance, because software can be more predictable and gentle than any human in how it uses brakes and other controls. Diggers and bulldozers could be next to be automated.
   
   Herman at CMU expects all large mining companies to widen their use of automation in the coming years as robotics continues to improve. The recent, sizeable investments by auto and tech companies in driverless cars will help accelerate improvements in the price and performance of the sensors, software, and other technologies needed.
   
   Herman says many mining companies are well placed to expand automation rapidly, because they have already invested in centralized control systems that use software to coördinate and monitor their equipment. Rio Tinto, for example, gave the job of overseeing its autonomous trucks to staff at the company’s control center in Perth, 750 miles to the south. The center already plans train movements and in the future will shift from sending orders to people to directing driverless locomotives.
   
   Atkinson of Rio Tinto acknowledges that just like earlier technologies that boosted efficiency, those changes will tend to reduce staffing levels, even if some new jobs are created servicing and managing autonomous machines. He said that “It’s something that we’ve got to carefully manage, but it’s a reality of modern day life. We will remain a very significant employer.”
   
   Source : Technology Review

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2. voda 4 januari 2017 17:19

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   Many uncertainties lie ahead in 2017 for Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton
   
   The Australian reported that in 2016 commodities started the year with a whimper and ended with an unforeseen bang. This year their price paths are even less predictable, with a host of competing tensions.
   
   We’ll get some insight into how confident, or otherwise, the world’s biggest resource companies are about the sustainability of the surge in prices and demand that occurred in the second half of last year when, first, Rio Tinto and then BHP Billiton report their full-year and interim results early next month.
   
   It was almost a year ago that both companies abandoned their progressive dividend policies in favour of payout ratios of roughly half their underlying earnings, with the flexibility to supplement the conventional dividends with capital management or supplementary dividends.
   
   The unexpected windfall from the significant rise in commodity prices particularly for iron ore, coal and oil in the second half of 2016 will have generated a surge in underlying earnings for all the big resource companies. How Rio and BHP deal with the “windfall’’ could provide some understanding of their levels of confidence that the five-year recession in the industry has ended.
   
   In their recent public commentaries both groups have tended to be quite conservative about the industry outlook and their plans.
   
   Rio has embarked on some significant investment programs the Oyu Tolgoi underground project in Mongolia, the USD 1.9 billion Amrun bauxite project in Queensland and the USD 700 million Silvergrass iron ore project in Western Australia but new chief executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques has said the group could be “boring’’ for quite some time.
   
   BHP is even more introspective, with Andrew Mackenzie focused on capital-light brownfields investment that could yield very significant volume and productivity gains from the group‘s existing asset base. For USD 1.5 billion, he has said, BHP could lift copper-equivalent production volumes about 10%.
   
   The obvious way for the miners to view the second half bounce in prices is with some scepticism, using the earnings boost to pay down some debt. To the extent that it might be shared with shareholders, a conservative approach would be to include an element of “special’’ dividend a one off or a modest share buyback.
   
   Source : The Australian

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3. voda 20 januari 2017 16:46

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   Rio Tinto and Chinalco end joint search for copper deposits in China
   
   Rio Tinto Group and its largest shareholder Aluminum Corp of China have terminated their joint venture established to find copper deposits, as global mining companies tighten exploration budgets. Chinalco Rio Tinto Exploration Co, a joint venture between Rio and Aluminum Corp, also known as Chinalco, was launched in 2011 to seek out deposits in China and had plans to expand its search to coal and potash.
   
   Chinalco said in an statement said that "The joint venture exploration company has ceased operation and entered the liquidation phase.
   
   The venture, 51% owned by the Chinese company, had concentrated on the northern Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang provinces, according to Rio filings. The JV had about 30 full-team staff, led by an executive based in Beijing, according to details on Rio's website.
   
   By partnering on exploration, and jointly developing the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea, Rio had sought to strengthen its ties with China, its top customer, after the London-based producer rejected state-backed Chinalco's proposed USD 19.5 billion investment in 2009.
   
   Rio in October agreed to sell its stake in the African project to Chinalco, a partner in the asset. Chinalco holds about 10 per cent of Rio, according to the producer's annual report.
   
   The report said that spending on exploration by miners has plunged to the lowest in a decade as the industry has focused on slashing costs and bolstering balance sheets. The combined budget in 2016 of more than 1500 companies fell 21% on the previous year to about USD 6.9 billion, according to a report this month by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Exploration spending in China fell 27% to about USD 394 million in 2016.
   
   Source : WA Today

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4. voda 31 januari 2017 17:15

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   BHP’s Nickel West Kwinana refinery hits record output
   
   BHP Billiton’s Kwinana nickel refinery hit record production levels in the December quarter as the global mining giant’s unloved WA nickel assets booked a big lift in exports.
   
   BHP said that its Nickel West assets produced 22,100 tonnes of nickel in the December quarter, 18 per cent more than the September period and a 45 per cent lift on a year ago.
   
   While BHP will not release financial figures until next month’s half year results, it said its de-bottlenecking program at the Kwinana refinery which has seen the division buy a new mill has led to record output from the facility.
   
   Nickel West produced 40,900 tonne of nickel in the first half of the year, up 10 per cent on the same period last year.
   
   Despite rail maintenance in the Pilbara, BHP managed to lift its iron ore exports and take advantage of rising prices, with the company shipping a record 69.2 million tonnes of ore in the December period.
   
   BHP mines produced 69.7 million tonnes in the quarter and 136.4mt in the first half of the year up 3.7 per cent from 2015 as its expansion of the Jimblebar mine delivered product.
   
   The company said it sold its product for an average USD 55 a wet metric tonne in the December half, before shipping costs. That was up from an average USD 44/wmt in the first half of last year.
   
   Source : The West

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5. voda 31 januari 2017 17:20

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   BHP and Vale mine restart faces new obstacle
   Published on Tue, 31 Jan 2017
   
   Bloomberg reported that BHP Billiton Ltd and Vale SA’s crippled Samarco mine, once the world’s second-largest producer of iron-ore pellets, has a new obstacle threatening to slow its much-anticipated restart: a small-town mayor.
   
   The Brazilian city of Santa Barbara declined to sign off this week on a plan for Samarco to continue to use water from a nearby river. Without the approval, Samarco won’t be able to complete an ongoing environmental study required by state regulators for a restart, a person familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private.
   
   Mr Leris Braga, the 34-year-old mayor of the town of 30,000 people in Minas Gerais state said that “There are environmental impacts related to the water supply that need to be thoroughly studied.” He is calling for a separate study to be done to test for possible disruptions to water flow.
   
   The Samarco Mineracao SA joint venture has been shut since a November 2015 tailings dam ruptured, polluting waterways in two states and killing as many as 19 people in an incident called Brazil’s worst environmental disaster. The closing also has left thousands without jobs and prompted Samarco to stop paying interest on USD 2.2 billion in bond obligations.
   
   Melbourne-based BHP, Rio de Janeiro-based Vale and Samarco have all stopped short of providing an exact estimate for the mine’s restart, only saying they hope to return to operations some time this year. Last week, Brazil’s mines and energy minister Fernando Coelho Filho said the mine could be operational in two months.
   
   Even if Samarco resolves Braga’s objections, the mine will probably only be able to complete the environmental-impact study needed for an operating license by July at the earliest, the person said. If Braga’s dispute can’t be resolved, the study’s completion date could be delayed even further, making the likelihood of a restart this year more difficult.
   
   Samarco is providing all the necessary information to the city of Santa Barbara and the company is taking all suitable steps to resolve the situation as soon as possible, a spokesman said Thursday by e-mail.
   
   Source : Bloomberg

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6. voda 3 februari 2017 17:18

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   Rio Tinto receives approaches for last coal assets
   
   Bloomberg reported that Rio Tinto Group, which agreed last month to sell $2.45 billion of Australian assets, has received approaches for its remaining coal operations in the country, people with knowledge of the matter said.
   
   The London-based company is considering options for its Hail Creek and Kestrel mines, including a potential sale, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the details are private. Its controlling stakes in the operations, which are located in Queensland state’s Bowen Basin and mainly produce coking coal used in steelmaking, could fetch as much A$2 billion ($1.5 billion), the people said.
   
   Rio, the world’s second-biggest miner, has been divesting Australian coal assets since dismantling its energy division in 2015. The company is focusing on its most profitable and long-life operations in iron ore, copper and aluminum as China’s economy matures and growth cools, Chief Executive Officer Jean-Sebastien Jacques told investors at a London seminar in December.
   
   The assets are Rio’s last producing coal mines globally after it agreed to sell its stakes in Australian thermal coal operations to an arm of China’s Yanzhou Coal Mining Co. for $2.45 billion. A formal sale process for Hail Creek and Kestrel may not begin until Anglo American Plc decides whether to sell its Australian coking coal mines, the people said.
   
   Source : Bloomberg

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7. voda 6 februari 2017 17:17

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   Vale sells USD 3.8 billion in non core assets
   
   Vale said that it has raised USD 3.8 billion in 2016 by selling non-core assets. According to a presentation to investors this Thursday, the amount includes the sale of four very large iron ore carriers, Capesize vessels, as well other assets, including Paragominas and a fertilizer unit.
   
   In 2015, Vale divested about USD 3 billion worth of assets. The company said it expects to spend USD 4.5 billion on Capex in 2017 and USD 4.5 billion in 2018, which is less than what its competitors will reportedly spend.
   
   Vale also said it is more optimistic than the market consensus in terms of iron ore prices in 2017.
   
   Source : Strategic Research Institute
8. voda 6 februari 2017 17:17

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   Glencore announces production guidance for 2017
   
   Anglo-Swiss miner Glencore said that that its production was in line with guidance for 2016 with an increase in nickel mined and production suspended for copper, zinc, coal and oil. The FTSE 100 company maintained its production guidance for 2017.
   
   For calendar 2016, nickel production surged 20% to 115,100 tonnes compared to the previous year, when a scheduled maintenance programme in 2014 affected throughput at the smelter in Sudbury.
   
   Copper production was 5% lower to 1.42m tonnes due to suspended production at Glencore’s African copper assets, this was partly offset by higher grades and throughput in South America.
   
   Zinc production fell 24% to 1.09m tonnes following cuts in production, particularly in Australia and Peru.
   
   Coal was down 5% to 124.9m tonnes following the sale of its loss making Optimum Coal business to Tegeta Exploration and Resources.
   
   Glencore's oil interest dropped 29% to 7.5m barrels after the depletion of existing oil fields.
   
   The company said that it was making progress with potential extension projects and some exploration successes. The Coroccohuayco copper project in Peru upgraded 184m tonnes to ore reserves at -1% copper during the year, and Glencore's Zhairem zinc project in Kazakhstan upgraded over 60m tonnes to ore reserves with more than 4% zinc.
   
   Its Vasilkovskoye gold project, also in Kazakhstan saw it gold ore reserve base increase by 14m tonnes, or 16%, with resources up by 44m tonnes.
   
   Source : Strategic Research Institute
9. voda 10 februari 2017 16:38

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   CFO Shell wordt na pensioen commissaris bij Rio Tinto
   
   Mijnbedrijf benoemt drie nieuwe commissarissen.
   
   (ABM FN-Dow Jones) Financieel directeur Simon Henry van Royal Dutch Shell treedt toe tot de raad van commissarissen van Rio Tinto. Dit maakte de Brits-Australische mijnbouwer vrijdag in een persbericht bekend.
   
   De toetreding van de financiële topman van het Nederlands-Britse olie- en gasconcern wordt op 1 juli van dit jaar van kracht. Henry vertrekt volgende maand als financieel directeur bij Shell en wordt in die functie opgevolgd door Jessica Uhl.
   
   Naast Henry treden ook voormalig CEO Sam Laidlaw van Centrtica en voormalig bestuursvoorzitter David Constable van Sasol toe tot de raad van commissarissen van Rio Tinto. Hun benoeming gaat in met onmiddelijke ingang.
   
   De drie nieuwe commissarissen komen in de plaats van Robert Brown en Anne Lauvergeon, die na de aandeelhoudersvergadering van Rio Tinto op 4 mei terugtreden.
   
   Door: ABM Financial News.
   
   info@abmfn.nl
   
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   Copyright ABM Financial News. All rights reserved
   
   (END) Dow Jones Newswires
10. voda 13 februari 2017 16:46

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    Rio Tinto denies Guinea iron ore sale has stalled after investigation
    
    Reuters reported that Rio Tinto shrugged off concerns that its sale of Guinea's Simandou project to Chinalco had stalled after an investigation into payments to a consultant who helped it win rights to the huge iron ore deposit.
    
    Rio signed a preliminary deal in late October to sell its stake in Simandou, the world's largest untapped iron ore reserves.
    
    But the following month, the world's second-largest miner axed two of its top 10 executives amid a probe over $10.5 million in payments to a consultant providing advisory services on the Simandou project.
    
    Rio has alerted US, British and Australian regulators about the payments, but there is no suggestion that the officials or consultant acted illegally.
    
    China, the world's largest iron ore consumer, provides an obvious market for Simandou, but industry sources have questioned whether China would ever develop the project.
    
    Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques said that "Why do you say stalled?. The two (negotiating) teams are working as we speak. The Rio team was in Beijing last week again and we'll be in China next week again."
    
    Mr Jacques declined to say if he was confident that Rio and Chinalco would finalise the deal within the original six-month timeframe. He said that "We are progressing, it's a complicated process, it takes some time. We're just moving as quickly as we can.”
    
    If the deal to sell its 46.6% stake in Simandou to Chinalco went ahead, Rio Tinto would receive payments of between USD 1.1 billion and USD 1.3 billion based on the timing of the project's development.
    
    Rio pleased investors on Wednesday when it beat full-year profit forecasts and announced a bigger-than-expected annual dividend, but it also warned that the investigation "could ultimately expose the group to material financial cost".
    
    Source : Reuters
12. voda 16 februari 2017 17:29

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    Rio Tinto CEO spruiks value over volume
    
    The Australian reported that Rio Tinto chief Jean-Sebastien Jacques will not put more iron ore on to the market to get the lowest costs out of expanded West Australian infrastructure if it puts pressure on prices, despite the miner’s delayed driverless ore train project now making strides.
    
    Speaking last week with iron ore prices already at their highest levels in two years, Mr Jacques told The Australian the company’s delayed driverless train program was running “very well” and ready to help boost production over the next couple of years.
    
    But he said the company would not be in a rush to push the WA infrastructure that Rio spent USD 16 billion expanding in the past decade to match its new port capacity of 360 million tonnes of capacity. He said that “We are about value over volume. We are pushing productivity, then we look at what the impact on the price (of expansion) will be and we will work out what we can do. We are not in a rush.”
    
    Iron ore prices jumped 5.5 per cent to USD 91.80 per tonne, the highest since August 2014.
    
    The price of Australia’s biggest export has been bolstered by ­Chinese preliminary trade statistics, which show iron ore ­imports rose 12 per cent in January from a year earlier, and by increased talk that China will close down inefficient steel mills to reduce pollution.
    
    Removing inefficient production is expected to spur ­productivity drives at other mills, closer to the coast, meaning ­better-quality imports will be in demand. Mr Jacques said that “The Chinese government is pushing hard to restructure the high-polluting blast furnaces, and therefore reduce ­capacity. This would remove the low-productivity, highly polluting blast furnaces and drive the ­productivity of the (remaining) blast furnaces, which could ­represent an opportunity for us because we could see a switch ... to higher-grade iron ore.”
    
    There is also talk of increased spending on infrastructure in the Asian steel demand powerhouse.
    
    Credit Suisse analyst Paul McTaggart said, citing increased spends of 10-50 per cent this year in Jiangsu, Shandong and ­Xinjiang provinces said that “After the Chinese New Year, many Chinese provincial governments announced their infrastructure spending plans for 2017. Some of the pick-up in infrastructure spend is because the provinces underspent more recently — and they are intending to catch-up to their targets made in recent five-year plans.”
    
    Source : The Australian

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13. voda 21 februari 2017 16:58

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    Anglo American buigt verlies om in winst
    
    Omzet vrijwel vlak.
    
    (ABM FN-Dow Jones) Anglo American heeft in 2016 een verlies weten om te buigen in een winst op een vrijwel vlakke omzet. Dit meldde de mijnbouwer dinsdag tijdens de publicatie van de voorlopige jaarresultaten.
    
    CEO Mark Cutifani meldde in een toelichting op de voorlopige cijfers in 2016 dat het concern de nettoschuld in 2016 heeft weten te verlagen met 34 procent tot 8,5 miljard dollar, ruim onder de doelstelling van 10 miljard dollar.
    
    Anglo American heeft het afgelopen boekjaar een operationele winst geboekt van 1,7 miljard dollar, in vergelijking tot een verlies van 4,1 miljard dollar. Onder de streep resteerde een nettowinst van 1,6 miljard dollar, versus een verlies van 5,6 miljard dollar.
    
    De omzet steeg licht van 23,0 miljard naar 23,1 miljard dollar.
    
    Outlook
    
    De mijnbouwer verwacht dat de macro-economische omstandigheden, die ten grondslag liggen aan de vraag van de consument naar diamanten, min of meer stabiel blijven, waarbij Anglo American verwacht dat de Verenigde Staten de belangrijkste motor zal zijn voor de mondiale groei.
    
    "De omvang van de wereldwijde groei zal echter afhankelijk zijn van een aantal macro-economische factoren, waaronder onder andere de nieuwe regering in de Verenigde Staten, het effect van de kracht van de Amerikaanse dollar op de vraag en de economische prestaties in China", aldus Anglo American.
    
    Door: ABM Financial News.
    
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    (END) Dow Jones Newswires
14. voda 21 februari 2017 17:04

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    BHP Billiton buigt verlies om in winst
    
    Mijnbouwer boekt hogere omzet.
    
    (ABM FN-Dow Jones) BHP Billiton heeft in de eerste zes maanden van zijn gebroken boekjaar een verlies weten om te buigen in een winst op een hogere omzet. Dit meldde de Australische mijnbouwer dinsdag voorbeurs.
    
    CEO Andrew Mackenzie sprak van sterke resultaten, volgend op een aantal jaren waarbij de focus lag op het verbeteren van de productiviteit, een herschikking van de portefeuille en herontwerp van het operationele model. "Onze standvastige benadering van dit plan heeft ons gepositioneerd op optimaal te kunnen profiteren in een periode van hogere prijzen", voegde de CEO toe.
    
    Het concern boekte in de eerste helft van het gebroken boekjaar een nettowinst van 3,2 miljard dollar, versus een verlies van 5,7 miljard dollar in de eerste helft van het voorgaande boekjaar. Het onderliggend bedrijfsresultaat (EBITDA) steeg van 6,0 miljard naar 9,9 miljard dollar.
    
    De omzet steeg in het eerste half jaar, dat eindigde op 31 december, van 15,7 miljard dollar naar 18,8 miljard dollar.
    
    Outlook
    
    BHP Billiton verwacht dat de mondiale economisch groei in 2017 waarschijnlijk zal variëren van 3,0 tot 3,5 procent. Een hogere groei zal volgens de mijnbouwer worden vertraagd door toenemende politieke onzekerheid, die de potentie heeft om de internationale handel en het vertrouwen in het bedrijfsleven te drukken.
    
    In China voorziet het concern ongewijzigde marktomstandigheden, waarbij een vertraging van de economische groei wordt voorzien. "De verwachtingen voor de Amerikaanse economie zijn onzeker", aldus BHP Billiton. Samenvattend spreekt het concern van onzekerheid op de korte termijn, maar over de lange termijn is het bedrijf positiever.
    
    Door: ABM Financial News.
    
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    Copyright ABM Financial News. All rights reserved
    
    (END) Dow Jones Newswires
15. voda 21 februari 2017 17:43

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    Vale shareholders plan to end holding company - Report
    
    Reuters reported that the largest shareholders of Vale SA have decided to dissolve an investment holding company through which they controlled the world's biggest iron ore producer for 20 years, newspaper O Globo reported on Sunday.
    
    The decision, amid ongoing efforts to renew a shareholder accord, would allow the individual shareholders to directly control their stakes in Vale and begin to vote on their own.
    
    The newspaper, in Vale's hometown of Rio de Janeiro, did not say how soon the actual dissolution of the holding company would occur.
    
    The partners in Valepar SA, as the holding company is known, include Bradespar SA, Mitsui & Co., several Brazilian state-run pension funds led by Previ Caixa de Previdência, and Brazil's state development bank, known as the BNDES.
    
    Reuters reported on Jan. 19 that members of Valepar were negotiating an effort to extinguish the bloc over a six-year period. By that point, Vale would become a company with diluted share ownership.
    
    O Globo said the partners in Valepar would announce their decision next month. The current 20 year Valepar shareholder accord expires in April.
    
    With Valepar no longer acting as a bloc, Bradespar and Previ believe the company will be more attractive to other investors, people familiar with the matter told Reuters in January.
    
    A more dispersed shareholder structure could result in enhanced transparency and less meddling by Brazil's government, which can influence decisions through the BNDES and the pension funds.
    
    It can also exert veto power through a so-called golden share, which allows it to fend off hostile takeover attempts and shape strategic decisions.
    
    In addition to Previ, the pension funds with stakes in Valepar include Petros Fundação, Funcef and privately-owned Fundação Cesp.
    
    Previ and Bradespar did not have an immediate comment on the O Globo report. Spokespeople for BNDES and Petros did not immediately return calls by Reuters on Sunday seeking comment.
    
    Source : Reuters
16. voda 23 februari 2017 16:14

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    Glencore boekt weer winst
    
    Concern brengt nettoschuld sterk terug.
    
    (ABM FN-Dow Jones) Glencore heeft in 2016 het verlies van het jaar ervoor omgebogen in een nettowinst en heeft de nettoschuld sterk teruggebracht. Dit meldde het Zwitserse grondstoffen- en mijnbouwconcern donderdag in een rapportage met voorlopige cijfers.
    
    Het aangepaste bedrijfsresultaat (EBITDA) steeg met 18 procent naar 10,27 miljard dollar en de aan aandeelhouders toe te wijzen nettowinst kwam uit op 1,38 miljard dollar, waar een jaar geleden nog een verlies werd geboekt van 4,97 miljard dollar.
    
    De nettoschuld nam mede dankzij kostenbesparingen en desinvesteringen met 40 procent af tot 15,53 miljard dollar.
    
    Het bedrijf zag het totaal aantal bezittingen met 3 procent afnemen naar 124,60 miljard dollar.
    
    De omzet uit verkoop en industriële operaties bij metalen en mineralen steeg met 0,6 procent naar 66,34 miljard dollar. De omzet uit energieproducten nam 6,5 procent toe tot 89,02 miljard dollar. In de divisie landbouwproducten daalde de omzet met 5,1 procent naar 21,97 miljard dollar.
    
    Op de beurs in Londen steeg het aandeel Glencore met 1,2 procent.
    
    Door: ABM Financial News.
    
    info@abmfn.nl
    
    Redactie: +31(0)20 26 28 999
    
    Copyright ABM Financial News. All rights reserved
    
    (END) Dow Jones Newswires
17. voda 23 februari 2017 17:08

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    FIFO boosts the bush - Rio
    
    Bloomberg reported that Rio Tinto is becoming more reliant on FIFO workers from regional WA as its shaves a workforce that is pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into the country economy.
    
    As a further fight broke out between the Liberals and Nationals over Brendon Grylls’ proposed mining tax, a report commissioned by the mining giant and compiled by ACIL Allen showed that the end of the mining boom was hitting regional economies as jobs supported by fly-in, fly-out workers disappeared.
    
    Rio has, since 2012, kept tabs on the economic footprint of its Pilbara FIFO workforce, which last year amounted to 6755 people. Of that group, more than 2000 were based in regional parts of WA.
    
    They injected $305 million in wages into local communities, particularly in the South West and Peel.
    
    Mandurah is home to the biggest number of regionally based Rio FIFO workers with 326, followed by Busselton (206), Bunbury (206), Geraldton (179) and Albany (98). Indigenous Australians are also strongly represented in Rio’s regional FIFO workforce.
    
    Of its 533 indigenous employees, almost half live in regional parts of WA, with many of those from the Kimberley and Mid-West.
    
    Rio Tinto iron ore chief executive Chris Salisbury said it was clear the company’s regional FIFO workforce was making a significant financial contribution to towns and communities across WA.
    
    But he warned they would be at risk from the Nationals’ proposed mining tax.
    
    Mr Salisbury said that “We employ almost 12,000 people across Western Australia”
    
    An ill-conceived tax will place these local jobs and the growth of Rio Tinto’s iron ore business at risk.”
    
    There is open warfare between the WA Liberals and the Nationals, with regional Liberals warning Brendon Grylls’ FIFO plan would smash towns such as Busselton.
    
    Liberal member for the southern seat of Vasse Libby Mettam said Mr Grylls’ plan to offer tax incentives to mining companies to encourage workers to live in mining towns threatened thousands of jobs across the State.
    
    She said Busselton had one of the biggest FIFO populations in WA. Ms Mettam added that “Regional WA can ill-afford to support the Nationals’ Live Where You Work policy, which only benefits the Pilbara, by moving families away from communities like Busselton. We need to support FIFO, and keep people in regional towns and making our communities sustainable.”
    
    Source : Bloomberg
18. voda 23 februari 2017 17:11

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    BHP CEO says sees some risk to downside for iron ore prices
    
    Reuters reported that BHP Billiton said it sees a little downside risk for iron ore prices as Chinese demand moderates. The market was likely to come under pressure in the short term from moderating Chinese steel demand growth, BHP Chief Executive Andrew Mackenzie told reporters after reporting a sharp rise in first-half profits on the back of stronger mineral commodities prices.
    
    Source : Reuters
19. voda 6 maart 2017 17:18

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    Rio Tinto appoints Mr Philip as group executive legal
    
    Rio Tinto announced that it has appointed Mr Philip Richards as Group executive, Legal. Mr Philip will have responsibility for all Group legal services and will join the Rio Tinto Executive Committee. He has been acting in the role since December 2016 on secondment from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, where he was a senior partner specialising in corporate law.
    
    Mr Philip has extensive experience in governance, corporate advisory and transactional work. This includes four years running Freshfields' office in Italy, and leading the firm’s financial institutions group. His previous experience includes acting for a broad range of global companies including Barclays, Tesco, Prudential, LSEG, Liberty Global and Swiss Re.
    
    Rio Tinto chief executive J-S Jacques said that “Philip has demonstrated in his time with us that his significant almost 40-year experience in legal affairs will be a real asset for our company. He has quickly embraced the strong Rio Tinto culture and I am very pleased to have him join our team.”
    
    Source : Strategic Research Institute
20. voda 6 maart 2017 17:25

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    500 local jobs in doubt as Rio prepares to cut deeper
    
    The West reported that Rio’s annual report shed 673 positions last year, ending the year with 10,424 direct employees. That is 1600 fewer than at the end of 2014. The job cuts will have been a big contributor to the USD 315 million Rio cut from its local costs last year, as it booked underlying after-tax profits from the Pilbara of USD 4.6 billion, up 17% from 2015, on export volumes that rose 3%.
    
    Further job losses are on the way, with new Rio iron ore boss Chris Salisbury nearing the end of a review process that could lead to another 500 positions cut from Rio’s local operations.
    
    Rio’s employment figures were released as the State closes in on an election that will decide the fate of a $5-a-tonne levy pitched by WA Nationals leader Brendon Grylls.
    
    It is the centrepiece of Mr Grylls’ strategy to position himself as the kingmaker if neither Labor nor Premier Colin Barnett win enough seats to govern in their own right.
    
    The mining industry has criticised the levy as a threat to jobs and investment in WA’s iron ore industry.
    
    Rio Tinto has previously defended cost-cutting programs as necessary to insulate its business against falls in the iron ore price expected as new supply comes into the market.
    
    Source : The West

    Bijlage:
21. voda 14 maart 2017 12:54

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    BHP Billiton warns markets to brace for lower iron ore prices
    
    BHP Billiton is detecting a slowdown in the effect of Chinese government stimulus, the prime catalyst for the commodities sector rebound in 2016, and warns markets should brace for lower iron ore prices.
    
    Mr Peter Beaven CFO said that "We’re seeing a moderation of the impacts of the stimulus which China was putting into its economy in 2016," while new low-cost iron ore is also being added to the export market.” He said that "We have got to be very cognisant that those fundamentals point to a softening, and our business and all the settings that surround it, have to be ready for a much lower iron ore price."
    
    According to Bloomberg Intelligence Economics, China’s spending on infrastructure including roads, airports, ports and railways, rose 17% last year, driving the country’s 6.7% expansion in the economy. Growth in infrastructure spending is forecast to slow to about 3% by 2027.
    
    Iron ore dropped under $90 a tonne this week amid surging seaborne supply and rising stockpiles in China. Ore with 62% content in Qingdao declined 2.9% to $87.19 a dry tonne on Wednesday, according to Metal Bulletin. Prices rallied to $94.86 on February 21, the highest since August 2014.
    
    Melbourne based BHP and its competitors are reaping better than forecast profits from deep cost cuts and the dramatic price rally that’s transformed the mining industry.
    
    China’s stimulus spurred activity in its property and infrastructure sectors, boosting demand for raw materials. Iron ore surged more than 80% in 2016 as China’s imports hit a record and in February touched the highest in two-and-a-half years.
    
    BHP, the world’s biggest mining company, could invest as much as AUD 25 billion ($19bn) in Australia over the next decade, Beaven said, although he singled out the country’s tax regime as a disincentive. He said that "We will not invest in these projects unless the returns are better than returning cash to shareholders. We cannot assume that investment in Australia is guaranteed.”
    
    BHP has potential expansion projects at its Caval Ridge coking coal mine and Olympic Dam copper mine in Australia. The producer also needs to fund new mines to replace about 30% of iron ore output from ageing operations in Western Australia from fiscal 2023, according to Macquarie Group.
    
    Source : Bloomberg