Tag: iron ore Australia

All images: Rio Tinto. BY ELIZABETH FABRI IRON ore continues to be a key driver for Rio Tinto, delivering more than 65 per cent of its underlying earnings in the first half of 2018. Now, with coal out of the picture, the miner has plans to grow its Pilbara business and – if the right opportunity presents itself – dip its toes in the battery metals space. Rio Tinto has shed almost $US5 billion in assets from its portfolio over the last year, letting go of its Kestrel, Hail Creek and Winchester South coal projects in QLD, as well as one of its European aluminium smelters; Dunkerque. It’s a new era for the dual-listed Anglo-Australian miner. Coal has been a…

All images: Rio Tinto. BY ELIZABETH FABRI IT capped off a strong 2017 calendar year with $US8.8 billion in profit, but Rio Tinto is increasingly focussed on reputation and its social license to operate, both here and abroad. Rio Tinto is riding high on the back of a 90 per cent increase in net profit compared to 2016. It was a successful year on many fronts, with Rio Tinto’s iron ore division celebrating the opening of the $US338 million Silvergrass mine. Iron ore prices were also working in its favour, as China’s increased appetite for higher grade ore continues following the nation’s winter steel curtailment policy. However, like many of its peers, the company’s global ‘social license to operate’ has…

BY CAMERON DRUMMOND WITH discounts for lower quality iron ore increasing, Carpentaria Resources’ Hawsons project – the highest grade undeveloped iron ore project in the world – is ready to capitalise on growing demand from Chinese steelmakers for high grade product. We spoke with Carpentaria managing director Quentin Hill about the project’s Supergrade® product and his outlook on the future of the iron ore market. Q: How is Carpentaria’s Hawsons iron ore project progressing? We drilled the first hole in 2009, and released Hawsons first resource in 2010. It is a $US1.4 billion development cost over an 18-month period, and will produce an initial 10 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of 70 per cent Fe Supergrade ore for  projected annual revenue of…

All images: AUSIMM. BY ELIZABETH FABRI AFTER iron ore prices experienced 12-month lows in June, the theme of this year’s Iron Ore 2017 event ‘Building Resilience’ is set to provide valuable insight into how mining and METS companies can remain profitable during the downward swing. Jointly organised by AusIMM and CSIRO, Iron Ore 2017 will be staged across three days at Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre from 24-26 July. The boutique conference has been held since 2002, providing a unique opportunity for iron ore businesses to discuss the biggest issues facing the sector and, of course, the path forward. This year’s theme ‘Building Resilience’ aims to tackle issues experienced during the volatile price climate, and cover the latest developments in geology,…