Tag: iron ore

Iron ore prices have hit a six-year high  on tight port stocks of mid-grade ores and optimism about Chinese demand on fresh injection of funds into the economy. Chinese furnaces, where more than half the world’s steel is forged, are rolling out crude steel at a never before seen pace. Benchmark 62% Fe fines imported into Northern China were changing hands for $128.57/t on Tuesday, the highest level for the steelmaking raw materials since January 2014 and brings gains for 2020 to nearly 40%. China produced 93.4mt of crude steel in July, the largest monthly volume on record. Crude steel output in July was 2pc higher than the month prior, and 9% higher than July 2019, according to data from...

A RESEARCH project by Painted Dog has revealed that contributions from mining in WA are much more significant than eastern states residents realise, with many attributing NSW and Victoria with a far higher percentage of the national export figures than they actually are. The West Australian reported that WA contributes 36.5% or $171.4b of the $470b worth of exports, compare to NSW and Queensland in second place with a much smaller 20% contribution while Victoria lagged behind with 12%. This contrasted with the perception by 75% of those surveyed who lived in NSW and half of those who live in Vic, who wrongly assumed that their own state was the top contributor. Premier Mark McGowan oft cited phrase that WA...

GLOBAL iron ore prices topped the US$100/t level for the first time in 10 months last week on concerns over supplies from Brazil, as the COVID-19 pandemic grows in the iron ore producing regions in the north and south of the country. The price of 62pc Fe fines delivered to northern China rose 5.4pc to US$102.39, the highest price since last August. Reuters reports that Brazilian giant Vale managed to reverse a court decision closing mines in the south (where the January 2019 mine wall tragedy happened) because of rising numbers of COVID-19 infections, and in the north where infections are also rising. Sources also claim there were hundreds of COVID-19 infections at Vale’s mines in Itabira, in the southern...

IRON ore will prop up Australia’s resource and energy export earnings despite the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, according to a new estimate put forth by the Australian Department of Industry, Innovation and Science. The department’s latest Resources and Energy Quarterly (REQ) forecasts commodity export earnings to hit a record $299b in 2019-2020, an increase of $18b from 2018-2019. The REQ covers a five-year outlook, highlighting long-term structural changes affecting global commodity markets including urbanisation, industrialisation and technological change. This edition includes information on the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the commodity outlook. While oil prices have been falling due to diminishing global demands for air travel, gold prices have been increasing as investors look towards safe options, benefiting...

BHP profits increase BHP has announced a profit of $7.3b, an increase of 29pc, for the half year ending December 31, 2019. Shareholders received a higher interim dividend with a payout of 97c per share, though it was lower than estimated. BHP chief executive Mike Henry said that the company was in good shape, though it was keeping an eye on effects from the coronavirus outbreak, trade policy and global political uncertainties. “We remain convinced by the positive fundamentals of our commodities," he said. The company reported that with $5.5b in free cashflow, it was on track to meet full-year production guidance. Higher iron ore prices and strong performance across operations has had a positive effect on results. The company...

BHP iron ore guidance steady BHP is maintaining its production guidance for its WA iron ore operations at between 273mt-286mt on a 100pc basis for the June 2020-ended financial year. In the first half of the 2020 financial year, BHP produced 137mt of iron ore from its WA operations on a 100pc basis, 2pc higher year on year, after the completion of a major rail car dumper maintenance program in October. Iron ore production volumes at its WA mines in the July-December 2018 half year were affected by a train derailment. Copper production for BHP rose 7pc in the first half-year period to 885,000t on strong concentrator throughput at its Escondida mine in Chile, and higher production from its Olympic...

AUSTRALIAN miner Rio Tinto is expecting to achieve iron ore production of between 330m and 343mt for the 2020 year after its production for 2019 came in at 327mt, and 3pc lower than the 2018 year. In a statement to the ASX, Rio Tinto said its iron ore production guidance for 2020 is subject to weather and market conditions, and is framed by its expectation of general stability in global economic growth for this year. The mining company achieved an average market price for its Pilbara iron ore of $79/wet metric ton free-on-board basis in 2019, 37pc higher than the average realised price for this product in 2018. Rio Tinto chief executive Jean-Sébastien Jacques said its Pilbara iron ore production...

GLOBAL engineering firm Fluor has announced the erection of 1500 tons (US) of modules in the BHP South Flank ore handling plant in WA. This plant will be the world’s biggest iron ore processing plant once operational. BHP announced the project at 50pc completion in October 2019 with the first ore targeted for 2021. The operation has an expected life span of 25 years. Fluor Mining and Metals president Tony Morgan said he was proud of what had been accomplished by the BHP and Fluor integrated team approach. The project committed to employing indigenous and local workers which has had a positive effect on the completion. More than 9000 people are estimated to be engaged in the South Flank project...

RIO Tinto (ASX: RIO) looks set to take top spot as 2019’s largest iron ore exporter. Its Q3 results show that, after bouncing back from the June blow-out that saw the company lower its iron ore guidance for the second time in the year, the miner shipped 86.1mt of iron ore, up 5pc on Q3 2018, with 87.3mt coming from its Pilbara operations – 6pc higher than Q3 2018, and 10pc higher than Q2 2019 as the company bounced back from Q2. The company has not changed its iron ore guidance, indicating it would ship between 320-330mt in Q4, and said that its unit cost guidance remained between $14-$15/t. Rio has traditionally lagged behind Brazil’s Vale as the second largest...