Category Archives: News

24 Feb

Iron ore chief out of BHP after multibillion-dollar loss

[ad_1] BHP’s WA iron ore president will leave the business. Photo: Laing O’Rourke BHP Billiton will conduct a major shake-up to its leadership group after it announced a US$5.7bn (A$7.8bn) loss in the first half of the 2015/16 financial year. The mega-miner announced the significant after-tax loss off the back of a revenue figure of

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23 Feb

Arrium secures $1.3bn refinancing deal

[ad_1] Struggling steel and mining consumables manufacturer Arrium has struck a more than billion-dollar recapitalisation deal with American private equity firm Blackstone, in a move it hopes will help it manage its growing debt pile “in a low iron ore price environment”. The South Australian steel business announced on Monday it had secured a deal whereby

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23 Feb

Qube, Brookfield in talks for joint Asciano bid

[ad_1] Pacific National container at Chullora. Photo: Cameron Boggs In a new twist to the saga of a prospective foreign acquisition of Australian ports and rail heavyweight Asciano, competing parties Qube and Brookfield have announced talks to form a joint takeover bid. Qube, which has held the high ground over Brookfield since Asciano had an $88 million change of

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23 Feb

Brambles eyes smart pallets with opening of Silicon Valley office

[ad_1] Prasad Srinivasamurthy, head of Brambles’ new Silicon Valley digital offshoot. Charles Macdonald – Sydney February 23, 2016 Keeping track of the location and condition of its 250 million pallets is a monumental challenge for Brambles. Its opening of a Silicon Valley office and hiring of a software expert to run it suggests that the

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18 Feb

Asciano makes $88m switch from Brookfield to Qube

[ad_1] Asciano chief executive John Mullen. Photo: Greg Dickins Australian port and rail giant Asciano will pay an $88 million break fee to back out of a takeover bid from Canadian infrastructure fund Brookfield, so it can fully support a rival bid from Qube Holdings. Asciano had recommended Brookfield’s bid over Qube’s counter-offer for several

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18 Feb

M&A speculation continues in mining sector

[ad_1] Photo: Rio Tinto Oliver Probert – Sydney February 17, 2016 Rumour has it two of the world’s biggest miners are looking into significant acquisitions, with Rio Tinto said to be eyeing Alcoa’s alumina business, and Glencore reportedly interested in snapping up struggling iron ore miner Atlas Iron. A report in Monday’s The Australian suggests

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18 Feb

Simandou bites the dust

[ad_1] The iron ore sector has been savaged by the commodity slump. Oliver Probert – Sydney February 17, 2016 Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto has announced a $1.1bn impairment over the potentially massive Simandou iron ore project in Guinea, citing uncertainties in the market. The $1.1bn impairment for Simandou – once positioned by Rio as

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17 Feb

Mining fears drag Aurizon down after $108m loss

[ad_1] Aurizon is feeling the force of struggling coal and iron ore markets. Photo: RailGallery Aurizon slipped to its lowest share price since September 2012 on Monday, after chief executive Lance Hockridge revealed more than a quarter of the rail operator’s coal customers are operating at breakeven, or worse. Hockridge this week announced the Queensland-based

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17 Feb

Tough market, restructure costs hit Arrium for $236m

[ad_1] Arrium operates in the mining and mining consumables manufacturing sectors. Iron and steel business Arrium posted a statutory net loss of almost a quarter of a billion dollars after tax in the first half of the 2015/16 financial year. Arrium said lower iron ore prices drove an underlying loss of $24m during the six

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17 Feb

Safety issues facing Queensland Nickel

[ad_1] A nickel ore ship at Townsville, where (inset) Clive Palmer’s Yabulu refinery processes it. Photo: Chris Mackey / Southern Cross Maritime. (Inset: Creative Commons / Benjamin J Macdonald) A meeting between creditors and administrators of Queensland Nickel has revealed safety issues which could threaten the potential re-opening of the beleaguered refinery business, according to

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