Tag: RIO

Speculation that Rio Tinto could follow BHP Billiton and spin off its unwanted resource assets into a separate company failed to set the shares on fire yesterday as investors maintained a healthy scepticism for the moment.

Mining giant Rio Tinto’s incoming chief executive Jean-Sébastien Jacques has restructured the company and gotten rid of one of the rivals to his post as CEO in the wake of the retirement of Sam Walsh, the man who saved Rio from the worst of its excesses.

Rio Tinto has blinked at long last and put a lid on its iron ore ambitions.

While Rio Tinto (RIO) is sticking with its targeted iron ore output guidance for this year after releasing the March quarter figures yesterday, the company has cut its forecasts for 2017 because of anticipated production delays.

No repeat of the Commonwealth Bank’s (CBA) justification for retaining a flat dividend payout to shareholders at Rio Tinto (RIO) – even though it has left its final for 2015 flat, along with the full year return. Rio plans to slash its 2016 payout to shareholders.

Rio Tinto’s (RIO) solid 4th quarter and full year production report suggests that for the next few months at least it is in a better place than rival BHP Billiton (BHP).

The multi-billion dollar expansion of Rio Tinto’s (RIO) Oyu Tolgoi copper mining expansion project in Mongolia moved a step closer yesterday with agreement announced yesterday on financing for the project.

There are several important points to be taken from yesterday’s sale by Rio Tinto (RIO) of its 40% stake in the Bengalla coal mine in the Hunter Valley region of NSW.

The chances have risen that Rio Tinto (RIO) will lose its coveted A credit rating after Standard & Poor’s put the miner on credit watch with a negative outlook – two days after it did the same to its would be suitor, Glencore (which reacted overnight with a huge asset sale and debt cut valued at $US10 billion). That news saw Glencore shares leap 7% in London.

Despite the downturn in prices, especially in China in the past year, Rio Tinto (RIO) remains confident in the outlook for demand for its iron ore.

Rio Tinto (RIO) has maintained its policy of paying out progressively higher dividends with a 12% rise in its interim in US dollar terms, despite a sharp fall in earnings for the six months to June 30.

Rio Tinto (RIO) has trimmed its forecast for iron ore exports for the year to December by 10 million tonnes (or more than $US500 million) because of bad weather in the first half and other factors.

Busy times for Rio Tinto (RIO) – while fighting off the silliest idea for a while from an Australian government – the Tony Abbott supported inquiry into iron ore – the giant miner has also put around $US1 billion of Australian and NZ based aluminium, alumina and bauxite assets on the market (again) and this morning revealed it had overcome a major hurdle to the expansion of its huge copper project in Mongolia.

Rio Tinto (RIO) yesterday delivered what amounts to a two-fingered salute to critics of its iron ore expansion policies by telling Australian shareholders it will continue growing its iron ore exports.

Rio Tinto (RIO) continues to drive iron ore production and exports higher, with no slackening in its efforts to expand into the depressed market.

Talk about conflicting messages. One the one hand Rio Tinto (RIO) has warned of further price pressures for mining, on the other it handed out the goodies to shareholders.

Now for the cash and other rewards for Rio Tinto’s (RIO) shareholders to make sure the would-be boarder, Glencore, remains at arms length.

Rio Tinto (RIO) CEO Sam Walsh has rejected criticism of his company’s policy of continuing to expand iron ore production and sales in the face of weak prices and sluggish demand. That policy is also one being pursued by Rio’s great rivals, BHP Billiton (BHP) and Vale of Brazil. It’s earned the two Australian miners criticism from some investors, analysts and the Western Australian premier, Colin Barnett.

Glencore has now abandoned a bid for Rio Tinto (RIO) in the wake of the news yesterday that an approach in July was strongly rebuffed by the Rio board.

Watch Rio Tinto (RIO) shares shake off their BHP-induced weakness from yesterday and jump after renewed speculation overnight that the aggressive Glencore was still stalking the company.

For all the global instability we have started seeing – such as in Ukraine, the South China Sea, Gaza and Libya, global mining giant, Rio Tinto (RIO) remains pretty upbeat about the outlook for commodities.

A sharply higher profit than forecast, a higher dividend, promise of more to come, and another hint that the company will soon be in a position to consider capital returns to shareholders – they are the brief highlights from Rio Tinto’s (RIO) interim profit announcement yesterday.

Besides the full bore production and selling of its iron ore from its huge WA mines, Rio Tinto (RIO) has also revealed a considerable improvement in its copper business.

Despite the sharp fall in global iron ore prices, mining giant, Rio Tinto (RIO) kept its Western Australian iron ore production and selling machine operating at full bore in the six months to June 30.

Investors were strangely neutral about the solid rise in iron ore production and sales from Rio Tinto (RIO) in the three months to March.

The market missed Rio Tinto’s (RIO) stronger than expected second half and higher full year figures and dividend boost yesterday.

Rio Tinto (RIO) and Vale of Brazil are the world’s second biggest and third biggest miners by market value – but a year or so ago, Vale was second and Rio was third.

There was further bad news for the embattled mining services sector last night with the news that Rio Tinto (RIO) has chopped its WA iron ore expansion output plans by nearly 10% and around $US3 billion in cost.

Rio Tinto (RIO) has confirmed the strength of the global iron ore market (which was confirmed by the record Chinese imports last month of 74.85 million tonnes) by revealing record iron ore production from its huge mines in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Mining giant Rio Tinto (RIO) continues to make progress in its difficult talks with the Mongolian government on its hugely expensive Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine, and it’s also making rapid progress with work on its Pilbara iron ore expansion plan in Western Australia.

Another messy result from Rio Tinto for the six months to June 30, with more write-offs which reduced the already weak pre-tax earnings figures; a decision to abandon trying to sell its weakest aluminium assets; with the only good news, another lift in dividend to keep shareholders happy.

Newish Rio Tinto (RIO) CEO Sam Walsh has now raised more than $US1.1 billion from asset sales after the provisional sale of its 80% owned Northparkes copper mine in NSW to China Molybdenum Co for US$820 million.

The slowing Chinese economy hasn’t deterred Rio Tinto (RIO) from continuing to drive its WA iron ore expansion.

A rare bit of good news for Rio Tinto (RIO) if reports from Mongolia are accurate – that country’s government is reported to have given the green light for Rio to start shipping copper from its huge $US6.2 billion ($A7.3 billion) Oyu Tolgo copper mine.

The great Rio Tinto crash diet continues with reports the company is looking to sell down part of its collection of coal mining assets in NSW to another big miner – Glencore, owners of Xstrata.

Rio Tinto has taken the opportunity of a peak in its iron ore-driven profits to clean up its books with a massive $US8.9 billion ($A8.3 billion) write-down in the value of its aluminium business.

On the even of releasing its 2011 profit later today, Rio Tinto has confirmed that it is determined to continue growing its highly profitable iron ore business, despite a nasty blowout in costs in the past four months.

Is Rio Tinto really that bullish about the outlook for 2012?

And Rio Tinto said yesterday it had committed an additional $US1.3 billion ($A1.2 billion) to the development of the huge Simandou iron ore project in Guinea.

Rio Tinto’s costly and overpriced 2007 takeover of Alcan for more than $44 billion continues to haunt the group.