Investors question mining cred of BHP spin-off executives

Fund managers have raised questions over BHP Billiton’s plan to anoint a chairman and chief with insufficient operational mining experience to sit at the helm of its planned $14 billion resources company spin-off, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Investors are eagerly awaiting more detail on exactly which unwanted mines BHP will spin out to the new vehicle, and clarity on timing.

The board is expected to sign off on the transaction this week, which will also see it announce an expected $US13.5 billion ($14.5 billion) in full-year underlying earnings on Tuesday.

Uranium deal with India gets go-ahead

Shipments of Australian uranium to India have been given the green light, as Prime Minister Tony Abbott prepares to visit New Dehli early next month to sign a long-awaited export deal with the south Asian giant, according to the Australian Financial Review.

In a move that eradicates a stubborn bugbear in Australia’s economic relationship with India, both countries have finalised talks started by the former Labor government in 2012 over safeguards against the use of Australian uranium in weapons.

Trade experts said sales to India by Australia, which holds about a third of the world’s uranium resources, will deepen a trade partnership dominated by coal, gold and education.