Rio Tinto to approve Qld bauxite mine
The Australian Financial Review reported that Rio Tinto expects its South of Embley bauxite project near Weipa in Queensland to deliver returns comparable to its lucrative Pilbara iron ore operations, and is likely to approve its development this year, UBS analyst Glyn Lawcock said.
He tips South of Embley – which is critical to extending the life of bauxite mining at Weipa – will deliver an internal rate of return of about 29%.
“Rio expects the return on this project to be ‘comparable to the Pilbara’ [that is greater than 20%],” Lawcock wrote from a tour of Rio’s Alma smelter in Canada.
“Rio Tinto Alcan is particularly bullish on the outlook for bauxite, with material demand growth and the Indonesian ban impacting the market. Rio is well positioned to benefit from this.”
Glencore flags interest in developing Simandou deposit
Glencore has told the government of Guinea that it is interested in rights to develop one of the world’s most sought-after iron ore projects, the country’s Simandou deposit, according to two people familiar with the matter, according to The Australian.
According to these people, a team of Glencore representatives travelled to Conakry earlier this month and met senior government officials, who next month will start to decide how to award rights to the deposit’s northern concession.
Earlier this year, the government revoked the licence previously held by Vale and BSG Resources, alleging BSG obtained the rights through corruption. BSG has denied the charge and has said it will fight the revocation in international arbitration.
The Glencore team told the government the company had a “high level of interest” in developing Simandou North, these people said.
Chinese chase Clive Palmer over Mineralogy paperwork
Chinese-owned Citic Pacific has asked a court to force billionaire MP Clive Palmer to hand over documents in a dispute over $A12 million, according to the Australian Financial Review.
Citic wants to see documents involving a $10 million payment to Cosmo Development from Mr Palmer’s companies Mineralogy and Queensland Nickel.
It also wants details of a $2.1 million payment made to Media Circus Network, which did work for the Palmer United Party during last year’s federal election.
Citic Pacific is pursuing $12 million it alleges was inappropriately used from a bank account linked to Mineralogy.
