(Reuters) – Chinese steel giant Baosteel Resources and an Australian partner launched a $1 billion takeover bid for Australian explorer Aquila Resources in a move that could help break the grip of mega iron ore exporters Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton.
Read more at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/05/us-aquila-rsc-baosteel-idUSBREA4400J20140505
The Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) between the European Union and Indonesia came into force on Thursday, a statement from the 28-member European bloc said.
The PCA with Indonesia is the first agreement of its kind in force with one of the EU’s South-East Asian partners.
EU Foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton welcomed the development, and said: Indonesia is a key partner in a region of strategic importance for the EU and an increasingly important player on the global scene. We look forward to implementing the PCA together with our Indonesian partners in order to forge a more mature and broad-based relationship.” The European bloc indicated the PCA as a key vehicle to intensify EU-Indonesia relations. EU added that the agreement reflects a renewed commitment to reinforcing the growing ties between the EU and Indonesia.
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The aluminium industry, specifically in China, is facing a growing shortage of bauxite following the Indonesian government’s ban on mineral exports, advisory firm Wood Mackenzie (Woodmac) said on Friday.
As the world’s largest aluminium producer and consumer, China’s alumina refinery production was forecast to grow by nearly 17-million tonnes by 2018, and a further 40-million tonnes by 2030.
Read more at: http://www.miningweekly.com/article/indonesia-export-ban-forces-china-to-seek-other-bauxite-sources-2014-05-02
Former Xstrata Plc Chief Executive Officer Mick Davis is studying making a bid for BHP Billiton Ltd. thermal coal and nickel assets after raising funds from investors including Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
Read more at: http://www.moneyweb.co.za/moneyweb-mining/former-xstrata-boss-said-to-study-bhp-assets-bid
Western Areas has moved to take advantage of a surging nickel market and ongoing speculation about a sale of BHP Billiton’s Nickel West assets by closing out its offtake agreement with China’s Jinchuan Group two months early.
Read more at: https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/business/a/23081945/western-areas-sees-bumper-quarter/
Japan was forced to reconsider its future energy road map, shifting toward a distributed production and storage module in place of its previous centralized, nuclear-based model. Under this new vision, the primary goal is to address the instability of electricity supply, which requires implementing energy demand peak-time cuts and peak-time shifting tactics through on-site energy generation and storage.
Read more at: http://seekingalpha.com/article/2171493-japans-30-billion-yen-bet-on-energy-storage
(Reuters) – Energy Solutions said it was taking Britain’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) to court after losing out on a $12 billion (7.13 billion pounds) contract to decommission the country’s oldest nuclear sites.
Energy Solutions, the incumbent manager of 10 nuclear sites, told Reuters it had filed the lawsuit in a British High Court.
Read more at: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/energysolutions-sues-uk-agency-losing-12-billion-deal-010014855–sector.html#BVe9d3s
The largest publicly traded copper miner reported first-quarter 2014 operating earnings per share of $0.48, topping Wall Street estimates of $0.43 by 12%. The headline EPS of $0.49 was adjusted for a $0.01 gain from oil and gas derivatives. The beat was largely driven by the energy segment, where volume, revenue, and costs all came in better than market expectations.
Read more at: http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/04/28/freeport-mcmoran-is-resilient-despite-indonesian-c.aspx
MOSCOW–OAO Norilsk Nickel (GMKN.MZ), the world’s largest producer of nickel and palladium, said Tuesday that its first quarter nickel output declined 5.2% on the year due to restructuring of its production as it refocuses on its core operations.
Nickel output fell to 67,818 metric tons from 71,571 tons a year earlier on decreased production from one of its African mines and a mine in Russia’s Kola peninsula, and the mothballing of its Lake Johnston mine in Australia last year.
Read more at: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20140429-702763.html
Vale is expected to report lower first-quarter earnings on Wednesday, April 30, 2014. Analysts are expecting a 13% drop in earnings from a year ago. The consensus estimate is 52 cents per share, down from earnings of 60 cents per share a year ago.
The consensus estimate has risen from 45 cents over the past three months. For the fiscal year, analysts are expecting earnings of $1.98 per share. Revenue is projected to eclipse the year-earlier total of $10.94 billion by 3%, finishing at $11.24 billion for the quarter. For the year, revenue is expected to come in at $46.33 billion.
Read more at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/narrativescience/2014/04/28/earnings-for-vale-expected-to-fall/
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