Yearly Archives: 2016

Fortescue Metals Group founder Andrew Forrest is now reportedly third on Australia’s rich list, thanks to a resurging iron ore price which has added $5 billion to his wealth. According to multiple reports, Forrest’s wealth has risen by $5 billion this year thanks to the serious improvement in the health of the iron ore market.

Fortescue Metals Group chairman Andrew Forrest has named the first of the miner’s new very large ore carriers (VLOCs) after his wife, Nicola. The FMG Nicola was christened at a shipyard in China this week, with Fortescure chief executive Nev Power saying the formal launch of the first vessel was the culmination of a lot

Shareholders have reacted badly to dairy producer Bega’s decision to write down the value of its infant formula joint venture with Blackmores by $5 million to $7 million, as a result of soft demand from the crucial Chinese consumer market. Bega chairman Barry Irvin announced the company would take the provision to its share of

Mining major BHP Billiton has preserved its guidance across all major sectors for FY17, after it announced stable iron ore and coal figures in the September quarter. BHP on October 19 announced a 15% decline in petroleum production, and a 6% decline in copper, but a 0% shift in iron ore, a 1% growth in

Pilbara Ports Authority says it has delivered total monthly throughput of 56.3 million tonnes for the month of September, up 3% from the same month last year. PPA is the authority responsible for a number of ports in WA’s north-west, chiefly the massive iron ore ports of Port Hedland and Dampier. Port Hedland achieved a

Australia’s competition watchdog has raised concerns over the potential impact of Pacific National or Aurizon buying the Hunter Valley rail business of mining giant Glencore. Global commodities giant Glencore is selling its Hunter rail operations business, GRail, as part of consolidation and debt reduction efforts. Pacific National and Aurizon – the two biggest bulk haulage

BlueScope Steel has reported a successful FY16, after a $947 million move to acquire 100% of a North American steel mill paid off big time. The company announced a 160% improvement in statutory net profit after tax to $354 million in FY16, after reporting $136 million in FY15. BlueScope said sales revenue was boosted due

More than $20 million in maintenance work is being delivered in the Hunter Valley during a 60-hour planned shutdown by the Australian Rail Track Corporation this week. ARTC executive general manager for the Hunter Valley Jonathan Vandervoort said around 1000 contractors would join ARTC staff this week to deliver dozens of maintenance projects on the

Fortescue Metals Group has welcomed an upgrade from ratings agency Moody’s, after the ASX-listed iron ore miner announced a net profit of AUD$1.3 billion on August 22. FMG announced to the stock exchange on Monday it had boosted its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) by 27%, despite a 17% drop in revenue.

Ian Ackerman reports. Cargo throughput at the Port of Dampier has seen a decrease over the past year, according to statistics recently released by Pilbara Ports Authority. Dampier’s throughput for the past month of July stood at 13.8m tonnes – a decrease of 1.9m tonnes, or 12% over the same month in 2015. Imports into