MinRes starts Western Australian iron ore mine

: Metals
21/03/22

Australian mining firm Mineral Resources (MinRes) has begun production at its 5mn t/yr Wonmunna iron ore mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia (WA), as it seeks to boost its sales from the region to 14mn t/yr rate by the end of 2021.

Wonmunna is the first stage in MinRes' plans to increase production in the Pilbara region beyond 50mn t/yr through the construction of three hubs. Wonmunna is part of the Utah Point hub, which contains the existing Iron Valley mine and the Lamb Creek and Wedge deposits, which MinRes plans to start developing in January-June 2023 and January-June 2024 respectively.

Iron Valley shipped 2.93mn t in the six months to 3 December. The firm's Koolyanobbing mine in the Mid West region of WA shipped 4.98mn t in the same period.

Wonmunna has approvals to produce 5mn t/yr but this could be expanded to 10mn t/yr at low cost, according to MinRes.

MinRes is developing the 25mn-30mn t/yr Ashburton iron ore hub, which includes the Kumina and Bungaroo South mines. These mines will initially feed ore up to MinRes' port facilities at Port Hedland, although the firm is also looking at options to ship through the port of Ashburton.

MinRes is also awaiting approval to build two berths at Port Hedland at South West Creek, with an associated medium gauge railway connecting the 20mn t/yr Marillana mine, and possibly others in the MinRes portfolio, to the port. MinRes had planned to start developing Marillana by the end of 2020 but it is awaiting approval to build the No.3 and No.4 berths at South West Creek.

The development of these berths will add to congestion at Port Hedland, which shipped a record 540.64mn t of iron ore in 2020. The WA state government expanded the maximum capacity of Port Hedland by 7pc to 617mn t/yr in October 2019 but concerns about dust in the adjacent town have restricted throughput. All the iron ore mining firms that use the port — BHP, Fortescue, Roy Hill, Atlas Iron and MinRes — have plans to expand production over the next few years, potentially causing a bottleneck at the port in future.

MinRes ships ore of around 58-60pc Fe. Argus assessed the 58pc Fe grade at $145.85/dry metric tonne (dmt) cfr Qingdao on 19 March, down from a high of $160.75/t on 21 December but up from $97.35/dmt on 29 July. Argus also assessed the ICX 62pc Fe at $159.90/dmt cfr Qingdao on 19 March, down from $175.40/dmt on 21 December but up from $110/dmt on 29 July.

By Jo Clarke

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24/12/20

Viewpoint: Copper volatility, uncertainty ahead in 2025

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Viewpoint: PGM demand from hydrogen sector to rise

24/12/20

Viewpoint: PGM demand from hydrogen sector to rise

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US Congress passes waterways bill

24/12/19

US Congress passes waterways bill

Houston, 19 December (Argus) — The US Senate has passed a bipartisan waterways infrastructure bill, providing a framework for further investment in the country's waterways system. The waterways bill, also known as the Water Resources and Development Act (WRDA), was approved by the Senate in a 97-1 vote on 18 December after clearing the US House of Representatives on 10 December. The WRDA's next stop is the desk of President Joe Biden, who is expected to sign the bill. The WRDA has been passed every two years, authorizing the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to undertake waterways infrastructure and navigation projects. Funding for individual projects must still be approved by Congress. Several agriculture-based groups voiced their support for the bill, saying it will improve transit for agricultural products on US waterways. The bill also shifts the funding of waterways projects to 75pc from the federal government and 25pc from the Inland Waterways Trust Fund instead of the previous 65-35pc split. "Increasing the general fund portion of the cost-share structure will promote much needed investment for inland navigation projects, as well as provide confidence to the industry that much needed maintenance and modernization of our inland waterway system will happen," Fertilizer Institute president Corey Rosenbusch said. The bill includes a provision to assist with the damaged Wilson Lock along the Tennessee River in Alabama. By Meghan Yoyotte Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Q&A: Xcelsior aims to derisk minor metals investment

24/12/19

Q&A: Xcelsior aims to derisk minor metals investment

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Minor metals have multiple end-uses, each with its different market dynamics. You must have a very deep understanding of the commodities themselves, the pricing mechanism, and the material specifications… these supply chains can be opaque. They can be very complex and fast-changing. Being able to navigate them is quite challenging for a lot of more generalist investors. It fundamentally creates a market risk component for critical metals, which can be a barrier. Additionally, many larger mining companies have traditionally avoid these markets because the assets are smaller and may not yield the expected revenue and profits compared with larger copper or iron ore mines. Which metals are on your radar? We are looking very closely at all the major commodities where Wogen has a prominent trading platform, including antimony, tungsten, vanadium, mineral sands, chrome and magnesium. We also are very interested in cobalt, but more on the recycling and processing side. In base metals, we are looking at tin. We focus on those commodities with energy transition links to new demand centres. New demand from sources like solar in small markets can significantly impact overall percentages and returns. For instance, electrification drives substantial demand growth for larger markets like copper, but its impact is smaller than that of markets like antimony. You recently signed an antimony deal with Larvotto Resources in Australia. Could you tell us more about it? We have signed a binding agreement with Larvotto Resources, whose subsidiary owns the brownfield antimony/gold Hillgrove project in New South Wales, Australia. We provided a $4mn loan in return for a seven-year production offtake agreement with Wogen, which will obtain the antimony concentrate from the mine and sell it globally through its customer base. Antimony prices have soared this year in part because of China's export restrictions. 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EU HRC imports drop a quarter on safeguards, AD probe

24/12/19

EU HRC imports drop a quarter on safeguards, AD probe

London, 19 December (Argus) — EU hot-rolled coil (HRC) imports have dropped by 24pc year on year in October, as a result of the safeguards changes introduced earlier in the year and the anti-dumping (AD) probe on key suppliers launched in August. Volumes amounted to 1.16mn t. The drop was underpinned by sharp declines from Japan, Egypt, Vietnam, Taiwan and South Korea. Meanwhile, other countries stepped in to fill the supply gap, such as Turkey, Ukraine and Serbia — deemed less risky for buyers, with all ramping up their volumes year on year by 292pc, 69.5pc and 172.8pc, respectively. Turkey was the top supplier with 222,760t in October. Imports from Indonesia also notably increased, by 41.5pc on the year to 29,140t. This volume will be likely to grow over November-March, but the country is expected to no longer be exempt from the safeguard measures from April onwards, market participants said. The European Commission this week launched an early review of the tariff-rate quotas, with changes, including on the developing countries list, to be introduced from April. Import supply is likely to drop further over the rest of the year, and into the first quarter, with January the last month in which residual larger volumes from countries under investigation can be custom cleared. Sales from Japan, Egypt, Vietnam and India, all under the scope of the AD probe , have mostly stopped over the current quarter. Cold-rolled coil (CRC) imports are meanwhile on the rise, with 281,336t clearing in October, up by 33.4pc on the year and 53.5pc on the month. Taiwan was the top supplier with 64,208t, followed by Turkey and India with just over 40,000t each. The increase in Taiwanese imports, which are expected to rise further, have fuelled talks in the market of a potential AD investigation. Similarly, hot-dipped galvanised (HDG) imports rose by 60.1pc on the year to 802,688t, of which 270,226t was from Vietnam, representing a 279.1pc increase year on year. Market participants have expected a probe on Vietnamese HDG for a while, but following the safeguards review launch said that a reduction in quota volumes might hit downstream products such as HDG and CRC in particular. Plate imports have also nudged up, but more modestly, by 6.9pc on the year in October to 222,133t. Rebar and wire rod arrivals were up by 170.6pc and 46.5pc on the year, respectively. By Lora Stoyanova EU HRC imports t Oct-24 ±% Oct-23 Total 1,164,750 -24 Turkey 222,760 292 Japan 164,691 -38.2 Egypt 148,979 -19.7 Vietnam 144,512 -54.7 Taiwan 127,350 -54.5 Ukraine 103,003 69.5 South Korea 90,674 -45.9 Serbia 55,372 172.8 Australia 30,690 -62.4 Indonesia 29,140 41.5 — GTT Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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