Iron ore
Crucial export iron ore under pressure from China’s economy
Australia’s biggest miners face the prospect of iron ore prices staying flat for longer, analysts suggest.
- by Simon Johanson
Latest
Opinion
Commodities
Why metals will shrug off history’s greatest property crash
A curious thing has been happening in China’s vast real estate market — or rather, not happening.
- by David Fickling
Mining star Fortescue turns biggest loser, thanks to China slump
The iron ore giant’s months-long stock rally appears to be over as investors turn sour on the company’s earnings growth and high exposure to slumping metal prices.
- by Georgina McKay and Paul-Alain Hunt
Fortescue ups dividend, profits jump despite lower iron ore shipments
Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue has reported a boost in earnings and profits despite shipments and production of iron ore from its key Pilbara operations falling.
- by Simon Johanson
Aluminium price puts dent in Rio Tinto’s earnings
Lower global prices for key commodities put a $2.3 billion dent in Rio Tinto’s earnings.
- by Simon Johanson and Peter Milne
In $8.6b blow, BHP’s profit is decimated by nickel woes, Samarco
Mining giant BHP has taken a big hit to its half-year profit after writing down its WA nickel operations and setting more money aside to deal with its Samarco mine disaster in Brazil.
- by Simon Johanson
Opinion
Earnings season
The big money shift: How BHP is getting ready for the future
A dig into the mining giant’s numbers tells quite a story about the significant changes it has made to how it is spending the vast volumes of cash it is generating.
- by Stephen Bartholomeusz
Fortescue’s high-grade iron ore dream springs a leak
Billionaire Andrew Forrest’s troubled foray into producing high-grade ore has suffered another setback.
- by Peter Milne
BHP looks at cost cuts as nickel prices dive
The miner may write down the value of its WA nickel business after the price of the steel-making ingredient plunged by almost a quarter over the past 12 months.
- by Peter Milne
Rio Tinto delivers another bumper iron ore year
It was another steady year for Rio Tinto’s base business of selling Australian iron ore in 2023, but many investments elsewhere remain troublesome.
- by Peter Milne
The WA companies that boomed and bombed in 2023
Normally, the saying is you need money to make money, but in WA it seems you need ore to make more – and keep a close watch on China, costs and the energy transition.
- by Peter Milne