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Elouise Fowler

This Month

Mark Creasy in Perth in 2019.

Rio Tinto and Mitsui target billionaire Creasy’s Pilbara iron ore

The giant miner and Japanese trading house have bid $75 million for the legendary prospector’s iron ore tenements.

US President Donald Trump has been a longtime supporter of fossil fuels.

Australian exports safe from Trump’s ‘beautiful coal’ dream

The president’s push to reinvigorate the US coal industry will not seriously affect Australia dominance of exports to China, experts say, but prices are likely to fall further.

Peabody’s $6b deal to buy Anglo’s Queensland coal mines at risk

The American giant is reviewing its options after the second fire at a project – this time Moranbah North – in the portfolio in less than 12 months.

Mineral Resources shares have have lost one-third of their value since last week.

MinRes debt anxiety grows as lithium miners walloped by tariff fears

The company’s debt is trading at an increasing discount as investors fret about billions of dollars in loans far higher than its market capitalisation.

Board fights and mass resignations: the battle splitting the nation’s geoscientists

A bitter struggle for control of a professional association is proving that diversity, equity and inclusion remains a lightening rod for controversy.

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Metals X has decided to suspend operations at its Nifty copper mine.

Glencore seeks taxpayer bailout for Queensland copper smelter and refinery

The Swiss mining giant warned its Mt Isa copper smelter and Townsville copper refinery in Queensland were struggling and required taxpayer support.

ASIC chairman Joe Longo said the death benefits report revealed a “sad situation”.

Super funds delaying death payouts also charge the most fees

Analysis from a peak consumer group comes the same day as ASIC released a damning report that revealed the ‘sad situation’ for the families of dead members.

March

Tianqi lithium processing plant at Kwinana.

Australia’s lithium dream is fading. Can tax breaks revive it?

The prime minister believes he can revive hopes of turning Australia into a minerals processing powerhouse. Is this anything other than wishful thinking?

Inside Duncan Saville’s billion-dollar Bermuda Triangle

A decade after the ATO hit the reclusive Australian investor with a $189 million tax bill and savaged his character, Canberra is rolling out the red carpet.

The Nickel Industries Hengjaya mine

Nickel Industries’ stock slumps after major investor exits

About $600 million was wiped from Nickel Industries market cap after a major investor dumped stock and the Indonesian government proposed a hike in mining royalties.

Jervois cobalt operations in the US state of Idaho

Shareholders sue to stop ‘rushed’ bankruptcy of cobalt miner Jervois

Two small shareholders are suing collapsed cobalt miner Jervois Global in a Texas court to halt a winding up that will erase hundreds of millions of dollars of investor capital.

Men taking up a disproportionate share of senior and high-paid roles is a major driver of the gender pay gap.

Five charts that explain the gender pay gap

Men taking up a disproportionate share of executive positions is a major driver of the disparity. These charts offer some interesting revelations.

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Australia’s top-paying companies among worst pay gap culprits

A total of 24 companies pay their top-earning workers $1 million or more, but none of them have a neutral gender pay gap.

February

The bargaining covers Whitehaven Coal’s Narrabri coal mine in NSW.

Yancoal to deploy $1.8b on M&A

Australia’s No. 2 coal miner plans to use its war chest from the coal boom to acquire assets, possibly overseas and beyond coal.

The Kwinana processing facility part-owned by IGO near Perth.

Lithium producer IGO plunges to $782m loss

The miner’s loss highlights Australia’s lithium refining struggles.

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Fortescue chairman Andrew Forrest and Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation chief executive Michael Woodley.

Fortescue faces $1.8b native title compensation claim

The claim escalates a long battle over Yindjibarndi lands, home to Fortescue’s Solomon iron ore hub.

Global Lithium Resources has two WA operations, including its Manna project near Kalgoorlie.

Board drama as Global Lithium succumbs to ‘Chinese’ takeover

New leadership denies claims of covert foreign influence over the WA-based critical minerals group.

Coal stockpiles at Pembroke Resources’s at Olive Downs mine in Queensland.

Pembroke secures $875m loan to double Queensland coal development

The privately held owner of a major Bowen Basin mine has secured the debt from international investors in a sign of renewed appetite to lend to the commodity.

Bags of lithium at a facility owned by CATL in China. The company has restarted one of its major mines.

Investors fear Chinese mine restart puts lithium resurgence in danger

CATL, the world’s largest electric vehicle battery manufacturer, is restarting its major Jiangxi operation, a move which could keep prices depressed.

January

The IGO and Chinese-owned Tianqi lithium hydroxide plant at Kwinana, south of Perth.

IGO’s profit pain worsens as lithium stockpiles grow

The battery minerals producer posted a big loss in the last three months of 2024 amid a price slump and a drop in demand. It expects losses to continue.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/by/elouise-fowler-h18i2r