https://www.scmp.com/rss/41204/feed Rio Tinto Group is a British-Australian mining group with its headquarters in London, and a management office in Melbourne. Founded in 1873, the group has grown to become one of the world’s leading producers of a range of commodities, including aluminium, iron ore, copper, uranium, coal, and diamonds. The company has operations on six continents but is mainly concentrated in Australia and Canada, and owns gross assets valued at US$81 billion. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Igor Patrick Igor Patrick China’s state-owned aluminium giant Chalco and Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto have agreed to buy a controlling stake in Brazil’s Companhia Brasileira de Aluminio (CBA) in a deal valued at US$886 million, marking one of the most significant foreign acquisitions in Brazil’s metals sector in recent years and reinforcing China’s growing footprint in the country’s strategic mineral assets. The transaction covers Brazilian conglomerate Grupo Votorantim’s 68.6 per cent stake in CBA and will be... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3342156/china-tightens-grip-brazil-minerals-chalco-rio-tinto-buy-control-cba-us886m?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3342156/china-tightens-grip-brazil-minerals-chalco-rio-tinto-buy-control-cba-us886m?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Feb 2026 19:04:52 +0000 Jevans Nyabiage Jevans Nyabiage The Simandou mountain range in southeastern Guinea, once a dense forest where exploration teams relied on GPS and helicopters to navigate, has yielded vast reserves of its sought-after high-grade iron ore after decades of delay. Workers struggled to define the layout of the thick forest before clearing the trees and brush at the site set for the Simandou Iron Ore project, “as it was nothing but darkness”, according to Chris Aitchison, the managing director for Rio Tinto’s Simfer joint... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3335862/first-china-ore-shipment-rewards-guinea-coup-leaders-push-simandou-alliance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3335862/first-china-ore-shipment-rewards-guinea-coup-leaders-push-simandou-alliance?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Dec 2025 22:00:16 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Zijin Mining Group’s founder Chen Jinghe will step down as chairman after steering the company to the upper echelon of global metals miners following a decades-long run of growth. The 68-year-old will become honorary chairman and senior consultant for the company after deciding to not accept nomination as a candidate for the board due to age and family reasons, according to an exchange filing on Saturday. The Fujian-based group did not name a successor. Zijin’s market value ballooned to more... https://www.scmp.com/business/commodities/article/3334757/mainland-chinese-miner-zijins-founder-who-built-us100-billion-firm-retires?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/commodities/article/3334757/mainland-chinese-miner-zijins-founder-who-built-us100-billion-firm-retires?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Dec 2025 08:37:36 +0000 Reuters Reuters The EU’s European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Australian government said in a joint statement on Monday they would deepen cooperation on critical raw materials, as Western powers scramble to cut their reliance on China. With the exception of Japan, Group of Seven (G7) countries and the EU are heavily or exclusively reliant on China for a range of materials from rare earth magnets to battery metals. European officials and industry sources say financing remains a key hurdle in the bloc’s efforts... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3333167/eus-investment-bank-work-australian-government-critical-raw-materials?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3333167/eus-investment-bank-work-australian-government-critical-raw-materials?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Nov 2025 19:22:32 +0000 Jevans Nyabiage Jevans Nyabiage The launch of Guinea’s US$20 billion Simandou iron ore project marks a globally significant milestone. The event on Tuesday at Guinea’s Morebaya port, attended by Chinese and regional African leaders, saw the departure of the first shipment of ore from the Simandou project – a major feat after nearly three decades of development. The Chinese delegation was led by Vice-Premier Liu Guozhong, who underscored the importance Beijing has attached to securing high-grade ore for decarbonising the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3332581/why-first-simandou-iron-ore-shipment-china-marks-global-milestone?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3332581/why-first-simandou-iron-ore-shipment-china-marks-global-milestone?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 Nov 2025 10:00:14 +0000 Jevans Nyabiage Jevans Nyabiage China is poised to begin receiving iron ore shipments from Guinea and Algeria this year, as Chinese firms complete the railway lines and ports needed to overcome logistical bottlenecks. For years, the lack of railway infrastructure connecting mine sites to port facilities had stymied iron ore exports from both nations. These massive projects are strategically important to China as it tries to diversify its supply of iron ore away from Australia and Brazil, which together account for about 80 per... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3318968/new-railway-lines-put-guinea-and-algeria-track-send-iron-ore-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3318968/new-railway-lines-put-guinea-and-algeria-track-send-iron-ore-china?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Jul 2025 06:00:13 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Chinese tycoons are turbocharging Indonesia’s aluminium industry with multibillion-dollar projects that rival the vast bets made on the country’s nickel riches roughly a decade ago, and threaten to shake up the global market for the metal. Grappling with production curbs back home, companies like billionaire Xiang Guangda’s Tsingshan Holding, China Hongqiao and Song Jianbo’s Shandong Nanshan Aluminum are turning to Southeast Asia’s largest economy, ploughing cash into new smelters and... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3317615/chinese-tycoons-drive-indonesias-aluminium-boom-echoing-nickel-success?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3317615/chinese-tycoons-drive-indonesias-aluminium-boom-echoing-nickel-success?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Jul 2025 01:50:44 +0000 Kandy Wong Kandy Wong When Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese arrives in China next week for his second official visit, he will have more than the typical diplomatic niceties to discuss with President Xi Jinping. A major task on Albanese’s agenda, besides routine topics like trade, will be to explain his country’s stance on Chinese investment – in particular, addressing the controversy over the ownership and potential government-influenced sale of the Darwin Port – the Post has learned from sources with... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3317184/australias-albanese-address-darwin-port-sale-china-visit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3317184/australias-albanese-address-darwin-port-sale-china-visit?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Jul 2025 04:00:17 +0000 Papua New Guinea’s copper- and gold-rich Bougainville region is set to declare independence by 2027, eight years after a landslide vote to secede, its leader said on Wednesday. The region – home to about 300,000 people and a vast, long-closed copper and gold mine – voted 97.7 per cent in favour of independence in a 2019 referendum. But some analysts say it is unclear whether Papua New Guinea will agree to let the region break away any time soon, and what form its future status will take. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3290286/rebel-region-vows-become-pacifics-newest-nation-2027-people-have-spoken?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3290286/rebel-region-vows-become-pacifics-newest-nation-2027-people-have-spoken?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Dec 2024 06:32:20 +0000 Accompanied by the biggest Chinese business delegation that China has taken down under in seven years, Premier Li Qiang will head to Australia next month amid warming ties between the countries, according to sources. China’s No 2 political figure will be in Perth, a Western Australian city with strong business connections to China, on June 18 to participate in a round-table discussion with company representatives. The dialogue is expected to comprise 15 delegates from various industries and... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3264840/china-australia-relations-premier-lis-planned-perth-trip-big-business-delegation-tow-reflects?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3264840/china-australia-relations-premier-lis-planned-perth-trip-big-business-delegation-tow-reflects?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 31 May 2024 06:45:08 +0000 Rio Tinto Group, the world’s top iron ore exporter, sees increased stimulus measures in China driving the broader economy into a gradual recovery this year. China’s economy started to show signs of stabilising early in the fourth quarter as increased spending on infrastructure and manufacturing helped offset prolonged weakness in the beleaguered property sector, Rio said in a statement on Tuesday. Recovery in 2024 will be weighted toward the second half, with the real estate sector remaining... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3248655/rio-tinto-sees-beijings-stimulus-driving-iron-ore-demand-china-receives-australia-largest-copper?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3248655/rio-tinto-sees-beijings-stimulus-driving-iron-ore-demand-china-receives-australia-largest-copper?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Jan 2024 12:02:10 +0000 There was a moment in Westminster Abbey just before Charles III’s coronation when South African opera singer Pretty Yende performed an aria wearing a suite of canary-yellow diamonds by Graff to complement her yellow gown. Fast-forward two months to Haute Couture Week in Paris – when all the major jewellers present their new collections – and Graff’s Paris flagship boutique was bursting with yet more yellow stones. The Sunrise collection brought together an incredible selection of rare yellow... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/jewellery/article/3246611/good-time-invest-pink-blue-or-yellow-diamonds-fancy-coloured-stones-will-never-go-out-style?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/jewellery/article/3246611/good-time-invest-pink-blue-or-yellow-diamonds-fancy-coloured-stones-will-never-go-out-style?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Jan 2024 00:00:10 +0000 . British-Australian mining group Rio Tinto has confirmed iron ore production at its Simandou mine in Guinea, West Africa, will start in 2025, bringing China – which also co-invests in the mine – a step closer to accessing alternative sources of iron ore beyond Australia and Brazil. Given its size and quality, Simandou will be China’s best chance at diversifying away from Australia and other suppliers, which also explains China’s interests in all four blocks of the mine. Rio has interests in two... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3244134/can-china-diversify-iron-ore-imports-australia-brazil-mining-giant-rio-tinto-affirms-2025-africa?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3244134/can-china-diversify-iron-ore-imports-australia-brazil-mining-giant-rio-tinto-affirms-2025-africa?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Dec 2023 00:38:49 +0000 The world’s biggest iron ore miner and top steel producer are teaming up to collaborate on projects to cut carbon emissions in the highly polluting steelmaking sector. Rio Tinto Group and China Baowu Steel Group have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore several initiatives including setting up green steel facilities in China and Western Australia, Rio said in a statement. The MoU is an example of miners working with their customers as the steel sector – one of the biggest sources of... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3223787/rio-tinto-china-baowu-jointly-explore-green-steel-projects-cut-carbon-emissions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3223787/rio-tinto-china-baowu-jointly-explore-green-steel-projects-cut-carbon-emissions?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Jun 2023 08:15:40 +0000 Mongolia’s prime minister says the country is “in discussions” to diversify its economy and be less dependent on a single market, while calling on China and the US to shoulder the bulk share of the responsibility in addressing global issues – from climate change to the post-pandemic recovery. Against the backdrop of economic-revitalisation efforts and geopolitical uncertainties, Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene sat down with the Post recently at his office in the nation’s capital, Ulaanbaatar, as part... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3214208/mongolia-diversifies-economy-away-single-markets-china-prime-minister-courts-global-investors?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3214208/mongolia-diversifies-economy-away-single-markets-china-prime-minister-courts-global-investors?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Mar 2023 03:00:16 +0000 Last year was China’s second-hottest year on average, according to the country’s annual climate bulletin released earlier this month. Average temperatures last spring, summer and autumn were the highest since records began. Releasing the report, National Climate Centre deputy director Jia Xiaolong stressed the importance of remaining alert to “low-probability, high-impact” climate events – such as the 2013 heatwave that pushed temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius in at least 40 Chinese cities... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3211002/green-hydrogen-chinas-answer-steel-mill-carbon-emissions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3211002/green-hydrogen-chinas-answer-steel-mill-carbon-emissions?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Feb 2023 14:00:13 +0000 A tiny but dangerous radioactive widget that fell off a truck on a remote road in Western Australia has been recovered after a search involving multiple government agencies. The capsule, about the size of a pea, went missing last month, apparently while being ferried by a specialist contractor from one of Rio Tinto Plc’s massive iron ore mines in the Pilbara to a depot in Perth. Health authorities had warned anyone who managed to spot the device not to pick it up. “The radioactive substance has... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3208747/tiny-radioactive-device-found-australia-after-desert-hunt-government-agencies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3208747/tiny-radioactive-device-found-australia-after-desert-hunt-government-agencies?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Feb 2023 11:00:47 +0000 Authorities in Western Australia are searching for a tiny but potentially deadly radioactive capsule that got lost while being transported on a truck from a mine to a depot in the city of Perth. Emergency services said they were hampered by a lack of equipment and have called on the federal government and other states to provide assistance. Western Australia’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services has deployed teams with handheld radiation detection devices and metal detectors along 36km (22... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3208394/emergency-services-scour-australian-outback-dangerous-lost-radioactive-capsule?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3208394/emergency-services-scour-australian-outback-dangerous-lost-radioactive-capsule?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Jan 2023 01:27:12 +0000 Growth in exports to the United States has eased the pain of Australia’s drop in trade with China – the fallout from years of political disputes – but comes up far short of backfilling it. Since 2020, Chinese traders have stopped importing Australian coal, sugar, barley, lobsters, wine, copper and timber because of political tensions between the two countries. That followed Australian foreign minister Marise Payne’s call for a global inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic and... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3173582/china-australia-relations-us-exports-ease-pain-china-trade?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3173582/china-australia-relations-us-exports-ease-pain-china-trade?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Apr 2022 20:30:18 +0000 Guinea’s ruling junta has reached a US$15 billion deal with Rio Tinto and an Asian-Guinean consortium to exploit the vast Simandou iron ore deposit in the southeast, public television announced. The three-way deal, signed late on Friday, has a 35-year duration for co-development by Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto and the Singapore-led Winning Consortium. Guinea has stunning mineral wealth, including the world’s biggest untapped deposits of high-quality iron ore. But the West African... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3172072/guineas-junta-signs-us15-billion-deal-vast-simandou-iron-ore-site?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3172072/guineas-junta-signs-us15-billion-deal-vast-simandou-iron-ore-site?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Mar 2022 23:05:29 +0000 When Guinea’s military toppled president Alpha Condé in a coup on September 5, it assured mining companies that they would be allowed to continue their activities. The military junta promised that “existing regulations, contracts and investments will be respected”. But then last week the junta suspended operations at the Simandou iron ore project, one of the largest undeveloped iron ore deposits in the world. The project has been hit by delays due to years of disputes over ownership and slow... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3171107/could-guineas-junta-sink-chinas-plans-wean-itself-australian?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3171107/could-guineas-junta-sink-chinas-plans-wean-itself-australian?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Mar 2022 10:00:20 +0000 China will encourage domestic exploration of iron ore and use more scrap metals to reduce reliance on imports from countries like Australia, while streamlining production quotas for rare earth and tungsten, according to the government. In the 2021-25 raw material development plan, authorities said iron self-sufficiency would be “significantly” increased by lifting the supply of scrap steel to more than 30 per cent of the total, encouraging domestic mining and reducing steelmaking capacity. “The... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3161587/china-vows-greater-iron-ore-self-sufficiency-deglobalisation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3161587/china-vows-greater-iron-ore-self-sufficiency-deglobalisation?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Dec 2021 20:30:23 +0000 Investors are fire-selling mining stocks, iron ore traders are losing money, and smaller miners are pulling back shipments because of falling iron ore prices driven by tumbling Chinese demand. Even usual seasonal factors, such as lower Chinese steel demand ahead of winter, will have little impact on plunging prices that have sent the iron ore supply chain reeling, as the downward momentum caused by fundamental changes to China’s steel and iron ore demand gets under way, analysts say. Iron ore,... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3149593/chinas-curbs-steel-production-pollution-and-energy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3149593/chinas-curbs-steel-production-pollution-and-energy?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Sep 2021 20:30:13 +0000 China may step up efforts to reduce steel demand as authorities and industry groups grow increasingly uneasy about high iron ore prices amid a trade dispute with its biggest supplier Australia, according to analysts. China’s state-dominated steel sector, represented by China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), has been sounding the alarm about surging prices, urging the central government last week to help with market “malfunctions” and improve policies in the futures market. “I don’t think the... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3132494/china-australia-tensions-ratchet-unease-beijing-about?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3132494/china-australia-tensions-ratchet-unease-beijing-about?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 May 2021 20:30:07 +0000 The world’s top two iron ore miners struggled to keep up with strong Chinese demand in the first quarter of 2021, hit by operational challenges and weather disruptions, in a positive sign for prices that are already at decade highs. Brazil’s Vale SA churned out less ore than expected last quarter after lower productivity at one mine and a ship loader fire, with its recovery from an early-2019 tailings dam disaster proving a little slower than expected. Rio Tinto Group’s shipments were disrupted... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3130282/china-iron-ore-demand-leaves-miners-vale-rio-tinto-struggling?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3130282/china-iron-ore-demand-leaves-miners-vale-rio-tinto-struggling?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Apr 2021 22:30:14 +0000 Australia expects to log a record A$136 billion (US$104 billion) from iron ore exports this financial year, as global steelmaking recovers after a coronavirus-led downturn, a government report showed on Monday. The country’s most valuable economic export is expected to earn more than A$100 billion per year for the next half decade as miners like BHP Group, Rio Tinto and Fortescue dig out more iron ore from Western Australia’s Pilbara region. Further out, gains from the export of new energy... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3127420/australias-iron-ore-exports-hit-record-us104-billion-global?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3127420/australias-iron-ore-exports-hit-record-us104-billion-global?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Mar 2021 04:51:41 +0000 Anglo-Australian miner BHP has signed its second carbon-emissions deal with Chinese steel mills in four months, as China’s top legislative body this week emphasised the importance of reducing harmful emissions. BHP signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with one of its major customers, Chinese steel producer HBIS Group, to invest up to US$15 million over three years in a joint study to explore technologies that could help reduce greenhouse gas pollution. BHP and HBIS Group, one of China’s... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3124727/china-australia-relations-bhp-makes-another-anti-pollution?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3124727/china-australia-relations-bhp-makes-another-anti-pollution?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Mar 2021 11:15:19 +0000 Chen Derong, the chairman of China Baowu Steel Group, broke into tears last week as he announced the company had produced a record 100 million tonnes of steel this year. It was a “dream come true,” Chen said, as the Shanghai-based mill surpassed ArcelorMittal, an Indian-Luxembourg multinational, to become the world’s largest producer and highest-earning steelmaker. While a government-led consolidation of five major Chinese mills over the past decade was instrumental in Baowu’s feat, the... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3115690/china-develop-national-team-state-owned-giants-efficiency?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3115690/china-develop-national-team-state-owned-giants-efficiency?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 29 Dec 2020 12:30:14 +0000 Iron ore prices have started to fall after China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) tightened its trading rules on Monday in an effort to cool prices that had reached their highest point since 2011. On Thursday afternoon, iron ore was trading at about US$162 a tonne after closing on Monday at US$176 – the highest price this year, and more than twice the low of about US$81 a tonne in late March, according to the MBIOI-62 price index. The pivot comes after the DCE tightened its limits on opening... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3115256/china-australia-relations-iron-ore-prices-drop-after-dalian?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3115256/china-australia-relations-iron-ore-prices-drop-after-dalian?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Dec 2020 07:36:40 +0000 High iron ore prices are due for a correction in the coming year as Chinese demand for the steelmaking ingredient is expected to ease, though aggressive speculation through iron ore derivative trading could thwart that outcome, according to analysts. After the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) held talks last week with Australia’s Rio Tinto and BHP, two of the world’s biggest iron ore miners, over how to control iron ore prices, prices have increased to near their highest levels since... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3114830/china-australia-relations-high-iron-ore-prices-may-correct?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3114830/china-australia-relations-high-iron-ore-prices-may-correct?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Dec 2020 22:30:09 +0000 Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto has agreed to invest millions of dollars in low-carbon steelmaking projects and research alongside the world’s largest steel producer, China Baowu Steel Group, for the next two years, in a show of partnership as concerns of an iron ore trade rupture continue to froth. The US$10 million investment is an extension of a 2019 agreement between Rio Tinto, China Baowu and Tsinghua University to develop and implement new methods to reduce carbon emissions in the steel... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3114336/china-australia-relations-rio-tinto-makes-anti-pollution-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3114336/china-australia-relations-rio-tinto-makes-anti-pollution-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Dec 2020 20:30:15 +0000 With Beijing questioning major miners on their role in record-high prices that are squeezing steel mill margins, Anglo-Australian iron ore miner Rio Tinto says it expanded its iron ore shipments and on-demand sales to meet increased demand for the steelmaking ingredient in China this year. On Tuesday, China Iron & Steel Association (CISA), the domestic steel industry association, held a video conference with Rio, one of China’s biggest iron ore suppliers, days after an online meeting with rival... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3114234/china-australia-relations-miner-rio-tinto-questioned-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3114234/china-australia-relations-miner-rio-tinto-questioned-china?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Dec 2020 20:30:26 +0000 Australian miners should not be blamed for galloping iron ore prices that were likely caused by excessive “hot money” speculating on iron ore derivatives, analysts say. The assessment comes after China’s top steel mills, including China Baowu Steel Group, and the China Iron & Steel Association (CISA) met on Thursday to investigate soaring prices possibly caused by market manipulation that threatened to erode profitability and derail the steel production supply chain. The iron ore market pricing... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3113724/australian-miners-not-blame-chinas-soaring-iron-ore-prices?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3113724/australian-miners-not-blame-chinas-soaring-iron-ore-prices?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Dec 2020 10:49:37 +0000 China’s steel industry body has demanded an explanation from Anglo-Australian miner BHP about the surging cost of iron ore, in a fresh sign of Beijing’s growing frustration about runaway prices for the steelmaking ingredient. The China Iron & Steel Association (CISA) held a video conference on Thursday with BHP executives in which there was a “candid exchange of views” on the miner’s production, sales and pricing, according to a statement from the industry group. Luo Tiejun, a CISA... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3113623/china-australia-relations-beijing-steel-group-demands-answers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3113623/china-australia-relations-beijing-steel-group-demands-answers?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Dec 2020 20:00:10 +0000 Australian iron ore mining giant Fortescue Metals Group secured some US$4 billion in iron ore deals at the China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai as Australia’s most important export continues to withstand rising tensions with China amid proposed bans on a number of other Australian products. The Australian-listed miner signed 12 memorandums of understanding (MOUs) for the purchase of its iron ore with major Chinese steel mills, procurement partners and financial institutions on... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3109204/china-australia-relations-iron-ore-mining-giant-fortescue?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3109204/china-australia-relations-iron-ore-mining-giant-fortescue?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Nov 2020 06:46:05 +0000 Chinese steel producer Sinosteel is doubling down on the Australian iron ore market with a deal to buy half of Australian-listed explorer Fenix Resources’ production just days after being taken under the wing of mega Chinese steelmaker China Baowu Steel Group. Fenix agreed on Wednesday to sell 50 per cent of the production at its new Iron Ridge mine in Western Australia to the Chinese group. The other half will go to Hancock Prospecting’s Atlas Iron, which is owned by Australia’s richest woman,... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3105543/china-steelmaker-sinosteel-increases-australian-iron-ore?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3105543/china-steelmaker-sinosteel-increases-australian-iron-ore?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Oct 2020 20:15:12 +0000 Brazilian iron ore mining giant Vale has struck a deal with Chinese state-owned port operator Ningbo Zhoushan Port to create additional capacity to handle iron ore shipments at Shulanghu Port as it moves to increase its market share in China. The US$624 million project in Zhoushan, Zhejiang province, is particularly strategic for Vale as it increases the amount of iron ore the miner can ship to China. The joint venture, known as the West III Project, will allow for the handling of an additional... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3105248/brazil-mining-giant-vale-agrees-deal-china-port-operator?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3105248/brazil-mining-giant-vale-agrees-deal-china-port-operator?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Oct 2020 04:30:21 +0000 It has been a nostalgic September for seasoned diamond collectors and connoisseurs across the globe. The source of 90 per cent of the most precious pink diamonds in the world, the Rio Tinto group’s Argyle mine in Australia, is closing this year. Over the past four decades, the legendary mine has produced 865 million carats of rough diamonds, out of which just over a million have been classified as pink, a rare variation that can fetch several million dollars per carat. Just as legendary is Rio... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/article/3103089/style-edit-rio-tintos-legendary-australian-mine-source?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/article/3103089/style-edit-rio-tintos-legendary-australian-mine-source?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 28 Sep 2020 01:00:10 +0000 Iron ore miners‘ and steel producers’ increasing use of the Chinese yuan will increase its internationalisation, reduce China’s vulnerability to any possible US financial sanctions, and help the domestic economy in line with the new “dual circulation” strategy. By using the yuan rather than the US dollar to price iron ore, this will increase the internationalisation of the Chinese currency and so reduce China’s vulnerability to any possible US financial sanctions. Using the yuan for domestic... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3100091/chinas-yuan-gains-foothold-iron-ore-deals-could-increase?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3100091/chinas-yuan-gains-foothold-iron-ore-deals-could-increase?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Sep 2020 21:00:07 +0000 For the longest time, Australia refused to choose between China, its largest trade partner, and the United States, its strongest security ally. But with Sino-Australian diplomatic relations strained, Australia has revealed a change of strategy in choosing to defend its national security by aligning with the US. However, does Australia’s security-centred rhetoric really serve its national interest? Defence hawks see themselves on the moral high ground, protecting Australian values and... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3096191/unlike-us-australia-cannot-afford-decouple-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3096191/unlike-us-australia-cannot-afford-decouple-china?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Aug 2020 21:15:06 +0000 Brazilian iron ore mining giant Vale is in talks with the Alcantara Port Terminal on Brazil’s northern coast to increase iron ore shipments to China – a move that aligns with China’s recent attempts to diversify its sources of the critical steelmaking ingredient amid a surge in domestic demand. Alcantara offers a deep water port that could host so-called Chinamax or Valemax iron ore carriers – ships as big as some skyscrapers that can carry much more cargo than normal iron ore transport vessels.... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3095851/brazilian-miner-vale-looks-satisfy-chinas-appetite-iron-ore?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3095851/brazilian-miner-vale-looks-satisfy-chinas-appetite-iron-ore?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Aug 2020 20:30:10 +0000 Australian mining giants Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group have joined BHP Group in reporting record shipments of iron ore, the bulk of it to China, as an infrastructure and property construction boom in the world's second largest economy drives a rebound in steel production. The companies have reported record earnings on the back of the iron ore shipments, even though exports of other minerals like aluminium and copper remain in the doldrums as the coronavirus pandemic saps global... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3095376/australian-miners-rio-tinto-and-fortescue-post-record-iron?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3095376/australian-miners-rio-tinto-and-fortescue-post-record-iron?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Jul 2020 20:30:19 +0000 Australia’s share of China’s iron ore imports may be at risk following the opening of four new ports along China’s coast that can operate berths for extra-large ships, opening up new possibilities for greater imports from Brazil and Africa. Very large ore carriers operated by Brazilian mining firms – called Chinamax ships because they are the largest ships China’s ports can handle – are bigger than many skyscrapers and can carry half again the cargo of normal iron ore transport ships, up to... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3094610/australias-spot-chinas-top-source-iron-ore-under-threat-new?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3094610/australias-spot-chinas-top-source-iron-ore-under-threat-new?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Jul 2020 20:30:18 +0000 Australian iron ore exports to China surged in the first half of the year, as demand from steel mills rose to supply Beijing’s infrastructure building push to boost the coronavirus-hit economy. Iron ore exports from Australia to the rest of the world, though, remained weak, reflecting the sharp differences in the pace of the recovery in major economies from the damage done by the coronavirus pandemic. Australian mining giant Rio Tinto reported a 3 per cent increase in total iron ore shipments in... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3093965/australias-iron-ore-exports-china-strong-weak-global-demand?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3093965/australias-iron-ore-exports-china-strong-weak-global-demand?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Jul 2020 20:30:10 +0000 Ordinarily, a mine closure does not prompt excitement among jewellery lovers – except when it is Rio Tinto’s Argyle mine. For around 40 years the mine, in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, has dominated the pink diamond market, producing 90 per cent of the world’s supply. The closure is expected before the end of this year, affecting investors, collectors and fine jewellery buyers. Investors buy pink or red diamonds with a view to resale and they have been amply rewarded with higher... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/article/3083548/are-argyle-pink-diamonds-about-shoot-value-zero-supply-looms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/article/3083548/are-argyle-pink-diamonds-about-shoot-value-zero-supply-looms?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 May 2020 04:00:14 +0000 Demand for and the price of pink diamonds continue to rise as Rio Tinto’s Argyle mine in Australia nears the end. Argyle’s production accounts for 90 per cent of the world’s pink diamond supply, but its closure at the end of 2020 will place a greater premium than ever on Argyle pinks and other pink diamonds. Louis Vuitton got the world’s biggest diamond – now what? Graeme Thompson, worldwide head of jewels at Phillips auction, tells us why he thinks these rosy gems will remain among the most... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/article/3083287/rio-tintos-argyle-mine-closing-how-will-impact-supply-pink?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/article/3083287/rio-tintos-argyle-mine-closing-how-will-impact-supply-pink?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 May 2020 12:00:09 +0000 Discussions about steady iron ore prices and the value of mega miners BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metal Group have been simmering on the popular Australian stock market trading forum HotCopper in recent weeks. The price of iron ore has been hovering around US$80 a tonne, which while lower than its five-year high of around US$120 a tonne last year, was still better than the ravaged crude oil price, as Chinese steel producers roared back into action. Some investors were particularly thrilled at... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3082030/coronavirus-chinas-steel-sector-steadies-investors-hope-post?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3082030/coronavirus-chinas-steel-sector-steadies-investors-hope-post?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Apr 2020 05:15:12 +0000 One morning in July, Mongolia’s president, Khaltmaa Battulga, prepared to take the podium at the National Sports Stadium in Ulan Bator. He was there to officially open the traditional summer festival of Naadam, during which virtually everyone in the country of three million celebrates feats of archery, wrestling and especially horse­man­ship. Riding has been central to the national culture since the 13th century, when a tribal leader named Genghis Khan united a disparate group of steppe clans... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3031376/mongolias-khaltmaa-battulga-other-populist?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3031376/mongolias-khaltmaa-battulga-other-populist?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Oct 2019 23:15:12 +0000 IRC, a small Siberia iron-ore miner already benefiting from President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative, has got another boost: a recent surge in ore prices as a result of mine shutdowns halfway across the world in Brazil. The company has been loss-making, debt-laden and afflicted with construction delays. But thanks to project-financing support from the Chinese and Russian governments, IRC has finally seen light near the end of the tunnel after nearly a decade of project development. Last... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3003030/beleaguered-siberia-iron-ore-miner-gets-boost-brazil-mine-shutdowns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3003030/beleaguered-siberia-iron-ore-miner-gets-boost-brazil-mine-shutdowns?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 24 Mar 2019 05:02:02 +0000 Rio Tinto gave the go-ahead on Friday to expand its bauxite output in northern Australia with a US$1.9 billion project, approving a major mine at a time when most rivals worldwide are slashing spending. The Amrun project in Queensland state will initially produce 22.8 million tonnes of bauxite a year, replacing output from Rio's East Weipa mine and boosting its Cape York exports by 50 per cent, as the company aims to meet soaring demand from Chinese aluminium makers. READ MORE: Rio Tinto’s giant... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1884187/rio-tinto-go-ahead-us19b-bauxite-expansion-australia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1884187/rio-tinto-go-ahead-us19b-bauxite-expansion-australia?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Nov 2015 09:34:55 +0000