Ivanhoe Australia Limited (IVA): First Copper and Gold From Osborne

Ivanhoe Australia Limited is an exploration and development company. The Company intends to process copper/gold and molybdenum/rhenium ores through its Osborne operating facilities in Queensland, Australia.

Small cap stock Ivanhoe Mines announced that it has produced its first copper and gold concentrate from its Osborne processing facilities in northwest QLD.

The Osborne plant was commissioned in January and is expected to handle about 700,000 to 900,000 metric tons of ore this year.

CEO Peter Reeve said that “The commencement of copper-gold production at the Osborne facilities is an important first step in what we envisage will be the creation of a strong cashflow stream for 15 to 20 years”

Mining Shares News: BlueScope Steel (BSL) announced a 1H FY12 loss of $530 million

BlueScope Steel Ltd (BSL) is a major steel company in Australia and New Zealand, supplying flat steel products to the building, construction, manufacturing, automotive and packaging industries.

BlueScope Steel announced a 1H FY12 loss of $530 million, widening sharply from the $55 million loss from same period a year earlier. The result was worse than analysts expected.

The company said that a majority of its loss was made of two main costs; the restructuring of the business cost $260 million, while there was an impairment charge of $184 million on its Australian assets.

BlueScope said that trading conditions were improving, with the U.S. economy showing signs of recovery, but that its performance was not translating due to the high Australian dollar

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Western Areas NL (ASX:WSA) is an exploration company that is involved in the development of the Fox Nickel mine and the exploration of nickel sulfides, platinum group metals and gold.

Material stock Western Area reported a 1H FY12 net profit of $24.1 million, reflecting a 64% drop compared to same period a year earlier.

The company said the price of nickel averaged US$8.51/lb in the first half of its financial year compared to an average of US$ 11.61/lb a year earlier.

WSA slashed its interim dividend in half, declaring $0.05 dividend, unfranked.

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James Hardie Industries (ASX:JHX) is a leading international building materials group that produces a wide range of fibre cement building materials used in the exterior and interior of residential and commercial buildings.

The company is also the largest seller of home siding (imitation wood) in the US, and produces fibre cement in the US, Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines.

Approximately 80% of JHX’s sales come from the housing industry, and the majority of this exposure is via the US housing market.

Although the US property crash has been a millstone on JHX, recent evidence suggests the market may have turned the corner.

JHX focus on efficiency and market share gains has placed it in an advantageous position to benefit from increased US housing activity.

US housing recovery

Although the US housing sector has been in a well established decline for much of the past five years, recent evidence is pointing to a long-awaited recovery.

Among the relevant housing indicators for James Hardie are housing starts and building permits.

Housing starts measure the number of new monthly building constructions, whilst building permits are more of a leading indicator in that they measure the number of new monthly residential building permits.

Since May 2011, both these indicators have been steadily rising in a sign Americans are beginning to take advantage of the country’s record low interest rates.

Furthermore, we see this momentum continuing due to the slowly strengthening US jobs market and the Federal Reserve’s pledge to maintain low interest rates until the end of 2014.

Operating results

In late November, JHX reported a 1Q12 net operating profit of US$41.2 million, which was double its result in 1Q11.

Despite reporting low demand, James Hardie was able to achieve its profit on the back of operational improvements such as a reduction in fixed costs, as well as an increased share of the fibre cement market.

This increased market share, positions JHX well in the event of an acceleration of the US housing recovery.

Outlook

JHX forecast FY12 net operating profit of US$126 – US$140 million.  Although management was cautious about the outlook for US housing, recent data points to a noticeable pickup in this industry.

With US employment inching higher, housing affordability high and the Fed committed to a record low interest rate environment, there are enough incentives to drive continued improvement in residential construction activity.

We at the Australian Stock Report believe that a focus on cost control and increasing market share has placed JHX in a strong position to leverage off any US housing recovery.

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BHP Billiton (ASX:BHP) is an international resources company.  The Company’s principal business lines are mineral exploration and production, including coal, iron ore, gold, titanium, ferroalloys, nickel and copper concentrate, as well as petroleum exploration, production, and refining.

Blue chip stock BHP, today announced that its latest quarterly iron ore output increased 22% in the December quarter compared to the previous quarter.

BHP’s operations in Western Australia’s Pilbara region recorded record production on an annualized basis, as the company expanded its infrastructure base in the area.

The Melbourne based company said that it expects full-year production to marginally exceed prior guidance of 159 million tons per annum.

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Macmahon Holdings (ASX:MAH) is an engineering contracting company operating in the mining industry. The company operates in Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia. It was formed in 1963 and listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in December 1983. The business consists of four divisions: Civil, Open Cut, Underground and Services.

Macmahon Holdings announced today that it expects full year net profit for the FY12 to be more than $55 million.

Last month MAH had forecasted full year profit of around $45 million.

CEO Nick Bowen said that additional work and greater clarity on project commencement has combined for the improved outlook for the company.

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Orica Ltd (ASX:ORI) is a leading manufacturer of industrial & specialty chemicals, agricultural chemicals & fertilisers, commercial explosives & mining chemicals, paints & other consumer products in Australasia.

Orica has four broad business groups – Mining Services, Fertilisers, Chemicals and Consumer Products. ORI is a truly multinational company, with operations in over 40 countries. The company is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and is part of the S&P/ASX 200.

Materials stock Orica announced today that it is resuming its Ammonium Nitrate production plant at Kooragang Island, near Newcastle.

The plant and several others have been closed since August, after thousands of litters of a dilute ammonium nitrate solution leaked from a storage facility.

Orica said re-start activities at the remaining facilities, are progressing.

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BlueScope Steel Ltd (ASX:BSL) is a major steel company in Australia and New Zealand, supplying flat steel products to the building, construction, manufacturing, automotive and packaging industries.

ASX 200 listed stock BlueScope has today launched a $600 million share issue.

The new shares will be offered at $0.40, which represents a 34% discount to the most recent close.

The money will be used to repay existing debt.

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Murchison Metals (ASX:MMX) asked and was granted a trading halt from the Australian Stock Exchange today.

MMX stated it was in advanced talks on the possible sale of its Oakajee port and rail projects and also its entire stake in the Jack Hills iron-ore development in WA.

Materials Stock, Murchison said it hopes to make an announcement before the commencement of trading on Wednesday.

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BHP Billiton (ASX:BHP)  has a global portfolio of high-quality assets, with more than 100 operations in 25 countries.

BHP held its AGM today, with CEO Marius Kloppers outlining challenges for the company on the back of economic uncertainty and equity market volatility.

Mr Kloppers told the AGM that despite short-term challengers the long-term outlook remains unchanged.

BHP’s strategy remains to invest through the economic cycle, with a plan to invest US$80 billion over the next five years on its mining and petroleum assets.

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