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☆ Teck Resources withdraws restructuring ahead of vote, as Glencore circles
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 26 (Reuters) - Teck Resources Ltd (TECKb.TO), the target of an unsolicited takeover bid by Glencore (GLEN.L), on Wednesday said it has withdrawn a proposed restructuring plan just hours ahead of a shareholder vote on it. The Vancouver-based miner operates under a dual-class structure and would need approval from two-thirds of shareholders on both sides for the restructuring. "Glencore's rejected proposals remain a non-starter, with the same flawed structure and material execution risks identified by our Board," Teck boss Jonathan Price said. Glencore's plan would combine and spin off its thermal coal unit and Teck's steelmaking coal business, while rebranding the rest of the operations as GlenTeck. Letko added that internally, some of its employees were divided on whether the deal would succeed or not.

☆ Glencore copper output dips, expects strong trading profit
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 21 (Reuters) - Glencore (GLEN.L) on Friday reported lower copper, zinc and nickel production in the first quarter but said it expects its trading division to exceed the top end of annual guidance. It now expects full-year marketing earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to exceed the top end of its annual range between $2.2 billion and $3.2 billion in 2023. Glencore last month made a $22.5 billion takeover offer for Teck, which was rejected by the Vancouver-based miner's board as exposing its shareholders to thermal coal and energy trading. The bid included a proposed spinning out of thermal and steelmaking coal operations, rebranding the remaining company as GlenTeck. The all-share offer came as Teck's own plan to spin off its metallurgical coal business and focus on copper and zinc nears an April 26 vote.

[1/2] The logo of commodities trader Glencore is pictured in front of the company's headquarters in Baar, Switzerland, July 18, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd WiegmannApril 19 (Reuters) - Glencore (GLEN.L) has told Teck Resources (TECKb.TO) shareholders it is willing to improve its $22.5 billion takeover offer, raising pressure on the Canadian miner to ditch a restructuring plan and sit down at the negotiating table. In an open letter on Wednesday, Glencore said it would consider taking the offer to Teck's shareholders directly if the board failed to engage. "With engagement, we could improve our proposal's terms and value, which would be in the best interests of all Teck shareholders." "The vote (on Teck's restructuring plan) is highly likely to go through without an official bump in terms (from Glencore)," Ben Cleary, portfolio manager at Tribeca Global Natural Resources Fund, told Reuters.

☆ Glencore raises pressure on Teck Resources with promise of higher bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The logo of commodities trader Glencore is pictured in front of the company's headquarters in Baar, Switzerland, July 18, 2017. In an open letter on Wednesday, Glencore said it would consider taking the offer to Teck's shareholders directly if the board failed to engage. Glencore Chief Executive Gary Nagle flew to Canada to meet shareholders last Thursday after revising its unsolicited bid to include up to $8.2 billion in cash. Teck's board rejected that as too low, adding that it would unnecessarily expose shareholders to a large thermal coal business and an unwanted oil trading unit. Glencore's proposal would combine and spin off its thermal coal unit and Teck's steelmaking coal business.

☆ Glencore courts 120 Teck investors for bid backing as spinoff vote looms -source
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The logo of commodities trader Glencore is pictured in front of the company's headquarters in Baar, Switzerland, July 18, 2017. The Swiss mining giant would instead combine and spin off its thermal coal unit and Teck's steelmaking coal business. Glencore's initial bid represented a 20% premium to Teck's closing stock price on March 26, when it was made privately. JP Morgan analysts said in a note on Monday that Glencore could pay as much as $27.2 billion. Reporting by Clara Denina; Additional reporting by Mrinalika Roy; Editing by Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Teck approached by other companies while fending off Glencore offers -Globe and Mail
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A vote on Teck's plan to fully separate the copper and zinc business Teck Metals from the steelmaking coal Elk Valley business is scheduled on April 26. These approaches from international miners come as the Vancouver-based miner is fending off unsolicited bids from Glencore Plc (GLEN.L) that would involve combining and spinning off the thermal and steelmaking coal businesses of both companies. The Swiss mining company has offered Teck shareholders 24% of the combined metals group and up to $8.2 billion in cash for those who may not want exposure to thermal coal. Two proxy shareholder advisory firms have recommended that Teck Resources shareholders vote against the planned split. On Saturday, Bloomberg News reported that Glass Lewis also asked Teck Resources shareholders to vote against Teck's plan to spin off its coal business.

☆ Glass Lewis recommends 'No' vote on Teck's coal business spinoff, Bloomberg reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 15 (Reuters) - Advisory firm Glass Lewis said Teck Resources Ltd (TECKb.TO) shareholders should vote against Teck's plan to spin off its coal business, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday. The move follows another influential proxy adviser, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), which also advised shareholders to reject Teck's restructuring plan this week. The takeover would involve combining and spinning off the thermal and steelmaking coal businesses of both companies. Teck has rejected the offer and made changes to its own proposed restructuring plan to allow for a potentially shorter path to fully separate the copper and zinc business Teck Metals from the steelmaking coal Elk Valley business. A vote on Teck's own plan is scheduled for April 26.

The Chinese customs service did not provide detailed information on imports. It said that "company trade data are not disclosed in our public information". China imported copper and copper alloys worth $852 million from Russia between October and February, according to public customs statistics. As of early 2023, its only owner was the Ukrainian Donetsk regional state administration. The copper alloy shipments from the plant were carried out via the port of Novorossiysk in southern Russia, according to the customs data.

A shareholder vote on Teck's plan is scheduled for April 26. "A vote against the separation is a vote to maintain the status quo at Teck, and there is no path that includes Glencore acquiring Teck," Price said. Teck said its board has rejected the offer as Glencore did not present a coherent plan for its proposed coal company. Analysts had last week seen room for an higher offer from Glencore to sway Teck shareholders in its favour. "This is not just about price," Price said on Monday.

April 10 (Reuters) - Canada's Teck Resources (TECKb.TO) on Monday reinforced its rejection of an unsolicited $22.5 billion bid from Glencore (GLEN.L), calling it "an illusion" and telling shareholders that its proposed restructuring is the only option on the table. "A vote against the separation is a vote to maintain the status quo at Teck, and there is no path that includes Glencore acquiring Teck," Price said. Analysts had last week seen room for an higher offer from Glencore to sway Teck shareholders in its favour. "This is not just about price," Price said on Monday. Price also said that Teck is open to partnering with Glencore and other companies on "the creation of ...joint venture to unlock regional synergies."

☆ Canadian miner Teck Resources pushes for restructuring, says Glencore bid 'flawed'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 10 (Reuters) - Canada's Teck Resources (TECKb.TO) on Monday doubled down on its push to reject an unsolicited $22.5 billion bid from Glencore Plc (GLEN.L) citing "fundamental flaws" in the offer and urged shareholders to instead vote for a restructuring. The Swiss miner's buyout bid, which was made public last week, includes a plan to simultaneously spin off the thermal and steelmaking coal businesses and rebrand the remaining company as GlenTeck. read moreTeck said its board has rejected the offer as Glencore did not present a coherent plan for its proposed coal company, adding that the deal would expose its shareholders to thermal coal, oil, LNG and related sectors. The company once again said more value could be unlocked through a proposed restructuring in which the Vancouver-based miner would spin off its steelmaking coal unit to focus on copper and other industrial metals. Reporting by Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun KoyyurOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Glencore’s Teck gambit could slip on an oily patch
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Karen Kwok | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Valued at 6 times its expected 2024 EBITDA of $3.2 billion, Teck’s metals unit would be worth just under $20 billion. Glencore boss Gary Nagle’s alternative plan, which would hand Teck shareholders 24% of the enlarged company, initially looks more appealing. Nagle can’t put the business, the pride of Glencore founder Marc Rich, together with the new coal unit. The risk for Nagle is that Teck shareholders do too. Teck shareholders will vote on the company’s proposal on April 26.

Companies Anglo American PLC FollowApril 4 (Reuters) - Anglo American (AAL.L) said on Tuesday it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Swedish hydrogen and steel producer H2 Green Steel to work on advancing low-carbon steelmaking processes. The miner said the agreement includes studying and trialling the use of iron ore products from its Kumba mines in South Africa and Minas-Rio mine in Brazil as feedstock for H2's direct reduced iron (DRI) production process at its Boden plant in Sweden. DRI steel production is estimated to be significantly less carbon intensive than traditional blast furnace and basic oxygen furnace integrated processes. Anglo American's shares were up 0.4% by 0715 GMT. Reporting by Muhammed Husain in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu, Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Canada's Teck Resources rejects $22.5 bln buyout offer from Glencore
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 3 (Reuters) - Teck Resources Ltd (TECKb.TO) on Monday rejected an unsolicited $22.5 billion bid from Swiss commodity firm Glencore Plc (GLEN.L), sending the U.S.-listed shares of the Canadian copper miner up about 10% in premarket trading. Teck said more value can be achieved with the proposed restructuring announced earlier this year than the sale of the company. "The board is not contemplating a sale of the company at this time," Teck Chair Sheila Murray said. The company had in February said it would spin off its steelmaking coal unit to focus on industrial metals such as copper. After the separation, Teck will re-brand itself as Teck Metals Corp, while the new divested unit will be listed in Toronto as Elk Valley Resources Ltd.

☆ BHP, engineering firm Hatch to design electric smelting plant in Australia
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 23 (Reuters) - BHP Group (BHP.AX) on Thursday signed an agreement with an engineering and project management firm Hatch to design an electric smelting furnace pilot plant in Australia in an attempt to slash its greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050. The facility will help lower carbon dioxide intensity in steel production using iron ore from the global miner's Pilbara mines. The plant will be able to produce steel from iron ore using renewable electricity and hydrogen replacing coking coal. Last October, the mining giant teamed up with steelmaker ArcelorMittal (MT.LU) and two others to test a new technology to reduce carbon emissions in steelmaking at two plants in Belgium and North America. Reporting by Navya Mittal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Pollution returns to northern China as industrial activities rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, March 6 (Reuters) - Thirteen northern Chinese cities surrounding the capital Beijing have issued pollution alerts over the last few days, raising concerns that an industrial recovery in the region is increasing smog levels. All 13 cities, including Tianjin and Tangshan, China's biggest steelmaking centre, had issued "orange" heavy pollution alerts by Sunday, the second-highest alert, the National Joint Research Center for Tackling Key Problems in Air Pollution Control (NJRC) said. NJRC said the recent spike had been driven by an increase in industrial activity, with steel and cement plants operating at higher levels, and diesel truck traffic also rising. China has been trying to re-energise its economy since lifting strict COVID-19 curbs at the end of last year, raising fears that pollution could be allowed to rise. An orange alert means the three-day average air quality index (AQI) has risen above 200, classified as "heavy pollution", and normally triggers industrial closures or output cuts under Chinese regulations.

☆ British Steel proposes to close coking ovens in move that could cut 260 UK jobs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON — Chinese-owned British Steel said it may eliminate up to 260 U.K. jobs as a result of the proposed closure of its coking ovens in Scunthorpe, as steelmaking in Britain remains "uncompetitive" despite cost cutting. British Steel employs 4,700 people, of whom 4,300 are based in the UK. The British administration has been in talks to agree a long-term solution with British Steel over recent months. The Unite union called on British Steel must provide further disclosure over Scunthorpe or face potential industrial action. "Unite will pursue every avenue, including industrial action, to defend members' jobs at British Steel."

☆ Chinese-owned British Steel plans closures which may cut 260 jobs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Chinese-owned British Steel on Wednesday said it could cut up to 260 jobs after announcing the planned closure of its coke ovens in northern England, saying steelmaking in Britain was uncompetitive despite efforts to reduce costs. British Steel boss Xifeng Han said the company, which is owned by China's Jingye Group (600768.SS), was "undergoing the biggest transformation in our 130-year history." He also said decarbonisation was a major challenge for its business as the company set out proposals to close the coke ovens at its Scunthorpe site. Jingye, which bought the company out of insolvency in 2020 with a promise of 1.2 billion pounds ($1.45 billion) in spending, has invested 330 million pounds in capital projects so far, British Steel said in the statement. "Unite will pursue every avenue, including industrial action, to defend members’ jobs at British Steel," the union said in a statement.

Benchmark EU carbon permit prices hit 100 euros per tonne of CO2 on Tuesday, the highest since the scheme launched in 2005. The largest project being developed in the Netherlands secured national funding to bridge the gap between costs and the CO2 price. The United States does not have a nationwide carbon price, although states including California do. An EU carbon price of 100 euros adds 30-40 euros to the cost of a tonne of primary steel production, according to Eurofer. For example, blast furnace-based steelmakers were given around 80% of their CO2 permits, commodity industry analysis firm CRU said.

SummarySummary Companies H1 profit misses estimateInterim dividend beats estimatePositive on demand outlook from ChinaStarts process to sell two Queensland met coal minesFeb 21 (Reuters) - Global miner BHP Group (BHP.AX) was positive about demand outlook through to fiscal 2024 as top metals consumer China reopens and shifts policy towards its debt-laden property sector, the company said on Tuesday after its 2023 first-half profit missed estimates. However, its interim dividend of 90 cents per share, while lower than last year's $1.50 per share, beat Vuma Financial's estimate of 88 cents. "We are positive about the demand outlook in the second half of fiscal 2023 and into fiscal 2024, with strengthening activity in China on the back of recent policy decisions the major driver," Chief Executive Officer Mike Henry said. But the reopening of the world's second-biggest economy and a property sector policy shift has BHP upbeat on the commodity demand outlook. However, in an environment where central banks are aggressively tightening their monetary policy, BHP expects its operating environment to remain volatile in the near term, but expects China to be a source of stability for commodity demand.

☆ BHP upbeat on demand outlook on China reopening, first-half profit drops 32%
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 21 (Reuters) - BHP Group Ltd (BHP.AX) on Tuesday reported a steeper than estimated 32% drop in profit for the first half, citing weak iron ore prices, but forecast a positive demand outlook on strengthening activity in China. However, its interim dividend of 90 U.S. cents per share, while lower than last year's 150 cents per share, beat Vuma Financial's estimate of 88 cents. "We are positive about the demand outlook in the second half of fiscal 2023 and into fiscal 2024, with strengthening activity in China on the back of recent policy decisions the major driver," Chief Executive Officer Mike Henry said. But the reopening of the world's second-biggest economy and a policy shift for its debt-ridden property sector has BHP upbeat on the commodity demand outlook. Reporting by Sameer Manekar and Himanshi Akhand in Bengaluru; Editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ BHP reports 32% drop in first-half profit on low iron ore prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 21 (Reuters) - BHP Group Ltd (BHP.AX) reported a 32.1% drop in its first-half profit on Tuesday, as a stringent zero-COVID policy in top consumer China weighed on iron ore prices and surging inflation led to higher production costs. Miners have wrestled with surging costs and a tight labour market amid sharply lower iron ore prices over the latter half of 2022, as China's strict zero-COVID-19 policy curtailed economic activity and dented demand. However, the Melbourne-based miner now eyes a recovery in demand for steelmaking products from China as the world's second largest economy eases COVID curbs and lends support to its struggling property sector. The world's largest listed miner said underlying profit attributable from continuing operations was $6.60 billion for the six months ended Dec. 31, compared with $9.72 billion a year earlier. Reporting by Sameer Manekar and Himanshi Akhand in Bengaluru; Editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The debate - which focuses on hydrogen produced from nuclear or renewable energy - has already delayed negotiations on new EU renewable energy targets and threatened a multi-billion-euro hydrogen pipeline. Some EU officials fear it could spill into other green energy policies, potentially delaying laws needed to meet EU climate targets. "There are outstanding obstacles, but they will be resolved," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said of the climate conclusions on Monday, without specifying what the obstacles were. A draft of the conclusions, seen by Reuters, said: "EU energy diplomacy will promote the increasing uptake and system integration of renewable energy, hydrogen and its derivatives." They says they acknowledge nuclear's low-carbon contribution, but that it should not be put on a level footing with renewable energy sources like wind and solar.

☆ Hydrogen is elemental to U.S.-EU green compromise
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Rebecca Christie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Heated trade tensions could cool if the United States and the European Union make concessions on hydrogen. Right now, 99% of the near 100 million tonnes of annual commercial hydrogen output comes from old-fashioned fossil fuel energy sources. By 2030, the International Energy Agency envisages over 175 million tonnes of global production, with 35% coming from green hydrogen. Both Europe and the United States understand the role green hydrogen can play in decarbonising tricky areas like heavy industry and steelmaking. Yet Europe needs to import the same amount again as the 10 million tonnes it aims to produce domestically by 2030.

☆ UK scientists found a way to slash nearly 90% of carbon emissions from the country's steel industry
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Now, researchers at the University of Birmingham have developed a process to clean up the most carbon-intensive part of the steelmaking process: blast furnaces. Currently, coking coal and iron ore are fed into furnaces and heated to sky-high temperatures to create liquid iron, which is then refined into steel. About 70% of steel used around the world for buildings, cars, and household appliances is made this way. For every metric ton of steel produced, nearly two metric tons of carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere, according to the World Steel Organization. Kildahl described it as a "closed-loop" system that captures and recycles carbon dioxide to trigger the chemical reactions that convert iron ore into steel.

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