No coal price recovery for ‘long time’ says Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto's new coal boss Jean-Sebastien Jacques, says it will likely take three or four years before there is “a light at the end of the tunnel” for the depressed thermal coal price, and his main priority in the new job is to try to keep each Rio mine cash flow positive in its own right, according to the Australian Financial Review.

The country's major thermal coal producers, headed by Glencore and Rio, continue to double down on cost-cutting and productivity drives to battle greater prolonged price pain than expected. Jacques said a recovery in thermal coal would take “a long, long time”.

Orocobre, Sundance Energy favoured by UBS small-cap funds

Lithium play Orocobre, Texas shale junior Sundance Energy and nickel producer Western Areas are among the few resources stocks currently featuring in UBS Global Asset Management's small and micro-cap funds, which are otherwise dominated by digital and healthcare companies, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Portfolio manager David Haddad said the emergence of cheaper battery storage and the potential for grid power to be at least partly substituted through solar and batteries felt like “a multi-year theme” that could provide sustained support for lithium, used in lithium-ion batteries that are popular because of their high power density.

Seven Group again lifts stake in Beach Energy

Seven Group Holdings has again increased its holding in Cooper Basin oil and gas producer Beach Energy, further fuelling speculation it is seeking to drive a consolidation between players in the central Australian oil and gas province.

In a filing lodged late on Friday, Seven reported it had lifted its interest in Beach to 18.29%, less than 2% below the maximum it could hold without launching a takeover bid.