Gina Rinehart blames high mining costs on government

Australia’s richest woman, Gina Rinehart, has attacked federal and state governments for inflicting high costs on local miners, which are battling plunging iron ore prices as global supply swells, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Rinehart, who is building on her father’s iron ore legacy by developing the $10 billion Roy Hill mine in Pilbara, also endorsed expansion strategies by BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto. The major miners have come under fire for flooding iron ore markets and depressing iron ore prices.

Rio’s cushion against iron-ore rout erodes as aluminium slides

Optimism that a recovery in profits at Rio Tinto’s aluminium division will provide an enduring counter to a slump in iron ore prices and underpin increased investor returns looks misplaced, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

When the world’s second-largest mining company reported a 9% dip in underlying profit last month, CEO Sam Walsh touted a turnaround at the much-maligned unit that emerged from the value-destructive $US38 billion acquisition of Alcan in 2007. Profit from that business more than doubled to $US1.3 billion ($1.7 billion) last year.

“Aluminium has grown into a significant contributor to group earnings and cash flows,” Walsh told analysts on February 12. “We're seeing significant improvement in the aluminium business, and I guess everybody is now seeing it.”

Hugh Morgan to set up private fund to hunt mining bargains

Former Reserve Bank board member and Western Mining Corporation boss Hugh Morgan is set to join the list of former mining bosses to establish their own private funds amid the market downturn for resources stocks, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Joining the likes of former Xstrata boss Mick Davis, who revealed last week he had raised $US5.6 billion ($7.3 billion) for his private fund, Morgan confirmed that he, too, was working on a private fund that would seek to take advantage of the current low asset prices in the mining sector.