Davis eyes BHP’s thermal coal assets

Mick Davis, the former boss of Xstrata, is in talks over an ambitious deal to buy the unloved assets BHP Billiton is looking to sell or spin off, according to The Australian.

Davis, who built Xstrata into a FTSE 100 company in a decade-long deal spree, wants to buy a huge portfolio of assets that would, in effect, unwind the merger that created BHP Billiton 13 years ago.

More mines to shut as coal woes deepen

Coking coal prices have slumped to six-year lows, many Australian mines are not making money and the industry is set to close more of the mines that produce the nation’s second-most valuable export, according to The Australian.

FMG rebukes tugboat crews over potential strike action

Fortescue Metals Group CEO Nev Power said the world’s fourth-largest iron ore producer would have to shut its mines within days if tugboat crews walked off the job, a move he said would hurt government revenue and damage the nation’s reputation in Asia, according to the Australian Financial Review.

In a stinging rebuke, Power said the three unions representing the tugboat crews – which have applied to take protected industrial action through Fair Work Australia – are holding the state to ransom. It could cost jobs across the Pilbara, he said.

“[The tugboat workers] are a critical part of the supply chain and I don’t think it’s right that a small number of people can put the livelihood and jobs of so many at risk, and put the financial future of companies and the state at risk,” Power said.

A ballot of workers is being conducted, with a decision on whether to take action expected in about a fortnight.