Samarco to lay off 1000 workers as restart uncertain

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Brazilian miner Samarco, a joint venture between BHP Billiton and Vale, no longer expects to resume mining operations this year, according to Benedito Waldson, the company's head of human resources.

The lack of clarity on when the company would receive the necessary licenses to restart operations had forced the company to move to lay off more than 1000 workers, Waldson said.

The Samarco iron ore mine was closed last November after a deadly tailings dam spill.

Korean steel giant Posco eyes Arrium as taxpayer cash rises

South Korea's largest steelmaker Posco and a string of United States and British private equity funds are being increasingly attracted as potential buyers of collapsed Arrium and the Whyalla steelworks as extra taxpayer funds are loaded into the sale process, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Federal Labor leader Bill Shorten visited the Whyalla steelworks on Thursday after promising a $100 million injection to help save the Whyalla plant and more than 3100 local jobs, while Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Shorten's offer amounted to subsidising a sale to a foreign buyer.

Mount Gibson collects $86m insurance payment

Mount Gibson Iron CEO Jim Beyer has dismissed suggestions the 2014 collapse of the seawall at the Koolan Island iron ore mine was a blessing in disguise for the miner considering the price volatility for the commodity in the ensuing period, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Koolan Island, the junior iron ore producer's flagship operation off the northern coast of Western Australia, flooded and operations were suspended in late 2014 after the main pit seawall collapsed.