Latest news with #Fortescue
West Australian
9 minutes ago
- Business
- West Australian
‘Hand it back': Albanese Government tells Fortescue to repay hydrogen grant for dumped Gladstone project
The Albanese Government is sticking out its hand to take back taxpayer funds poured into Fortescue's fading clean energy ambitions. The Andrew Forrest-controlled miner on Thursday revealed it would dump green hydrogen projects in Australia and the US as it struggles to find a commercial pathway to full-scale production of the clean fuel, which is produced by the electrolysis of water via renewable energy sources. In its quarterly update, Fortescue said its Arizona hydrogen project in the US and the PEM50 project in Queensland's Gladstone had been canned and an assessment was under way to re-purpose the assets and the land. The news has raised eyebrows in Canberra, and the Labor Government has signalled its intention to reclaim any taxpayer money that went towards development of the Queensland project. A spokeswoman for Industry and Innovation Minister Tim Ayres told The Australian that the Government believed it would be appropriate for Fortescue to hand back funds it received under the Modern Manufacturing Initiative. 'The decision not to proceed the PEM50 Hydrogen plant in Gladstone is a commercial matter for Fortescue,' the spokeswoman told the newspaper. 'However, if Fortescue does not proceed with the delivery of the MMI-funded Gladstone Electrolyser facility project it would be reasonable for the government to seek reimbursement for where the grant agreement hasn't been fulfilled.' Fortescue said it was in talks with the Federal and Queensland governments over the future use of the land. 'As these are confidential discussions, it would be inappropriate to disclose details,' a spokesman told The Australian. Fortescue expects to book a $US150m ($227m) writedown after binning the two projects. The West Australian in May revealed the $US150m Gladstone electrolyser manufacturing plant was in serious doubt after 90 workers were laid off across the site and Fortescue's Perth headquarters. Mark Hutchinson quit as Fortescue's green energy boss less than two weeks later. These job cuts were the latest leg of a huge cull across the company's sprawling green hydrogen team that started in July last year. Fortescue in February said the re-election of Donald Trump jeopardised its $US550 million green hydrogen project in the western US state of Arizona. It was earmarked for generous grants under the Biden administration but President Trump's team appear to have poured cold water on those taxpayer funding hopes.
Sydney Morning Herald
11 hours ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Aussie dollar hits eight-month high as shares slide; Macquarie down, Fortescue jumps
The heavyweight miners were mixed, with BHP down 0.6 per cent, South32 down 0.6 per cent, but Rio Tinto up 0.3 per cent. Santos slipped 1.4 per cent and Boss Energy fell 6.4 per cent, one of the day's worst performers. The lifters Healthcare was the only sector in the green, up 1 per cent, with CSL 1.5 per cent stronger. Clarity Pharmaceuticals surged 10.2 per cent, Neuren Pharmaceuticals 9 per cent and Mesoblast 8 per cent, three of the strongest performers. Three of the big four banks finished higher. NAB added 1.2 per cent, Westpac gained 0.5 per cent, Commonwealth Bank – the biggest stock on the index – rose 0.1 per cent. ANZ fell 0.4 per cent. Mining giant Fortescue, chaired by billionaire Andrew Forrest, jumped 4.3 per cent after it revealed on Thursday it had shipped a record volume of the steel-making material iron ore from its mines in Western Australia in the year to June 30. Despite an economic downturn cooling demand from steel mills in China, by far the biggest buyer of Australian iron ore, Perth-based Fortescue said it had shipped 55.2 million tonnes of iron ore in the three months through June, taking its full-year volume to an all-time high of 198.4 million tonnes. Pexa Group soared 16.5 per cent to a nearly three-year high of $15.09 after the digital property exchange announced leading UK bank NatWest had agreed to facilitate future remortgages on Pexa's platform. The lowdown The local sharemarket lost ground after slightly hawkish comments by Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock, while the local currency climbed to an eight-month high. Bullock reiterated the bank's gradual monetary tightening in recent years was aimed at getting inflation under control without causing unemployment to rise excessively. Tightness in the labour market was a key concern of Australia's central bank as standing in the way of more rate cuts, but conditions were easing in line with expectations, Bullock said in a speech to the Anika Foundation. A 'measured and gradual' approach to policy easing was appropriate, Bullock said, adding that labour demand remained strong while core inflation was easing gradually. Loading NAB head of market economics Tapas Strickland said the speech leaned slightly hawkish and showed that an August rate cut was not a done deal. A second-quarter inflation readout that will be released on July 30 would be important, he said. Bullock's remarks led three-year government bond yields to extend gains, adding about 3 basis points to trade at 3.48 per cent. That's a 7-basis-point increase on the day. The Australian dollar also extended gains to be 0.3 per cent higher Risk currencies, including the Australian dollar, had benefited from a risk-on tone overnight as trade tensions eased, said NAB economist Pat Bustamante. Loading Financial markets are betting the Reserve will cut two more times this year while paring back the probability of a third reduction to 40 per cent, down from 76 per cent on Wednesday. Markets were paying close attention to various tariff negotiations, and global equities continued their rally as bulls drew fresh conviction from signs the US may strike more trade deals soon after clinching a pact with Japan. Overnight, US stocks set more records. Shares jumped in Tokyo, where the Nikkei 225 rallied 3.5 per cent after Trump announced a trade framework that would place a 15 per cent tax on imports coming from Japan. That's lower than the 25 per cent rate that Trump had earlier said would kick in on August 1. 'It's a sign of the times that markets would cheer 15 per cent tariffs,' said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management. 'A year ago, that level of tariffs would be shocking. Today, we breathe a sigh of relief.' Locally, the federal government on Thursday revealed it would lift biosecurity restrictions on US beef as it seeks a way to dampen the blow of Trump's volatile tariff regime. Cattle producers were left blindsided by the decision, even though the level of US product arriving in Australia is expected to be very low. It has been suggested Australia will use the easing of rules to argue its case for the US to wind back 50 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium and Trump's threat to impose a 200 per cent tariff on pharmaceuticals. Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said the decision was a purely scientific one. Trump in April singled out the beef trade disparity with Australia after Australian beef exports to the US surged last year, reaching $4 billion amid a slump in US beef production.
News.com.au
16 hours ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Closing Bell: ASX flatlines as healthcare sector jolts higher
ASX falls 0.31pc with 10 of 11 sectors down Healthcare moves against the grain, up 1.04pc Fortescue jumps 4.34pc on quarterly results ASX looking poorly by end of trade The ASX 200 stumbled a little today, down 0.31% with 10 of 11 sectors flatlining. A 1.04% jolt from the healthcare sector wasn't enough to revive the market's pulse, even with a little help from the top banks. Weak trading in the May and June months sent automotive parts firm Bapcor (ASX:BAP) plummeting 28% by the end of the day, lopping an eye-watering $1.45 off its share price to finish at $3.66. While no other single stock was hit quite so hard, there was also a general sell down in some recent favourites. Uranium miner Boss Energy (ASX:BOE) shed 6.4%, UAV defence company Droneshield (ASX:DRO) slipped 5.8%, Brazilian Rare Earths (ASX:BRE) fell 5.4% and Macquarie (ASX:MQG) fell 5%. As for the healthcare sector standouts - Clarity Pharmaceuticals (ASX:CU6) jumped 10%, Neuren Pharmaceuticals (ASX:NEU) 8.9%, Immutep (ASX:IMM) 8.3% and Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) 7.9%. Taking a squizz at our indices, the only bright spot was a lift in the ASX 200 Banks index, but that was weighed down by Macquarie's struggles. Still, NAB (ASX:NAB) gained 1.24% and Westpac (ASX:WBC) tipped up 0.54%. Fortescue hits the mark with Q4 earnings Shares in one of our biggest iron ore miners climbed today, after Fortescue (ASX:FMG) mostly outperformed market expectations in its fourth quarter earnings report. That's despite a 0.22% fall in the ASX200 Resources index and a 0.11% drop in the overall materials sector. Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest's company shipped 55.2Mt of iron ore in the June quarter, for a record 198.4Mt over FY2025, a 4% increase over FY24. FMG also managed to reduce production costs to US$17.50 per tonne, 4% lower than market consensus expected, and lowered net debt to US$2.1 billion, $500,000 lower than predicted. 'This was a clean result with FMG demonstrating its ability to deliver in its core business. The cost beat was pleasing, with strip ratios to be lowered,' A Macquarie broker note read. 'Whilst the net debt beat was helped by a working capital unwind, FY26 energy guidance may lead to lower burn rates.' Fortescue opted to roll back its green hydrogen initiatives at home and abroad, reassessing its Arizona and Gladstone green energy projects. Looking forward, FMG predicts it will deliver between 195Mt and 205Mt of iron ore in the next financial year, at a cost of between US$17.50 to US$18.50 per wet metric tonne. Today, Fortescue's shares rose 4.34% to $19.00 each by end of trade. ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS Today's best performing small cap stocks: Code Name Last % Change Volume Market Cap SFG Seafarms Group Ltd 0.002 100% 7110068 $4,836,599 BP8 Bph Global Ltd 0.003 50% 1274424 $2,101,969 MTL Mantle Minerals Ltd 0.0015 50% 8100000 $6,197,446 OB1 Orbminco Limited 0.0015 50% 1925375 $3,402,568 VEN Vintage Energy 0.006 50% 2726332 $8,347,655 PV1 Provaris Energy Ltd 0.026 37% 6552092 $14,782,901 BMO Bastion Minerals 0.002 33% 437500 $2,372,022 FTC Fintech Chain Ltd 0.004 33% 125000 $1,952,309 GTR Gti Energy Ltd 0.004 33% 3168314 $11,167,964 HLX Helix Resources 0.002 33% 1647204 $5,046,291 M2R Miramar 0.004 33% 1794001 $2,990,470 RMI Resource Mining Corp 0.017 31% 4797806 $9,547,894 KGD Kula Gold Limited 0.009 29% 2882221 $6,448,776 CTQ Careteq Limited 0.014 27% 999474 $2,608,306 BIT Biotron Limited 0.0025 25% 286365 $2,654,492 PKO Peako Limited 0.0025 25% 250100 $2,975,484 ROG Red Sky Energy. 0.005 25% 1096100 $21,688,909 NSB Neuroscientific 0.23 24% 5272703 $61,526,506 PGD Peregrine Gold 0.32 23% 623241 $22,060,413 EPX EPX Limited 0.027 23% 1239835 $14,512,896 ODY Odyssey Gold Ltd 0.029 21% 13374452 $26,500,641 DES Desoto Resources 0.175 21% 1990695 $27,075,046 AUK Aumake Limited 0.003 20% 38165577 $7,558,397 THB Thunderbird Resource 0.012 20% 4168988 $3,897,414 TMK TMK Energy Limited 0.003 20% 10000 $25,555,958 In the news… GTI Energy (ASX:GTR) is gearing up to begin resource expansion drilling at the Lo Herma uranium project in Wyoming, US, after getting the green light from the Bureau of Land Management. GTI is developing the 10.23Mlb uranium Lo Herma resource as an in-situ recovery uranium project with an eye to tapping into growing yellowcake demand in North America. Helix Resources (ASX:HLX) is zeroing in on two distinct copper-gold systems at the White Hills project in Arizona, US, with a combination of geophysical, geological and geochemical results. Two geological formations meet on the project's tenure. Management reckons there's evidence of copper at the northern end of the Arizona Arc formation, while a fault-style gold system sits at the southern end of the Walker Lane gold trend, both within the project area. Energy efficiency provider EPX (ASX:EPX) notched its fourth consecutive quarter of positive operating cash inflows this financial year, pulling in $400,000 for the June quarter. The company's 12-month rolling cash flows hit $1.4m in June, a $1.5m improvement over the previous financial year, as customer cash receipts lifted 26% to $5m for the quarter. E-commerce brand incubator AuMake (ASX:AUK) has lifted its full-year revenue by 50% compared to the previous financial year, raking in $39m. The company points to its transition to cross border and China retail B2B and B2C business units, exploring new sales channels via Pilot Zone distribution into China Hospital Pharmacies, and activating sales of its own products as the drivers of its success. ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS Today's worst performing small cap stocks: Code Name Last % Change Volume Market Cap RBR RBR Group Ltd 0.001 -33% 1050000 $4,680,427 AOA Ausmon Resorces 0.0015 -25% 500000 $2,622,427 DTM Dart Mining NL 0.003 -25% 7093132 $4,792,222 EAT Entertainment 0.003 -25% 200000 $5,235,144 LSA Lachlan Star Ltd 0.055 -21% 73250 $17,680,124 SMM Somerset Minerals 0.019 -21% 20253006 $15,481,932 LPM Lithium Plus 0.07 -20% 686494 $11,689,920 CHM Chimeric Therapeutic 0.004 -20% 47233853 $10,075,971 CRR Critical Resources 0.004 -20% 2241806 $13,850,427 CTO Citigold Corp Ltd 0.004 -20% 3599672 $15,000,000 ENT Enterprise Metals 0.002 -20% 1 $3,428,293 ERL Empire Resources 0.004 -20% 1027763 $7,419,566 LOC Locatetechnologies 0.084 -20% 6472637 $24,693,305 MOH Moho Resources 0.004 -20% 107177 $3,727,070 PRX Prodigy Gold NL 0.002 -20% 600000 $15,875,278 WBE Whitebark Energy 0.004 -20% 2707500 $3,502,788 BNR Bulletin Res Ltd 0.047 -19% 2510592 $17,029,573 PEC Perpetual Res Ltd 0.019 -17% 11529663 $20,084,249 PKD Parkd Ltd 0.03 -17% 250000 $3,744,500 ALY Alchemy Resource Ltd 0.005 -17% 1580000 $7,068,458 ASP Aspermont Limited 0.005 -17% 85700 $15,079,061 OLI Oliver'S Real Food 0.005 -17% 123497 $3,244,392 NTI Neurotech Intl 0.021 -16% 737038 $26,240,548 AAM Aumegametals 0.036 -14% 887632 $25,454,129 CCO The Calmer Co Int 0.003 -14% 226905 $10,539,736 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT Green Technology Metals' (ASX:GT1) maiden rubidium resource adds a new dimension to the strategic value of its Seymour project in Ontario, Canada. Reventon says savvy young Aussies are choosing investment properties first – and it's reshaping the housing market. West Coast Silver (ASX:WCE) will use funds from an oversubscribed $6.125m placement to accelerate exploration at its Elizabeth Hill project in WA's Pilbara. Reverse circulation drilling at Perpetual Resources' (ASX:PEC) Igrejinha asset in Brazil's Lithium Valley has wrapped up, with preliminary observations due following analysis of logging data. Promising new research shows Alterity Therapeutics' (ASX:ATH) novel brain imaging tool could play a key role in diagnosing and tracking Multiple System Atrophy. Pioneer Lithium (ASX:PLN) has established a conservative exploration target at its Warmbad uranium project in Namibia of between 22.22Mt and 32.11Mt with a grade range of 100-120ppm U3O8. Trading Halts Asara Resources (ASX:AS1) – cap raise Australian Strategic Materials (ASX:ASM) – cap raise Galan Lithium (ASX:GLN) – pending government project approval Norfolk Metals (ASX:NFL) – cap raise Painchek (ASX:PCK) – cap raise At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While GTI Energy is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article.
Sydney Morning Herald
17 hours ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Trump kills Twiggy Forrest's US green hydrogen dream
Australian billionaire Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest has terminated a major hydrogen project in the United States as Donald Trump slashes tax breaks for clean energy investments and guts programs aimed at tackling climate change. The Forrest-led Fortescue Metals Group on Thursday said it would not proceed with a $US550 million ($830 million) plan to begin producing zero-emissions hydrogen at a new plant in Arizona, blaming the 'shift in priorities away from green energy' under the Trump administration. 'The lack of certainty and step-back in green ambition has stopped the emerging green energy markets, making it hard for previously feasible projects to proceed,' Fortescue head of growth and energy Gus Pichot said. 'As a result, we cannot proceed with our investments as they stand, and will explore future opportunities for our site in Arizona.' Since returning to the White House, Trump has passed laws to end lucrative tax breaks for wind and solar farms, electric cars and other technologies that would help combat global warming, which he falsely calls a 'hoax', while enacting sweeping measures to make it cheaper and easier for companies to extract more fossil fuels. The cancellation of the Arizona project comes as Forrest continues a years-long campaign to diversify Fortescue beyond its lucrative Western Australian iron ore mines and into the production of green hydrogen, a promising clean energy source that burns cleanly and could eventually help displace the use of coal, oil and gas in heavy industry. While Fortescue insists it remains steadfast in its commitment to green hydrogen, it has been forced to hit the brakes on the speed of its ambitions over the past year, blaming the high cost and the vast amount of renewable energy required. Most of the hydrogen produced across the world today is limited to 'grey hydrogen', made from gas through a process that emits carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
The Age
17 hours ago
- Business
- The Age
Trump kills Twiggy Forrest's US green hydrogen dream
Australian billionaire Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest has terminated a major hydrogen project in the United States as Donald Trump slashes tax breaks for clean energy investments and guts programs aimed at tackling climate change. The Forrest-led Fortescue Metals Group on Thursday said it would not proceed with a $US550 million ($830 million) plan to begin producing zero-emissions hydrogen at a new plant in Arizona, blaming the 'shift in priorities away from green energy' under the Trump administration. 'The lack of certainty and step-back in green ambition has stopped the emerging green energy markets, making it hard for previously feasible projects to proceed,' Fortescue head of growth and energy Gus Pichot said. 'As a result, we cannot proceed with our investments as they stand, and will explore future opportunities for our site in Arizona.' Since returning to the White House, Trump has passed laws to end lucrative tax breaks for wind and solar farms, electric cars and other technologies that would help combat global warming, which he falsely calls a 'hoax', while enacting sweeping measures to make it cheaper and easier for companies to extract more fossil fuels. The cancellation of the Arizona project comes as Forrest continues a years-long campaign to diversify Fortescue beyond its lucrative Western Australian iron ore mines and into the production of green hydrogen, a promising clean energy source that burns cleanly and could eventually help displace the use of coal, oil and gas in heavy industry. While Fortescue insists it remains steadfast in its commitment to green hydrogen, it has been forced to hit the brakes on the speed of its ambitions over the past year, blaming the high cost and the vast amount of renewable energy required. Most of the hydrogen produced across the world today is limited to 'grey hydrogen', made from gas through a process that emits carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
