Herd on the Terrace: MinRes crackers go as Chris Ellison’s lieutenants try to contain costs, waistlines

It’s been a tough week for the folks at the splendid Osborne Park headquarters of Chris Ellison’s Mineral Resources. Not only are they grappling with news that up to 100 people will lose their job, their endless supply of biscuits is being cut as Ellison’s lieutenants try to trim costs. While Bull has been unable to verify the numbers, one of our senior operatives with high-level sources claims MinRes had been spending a whopping $280,000 a year on biscuits. That’s the equivalent of about 700,000 Mint Slices or 900,000 Granitas hoovered down each year. This is a plausible figure given the lights burn late at the edifice overlooking Herdsman Lake and there ain’t too many food choices around the swamp after dark (unless you’re into catching and cooking your own duck). Our operative reports MinRes is also hoping to save $500,000 a year by cutting out the staff’s free supply of disposable cardboard cutlery. A wise cut given this rubbish is one of world’s great wastes of money and trees. We don’t have figures for the company’s other attempts to cost cuts, but please don’t shed a tear for MinRes workers now having to pay $2 for a small barista-made coffee and $3 for a big brew. And there will be more lighter meal options at its swish in-house restaurant in what we understand is an attempt to trim costs and waistlines. It’s not all cuts. The endless supply of biscuits is going to be replaced by platters of fruit. And the bosses are pushing ahead with the child care centre next door. Forrest dreams revealed The latest documents released in Fortescue’s Federal Court battle with rival green metals hopeful Element Zero show just how hard it can be to read Andrew Forrrest’s green dreams. In an email sent in November 2020, the Fortescue executive chairman shared a link to a BBC article about the “green hydrogen revolution” with then Fortescue Future Industries senior scientist Bart Kolodziejczyk and its then boss Julie Shuttleworth. “This is similar to what we are going to do in the Pilbara right?” Twiggy asked in a question directed at the scientist. “I need you to do a quick scoping study on making our own steel in Port Headland (sic) please.” Not only did the Bull learn in school that there was only one “A” in Port Hedland, he learnt that hydrogen is a volatile gas and steel is made of a metal called iron far away on the periodic table. Never mind, the Fortescue underlings researched established systems and talked to potential partners for a Pilbara project. Kolodzieczyc also recruited doctoral tutor Bjorn Winther-Jensen out of semi-retirement. A late December 2020 email chain prompted by Forrest sharing a BBC link under the subject line “batteries that could make fossil fuels obsolete” somehow led to him telling Kolodziejczyk: “I need you testing in the Pilbara by June 30”. It is understandable that Kolodziejczyk described this as a “very challenging target” given the FFI team had not even decided which theoretical route they would pursue for refining iron ore. “I will do my best, Andrew,” Kolodziejczyk wrote in an email chain that included Twiggy’s long-time wing man Michael Masterman. Whether Kolodziejczyk really did his best will likely be tested in Fortescue’s Federal Court action against him, Winther-Jensen, Masterman and, of course, their new venture Element Zero. Rachel goes to Rio ABC TV business reporter Rachel Pupazzoni has hung up her microphone and headed for the popular Plan B for news hacks. Having taken out the top media gong at Diggers & Dealers this week, she is now departing the world of journalism to be a spin doctor at iron ore giant Rio Tinto. She joins the team recently vacated by seasoned Bloomberg reporter-turned rocks spinner Jesse Riseborough. Riseborough has headed to Washington DC to be Rio’s chief adviser of US communications. He was worthy of the big promotion after spending nearly half of his WA time dealing with Rio’s post-Juukan Gorge reputational rehab.