Originally published by Brad Thompson of The Australian
07.04.2026
Australian miners are warning of material risks to the industry and fast rising costs from diesel shortages, but the price of the fuel has hardly budged in the African nation of Guinea, where Rio Tinto and Chinese partners are boosting production at the Simandou iron ore project.
Gold miner Capricorn Metals said on Tuesday that diesel supply remained a material risk for the Australian mining industry amid shortages and price hikes also hitting farmers.
Capricorn said it was not currently suffering supply issues but securing diesel remained a key focus.
Mid-tier gold miner Ramelius Resources said supply to its operations in Western Australia had not been disrupted but it has plans in place in case rationing and other supply restrictions are imposed.
Ramelius is currently paying more than double what it forecast for diesel, and is considered one of the less vulnerable miners to further price hikes given its processing mill is mostly powered by solar and gas.
On the flip side, Robex Resources said there were no such problems with fuel supply and price hikes in Guinea, where it is paying $US1.25 ($1.81) a litre for diesel.
Robex chief executive Matthew Wilcox said the company had more than 30 days of supply of diesel on site at its Kiniero gold mine, and the country – run by a military junta – was not experiencing anywhere near the problems that have emerged in Australia since the US and Israel dropped the first bombs on Iran on February 28.
“Supply chains remain uninterrupted while (diesel) prices have increased about 5 per cent to date,” he told The Australian.
Ramelius said its full-year cost guidance was based on a diesel price (net of fuel tax credits) of $0.95 a litre, representing approximately 10 per cent of total costs. It is currently paying more than twice that amount at about $2.10 a litre net of fuel tax credits even under a long-term contact with a global oil major.
Feedback from other mid-tier and junior miners suggests they are currently paying between $3-$3.20 a litre after price rises of up to 60 per cent since February 28.
The Albanese government’s move to temporarily cut the fuel excise, although welcomed by miners, also reduces what they get back in the diesel tax credits.
Miners were recovering about 53 cents a litre at a price of around $1.90 in regional areas before the start of conflict. With the excise cut in half for three months, that’s now a tax credit of 26 cents at prices of more than $3 a litre.
Rio declined to comment on how much it is paying for diesel in Guinea compared to Australia, where it relies on long-term supply contracts to run iron ore mines in WA and bauxite operations in Queensland.
The ramp up of Simandou, including a milestone 200,000 tonne shipment to China at the end of March, and Mr Wilcox’s assurances about diesel supply to the emerging Kiniero gold mine come less than two-and-a-half years since a deadly explosion and fire at Guinea’s main fuel depot that forced the west African nation to ration fuel and turn to its neighbours for help.
Guinea imports all of its liquid fuels via a state-owned entity and unlike Australia does not have an oil and gas industry.
Robex, which has a growing footprint in west Africa, only achieved commercial production at Kiniero in February. The company said on Tuesday that it milled 1.6 million tonnes of ore at an average grade of 0.85 grams a tonne to produce 39,367 ounces of gold in the March quarter.
Ramelius said it produced 38,093 ounces of gold for the quarter that was notable for a planned six-day shutdown of its Mt Magnet mill and haul road closures in March in the fallout from Cyclone Narelle.
Capricorn said its growing Karlawinda operations near Newman in WA’s Pilbara produced 30,358 ounces of gold in the March quarter and that it was on target to hit the upper end of full-year guidance of 115,000-125,000 ounces at an all-in sustaining cost of $1530-$1630 an ounce.