News

‘Hard to overstate’ the importance of mining

The resources sector contributed more than $10.7bn in direct and indirect spending into the local economy last financial year, equivalent to more than 8 per cent of gross state product, the South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy says. SACOME on Wednesday released its latest Economic Contribution Analysis which shows that 15 resources companies employed 7825 people directly in 2021-22, and supported the employment of another 42,832 people. SACOME chief executive Rebecca Knol said: “The results are testament to the resilience of the sector which has safely operated throughout the Covid-19 pandemic; helping to maintain the economic health of the state despite navigating travel restrictions, lockdowns, absenteeism and supply-chain impacts,’’ Ms Knol said.

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At the forefront of technological revolution

From autonomous vehicles and artificial intelligence to safer and more efficient mining equipment, advancements in resources technology are essential to progress in the field. Hancock Prospecting Group Operations CEO Gerhard Veldsman said from day one Roy Hill Executive Chairman Gina Rinehart had encouraged a culture of innovative thinking and the use of leading technologies across the miner’s iron ore operation. “Roy Hill is powered by smart people, using data-driven insights with integrated technology and systems to ensure safer operations, higher productivity and predictable execution,” he said. “Not only are we helping to develop and integrate advanced technologies and capabilities that keep our people safe but we are also making our business more efficient, and demonstrating Roy Hill’s progressive and forward-thinking approach.

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Coal king again

COAL has proven resilient in uncertain times and there is now widespread belief that it will continue to provide the nation’s baseload power and economic growth – barring a black swan event such as a financial crisis or a war with our major trading partner, China. In a week in which Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the eye-watering $368 billion cost of eight nuclear submarines, it should be remembered that tax on coal and iron ore exporters are two of the main drivers of government revenue. The coal mining industry does not operate in a vacuum and must keep maintaining steady and safe production of high-quality coal to global and regional markets despite any financial or geopolitical noise if it wishes to remain Australia’s king of exporters. 

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LNG exports may need to fill shortfalls

Queensland’s LNG exporters may need to divert gas to domestic customers to head off a shortfall in the southern states this winter and even then, shortages may occur, the Australian Energy Market Operator has warned, sharpening the focus on the crisis in the east coast market.The market operator said in its 20-year gas supply and demand outlook for the east coast that under any scenario, investment was needed in gas development on the east coast. But it highlighted many factors posing challenges for new projects, including the federal government’s intervention into the market through price caps and ongoing price regulation, which has caused several projects to stall. Senex Energy, owned by South Korea’s Posco and Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting, has put on ice its proposed $1 billion Atlas project in Queensland, while Cooper Energy has delayed a go-ahead to expand its Otway gas project off Victoria.

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Australia ramps up fossil fuel exports to India, but also lithium for renewables

Australia will ship more coal, gas and critical minerals to India under government plans to expand upon more than $24 billion in annual exports when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visits three Indian cities this week after years of friction with China over trade and security. The stronger strategic relationship is tipped to lead to more investment in Australian resources including lithium at a time when countries are racing to secure supplies to manufacture batteries and electric vehicles – a key objective for India this decade.Resources Minister Madeleine King, who will join the prime minister on the trip, said the Indian government was showing “great interest” in Australian critical minerals as part of its plan to lift the share of renewable energy in its economy.

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Hancock Group | Building an Exceptional Future

Women play an essential role at all levels of the Hancock Group. Executive Chairman, Mrs Gina Rinehart, is an industry leader, providing a role model and inspiration for other women. We are proud to be an organisation committed to developing opportunities for women across our operations.

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IR, energy bungling puts brakes on growth

The issues that most concern me in thinking about Australia’s need for reform are not the external developments that seem to get most attention, like the prospect of global recession or resurgent protectionism, or even the “climate emergency”, as it is now called. The biggest challenges are ones we’ve created for ourselves. I don’t just mean the inflationary fallout from Covid, which the Treasurer has recently called the “defining challenge of our time”, but policies that have damaged our economy’s ability to cope with change, to be competitive and support economic growth. These and other findings went over pretty well with both sides of politics at the time, as I recall. So the policy outlook seemed hopeful. How on Earth then did we end up with the costly hotchpotch of measures we’ve got today? How did we get to a situation in which electricity will not only become a luxury but an unreliable one?

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WA Budget on track for another billion-dollar iron ore boost

WA is on track to record a second billion-dollar Budget boost this financial year from iron ore. Higher-than-forecast iron ore prices have persisted deep into the 2022-23 year, swelling expected royalty income to well above levels tipped in December’s mid-year Budget review and likely pushing the State’s surplus beyond $2 billion. With just over 3½ months of the year left, iron ore is trading at $US127/a tonne and averaging $US106.78/t, easily exceeding the State Government’s revised annual forecast of $US87.40/t in mid-December. Every $US1/t increase in the forecast price of the State’s biggest export earner translates into an additional $90 million in royalties.

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese flags gas is crucial to energy transition

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says additional gas exploration will be critical to Australia’s energy transition. Speaking in Sydney on Tuesday, Mr Albanese said gas would play a “key role” in the country’s push to greener energy and was a needed firming fuel source for businesses, while options like hydrogen remain more than a decade away.

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Iron ore miners help lift bourse

Iron ore miners surged in their best session since November, extending recent share prices gains over the past few months based on optimism that China’s reopening was a win for steel demand. “We expect China’s steel output to continue to increase in coming months, as the industry restocks and prepares to meet pent-up demand. And this should support iron ore prices coming into Q2,” he said. Energy was the only other sector to end higher as Woodside firmed 2.2 per cent to $37.59 after another rally in crude oil on Chinese demand hopes.

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