Palmer urges firmer action against China over coal tests
Aspiring coal miner and federal MP Clive Palmer believes Australia should take a firmer approach to China's controversial new coal-testing regime and respond in kind with new tariffs on iron ore exports, according to the Australian Financial Review.
The comments come as the Australian and Canadian governments continue to push China for leeway on the new testing policy, which has resulted in at least one shipment of Australian coal being turned away at the Chinese border.
Coal has traditionally been tested for ash and sulphur levels, but Chinese customs, which preside over the second-largest market for Australian coal, has started testing coal arrivals recently for fluorine, phosphorus, mercury, arsenic and other trace elements.
Stand-off over Ranger uranium mine
The traditional owners of the land on which the Ranger uranium mine is built have challenged the federal government to guarantee that no future mining will occur on the Ranger and Jabiluka mineral leases, and to begin preparations for the sites’ inclusion in Kakadu National Park, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
In rare comments that do not bode well for the operator of the mine, Energy Resources of Australia (ERA), the Mirarr traditional owners indicated they would not agree to an expansion of the Ranger mine in the future, despite ERA seeking to keep that option open.
Mining slump wipes out bid interest for McAleese heavy haulage unit
The slide in iron ore prices has wiped out bidder interest in McAleese's half-owned Heavy Haulage Australia, the mining sector trucking company that was placed in administration last month and will now be wound up with the loss of more than 70 jobs, according to the Australian Financial Review.
A “promising” level of initial interest from bidders dissipated amid the continuing fall in iron ore prices and the resulting pressures on the Australian mining sector, said voluntary administrator Brendan Richards of Ferrier Hodgson, who is predicting more is to come for companies exposed to the decline in the industry.
