Penalties on coal to linger after FTA

Australian coal producers exporting to China will need to wait at least a year to be price competitive again with their Indonesian rivals, even though a deal has been struck to abolish the recently introduced tariff as part of any free trade agreement with Beijing, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Former trade negotiator Alan Oxley said the FTA would not come into force until late next year, even if it was signed next month when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Australia. “It usually takes about 12 months to complete all the verification and other approvals,” he said.

The price of Australian steam coal landed in China has fallen by more than 5% at some ports since Beijing introduced the tariff on October 9.

Women break into male-dominated mining

Mining remains the most male-dominated business, with men holding more than 90% of executive positions. That’s starting to change, as retiring employees help open the $1.1 trillion industry’s door to women successors, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

From women-only leadership training at Canada's Goldcorp to scholarships offered by South Africa’s Lonmin, the world’s third-largest platinum producer, mining companies are implementing initiatives aimed at guiding women into senior roles.

London-based Rio Tinto, the second-biggest miner, has set a goal of having women make up 20% of its senior managers by 2015, from 14% last year.

BHP Billiton set to beat iron ore guidance

Deutsche Bank says BHP Billiton will easily outdo its iron ore guidance this financial year, after the mining giant posted a production record in the September quarter, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Deutsche mining analyst Paul Young predicts that BHP will pump out 251 million tonnes of iron ore for the full year, ahead of its guidance of 245Mt.

The miner is also racing to ramp up its coal output, and its September quarter coal figures beat analyst expectations, coming in at 12.8Mt, a 25% jump on last year.