Chinese push for $3B coal mine in Queensland

CHINA'S biggest private coke producer, Meijin, is pushing ahead with plans for a $3 billion-plus Central Queensland coal mine to rival the nearby plans of Indian mine developers GVK and Adani, The Australian reports.

Meijin's Australian unit, Macmines AustAsia, is preparing federal and state approval documents for a 45 million tonne per year mine complex, known as China Stone, after being issued terms of reference for a proposed environmental impact statement in January.

Miners wary of another port sale in Queensland

Some of the largest miners have warned the Queensland government against the sale of the $60 billion Gladstone port, one of the recommendations of the Costello review, according to the Australian Financial Review.

As unions vowed to campaign against any privatisation, the peak mining lobby said it did not want a repeat of the Labor government’s sale of Dalyrmple Bay coal terminal to Babcock & Brown in 2002.

Queensland Resources Council chief executive Michael Roche said the miners expected to be closely consulted on any sale. Miners were wary after the Dalrymple Bay sale, which delayed port expansions, as illustrated by the queues of 30 or 40 coal ships waiting off the coast of Mackay during the mid-2000s.

“Our experience with privatised ports has not been a good one,” Roche said.

Dire prediction for iron ore miners

Renowned China bear Andy Xie says investors in debt-laden Australian iron ore miners risk big losses and has forecast prices for the commodity will drop from $US150 a tonne to below $60t, according to the Australian Financial Review.

The dire prediction comes after China signalled on the weekend it would curb investment in its property sector, which has potentially significant consequences for steel demand.

Investors interpreted the tightening of controls on property and credit as signalling that the new Chinese leadership would adopt a much more prudent approach to managing investment in the world’s second-biggest economy.