High dollar adds to coal cost blowouts, says Glencore

Australian coalminers have seen costs blow out to such an extent the industry is uncompetitive globally without a correction in the Australian dollar, according to Glencore’s local coal head Mick Buffier, the Australian Financial Review reported.

The Swiss-based miner pointed to the Australian dollar as being a key reason for the difficulties many local coalminers are experiencing at present, with one-third of local coalmines losing money.

“Australia has moved up that cost curve,” Buffier said on Thursday.

Economy enters danger zone

The federal government’s former top resources forecaster says the economy faces a painful downturn in 2015 as a property crisis in China accelerates the biggest hit to Australia’s export income in more than two decades, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Speaking after iron ore plunged to a five-year low of $US85.70 a tonne, the former chief economist and head of the Australian Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics, Quentin Grafton, said the Chinese economy looked like it was “unravelling”

He said falling prices for coal and iron ore, a slump in business investment, an overpriced housing market and high dollar had placed the Reserve Bank of Australia “between a rock and a hard place”

New boss for Rio’s Oyu Tolgoi mine

Rio Tinto’s Mongolian mine Oyu Tolgoi has appointed Andrew Woodley as its chief executive officer, taking over from Craig Kinnell.

Woodley, who is currently managing director of Rio Tinto’s coal business in Mozambique, will begin his transition to the top job in October, before officially taking over November 15.