Resources investment pipeline keeps flowing

Retailers and manufacturers are hoping the Reserve Bank's surprisingly big interest rate cut kick-starts economic growth, but Australia's investment pipeline remains close to bursting at the seams, The Australian reports.

The value of investment projects nationally rose by almost 11% in the first three months of the year to $384 billion.

Bimblebox not worth protection: Palmer

Mining magnate Clive Palmer told a radio station on Tuesday that a nature reserve that covers part of his planned $8 billion coal mine isn't worth saving, the Australian Financial Review reports.

Conservationists are trying to stop Palmer creating the open cut mine on the Bimblebox nature refuge, in central Queensland, which is home to the endangered black-throated finch.

Palmer said the then-Labor state government gave the land the lowest nature reserve protection, and only did so to gain Green preferences.

Victoria’s brown coal briquettes under review

The future of Victoria's only brown coal briquette plant is under review, with its managers saying the new carbon tax will make it unsustainable, the Australian Financial Review reports.

Industrial Energy general manager Tony Ferguson said on Tuesday the Morwell briquette factory, in the Latrobe Valley, was under review.

"With the introduction of the carbon tax on 1 July 2012, the future of Victoria's only brown coal briquette manufacturer is expected to be unsustainable under a business as usual scenario," Ferguson said in a statement.

Big miners bearish on rising capital costs

Top executives from Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton have expressed fears that the Gillard government will change a long-standing rebate on diesel fuel in next week's federal budget, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

At meetings yesterday with big Australian investors, Rio Tinto chief executive Tom Albanese and BHP group executive Alberto Calderon delivered messages that – outside the iron ore sector – were generally bearish, warning that capital costs on new Australian projects were already uncomfortably high, and any additional burdens would hurt the investment case for greenfield projects.