Mining services hone competitive edge

Wariness but not pessimism has set in among mining services companies now the resources investment boom appears to have peaked but they still see scope for cost-cutting and look to help from a lower Australian dollar, according to the Australian Financial Review.

They already see tougher competition among them for new contracts from the extraction companies.

In the past two years, revenue more than doubled for engineering group OSD Pipelines and work is holding up but finance and operations executive director Linton Burns knows growth will not continue.

Most of his business is in building and operating oil and gas pipelines for remote mining projects in Western Australia and for coal seam gas extraction in Queensland.

Global emissions hit record high last year, says IEA

The International Energy Agency says global carbon dioxide emissions reached record highs last year despite improvements in the US and China, meaning the world is unlikely to limit global temperature rises to the 2% government target, according to The Australian.

In a report released last night, the IEA said global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions grew 1.4% to 31.6 gigatonnes last year, with China making the biggest contribution to growth.

Steel major warns of “war of attrition”

One of China's top five steelmakers has warned Australian miners of weaker iron ore prices in the second half of 2013, as much of China's steel industry struggles to break even, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Ansteel chairman Zhang Xiaogang said the average iron ore price for 2013 would be between $US110 and $120 a tonne.

While the prediction is similar to the $111 a tonne it was fetching on Monday, the price has averaged much higher, at $140 a tonne, when measured since January 1.

Zhang's comments imply price falls are ahead for the commodity, which is Australia's most lucrative export.