Business backs opposition on emissions
Business groups have flocked to support Tony Abbott's new climate change policies, rejecting the wisdom of signing up to carbon emissions trading in the absence of similar action from the rest of the world... Minerals Council of Australia chief executive Mitch Hooke said the policy provided incentives for change without putting pressure on jobs and investment.
See also the media release from the Australian Coal Association 'Preserving Competitiveness and Developing Technology - Key to Addressing Emissions'
Coal India closing in on mine deals in Australia
India is stepping up its program to invest in Australian thermal coal mines, with state-owned giant Coal India angling to finalise a deal in the next six months. According to Indian reports, Coal India is planning to access between 15 and 20 mines in Australia, Indonesia and the US, through six investment proposals. Hancock Prospecting and Rio Tinto were among Australian miners talking to Coal India, whose domestic production already makes it the world's biggest coal producer.
Xstrata in $15bn Queensland coalmine bonanza
Anglo-Swiss miner Xstrata is hatching plans to build a huge 100-million-tonnes-a-year thermal coal operation in Queensland that could cost $15 billion and rival the Hunter Valley as the nation's biggest coal-producing region. Xstrata, the world's biggest thermal coal exporter, and its Japanese joint venture partners intend to expand almost fivefold the current planned output of 22 million tonnes a year near the small town of Wandoan, 400km northwest of Brisbane, in the next 10 to 20 years.
