2012 Australian Mining Projects Summary

By Jody Elliott, Director at The Resource Channel on 20 May 12

In contrast to the oil and gas sector, the mining sector in Australia is showing conflicting signs.

With at least ten major LNG/CSG projects now under construction in Australia and generating significant job numbers, mining shows a slightly different picture.

Weaker commodity prices, the high Australian dollar and higher input prices (including labour costs) appear to be having a negative impact in parts of the industry and a level of caution is evident throughout.

National economic indicators outside the resources sector remain sluggish and there is still a great deal of uncertainty on the international front especially in Europe. This is having some flow on effect where we are now seeing recruitment freezes, project delays and even redundancies - particularly in the base metals sector both in Western Australia and Queensland and in the steel industry in New South Wales.

Data coming from the exploration sector also paints a mixed picture. Whilst Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures reported record exploration expenditure for 2011, closer analysis shows that expenditure in the iron ore sector rose 32.9% while exploration for Nickel and Cobalt fell 33%.

In the Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics latest release dated March 2012 they predict;

Australia’s resources and energy commodity export earnings are forecast to grow over the medium term to reach a record $225 billion dollars in 2016-17
Despite projections of lower commodity prices over the medium term this is to be offset by substantially greater export volumes
Between now and 2016-17 export volumes are forecast to increase for iron ore (62 per cent), metallurgical coal (47 per cent), thermal coal (65 per cent), copper ores and concentrate (77 per cent) and alumina (29 per cent).

According to the Bureau’s Professor Grafton, the increase in Australia’s export volumes for most commodities reflects commitments by the industry to increase production and expand infrastructure over the medium term.

That said, and despite signs of a more tempered outlook and reduced commodity prices, the iron ore, coal and gold sectors continue to expand at lightning speed. It is particularly in these commodity sectors where we see the volume of projects generating literally thousands of employment opportunities.

Our 2012 mining project summary focuses on major projects mainly in Western Australia and Queensland that are either underway or showing strong progress towards this goal. This list is not in any way exhaustive, particularly when you consider there are 456 projects in the Australian resource sector in the construction pipeline with 272 of those already committed and/or under construction. These range from major expansions like BHP Billiton’s Iron Ore to significant projects like Hancock Prospecting’s Roy Hill to smaller projects like a refinery modification to increase capacity.

Even with caution evident in some commodities, the employment demand is expected to peak at 150,000 new entrants by the end of 2013 for construction alone.

In many cases, we have not been able to report on a project due to the lack of public information available.

Western Australia:

FMG Expansion Projects: http://www.theresourcechannel.com.au/blog/fmg-expansion-project-western-australia-0

Karara Iron Ore Project: http://www.theresourcechannel.com.au/blog/karara-iron-ore-project-western-australia-0

Oakajee Port and Rail Project: http://www.theresourcechannel.com.au/blog/oakajee-port-and-rail-western-australia-0

BHP Billiton Iron Ore Expansion Projects: http://www.theresourcechannel.com.au/blog/bhp-billiton-iron-ore-expansion-projects-western-australia

Southern Seawater Desalination Project Stage 2: http://www.theresourcechannel.com.au/blog/southern-seawater-desalination-plant-stage-2-western-australia

Sino Iron Ore Project: http://www.theresourcechannel.com.au/blog/sino-iron-project-western-australia-0

Roy Hill Project: http://www.theresourcechannel.com.au/blog/roy-hill-iron-ore-project-western-australia

Rio Tinto Expansion Projects: http://www.theresourcechannel.com.au/blog/rio-tinto-expansion-western-australia

Queensland:

BHP Billiton Caval Ridge Project: http://www.theresourcechannel.com.au/blog/bhp-billiton-caval-ridge-project-queensland