miningreview
Change of fortune
Last year's turnaround for Australia's major exports – iron ore, coal and bauxite – means
miners are looking for signs of recovery in the global economy, writes Jeremy Chunn.
IRON ORE:
Miners steel themselves
Iron ore is Australia's biggest export, with
$64 billion worth of the stuff shipped
away in 2011–12 to buyers in China,
Japan, Korea and India. Expectations are
for sales of $67 billion in 2012–13, but
the outlook for iron ore is hard to predict.
When the price dropped to US$85 a tonne
in September last year, everyone became
nervous. The golden goose of Australia's
economy was sick.
Australia is the biggest exporter of
iron ore in the world, and the federal
government has been accused of banking
on the good times lasting forever. Its
mineral resources rent tax and carbon tax
are targeted at skimming revenue from
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