2012-10-26 05:43:08 - Recently published research from Business Monitor International, "Australia Mining Report Q4 2012", is now available at Fast Market Research

Australia will remain a leading player in many segments of the global mining industry. Owing to its substantial deposits, the country possesses an array of minerals including iron ore, nickel, bauxite, copper, gold, silver, uranium, diamonds, zinc and coal. We expect that the value of the mining sector will reach US$122.6bn by 2016, growing at an annual average rate of 4.3% over the forecast period, from US$99.6bn in 2011.

Iron Ore To Drive Output Growth

We forecast iron ore production output to show the greatest increase in output reaching 758mnt (million tonnes) in 2016 from 488mnt in 2011, marking an average annual growth of 9.2%. As iron ore accounts for the largest proportion of the mining sector's value by output, between 30%

and 40%, this increase will have a significant bearing on the country's mining sector value. This growth will be driven by BHP and Rio Tinto, as the former expects to increase output from 164mntpa to 220mntpa in 2014 at its operations in Western Australia, while the latter is increasing production from 156mnt to 283mnt at its Pilbara operations in 2015. We expect Australia to remain the world's largest bauxite producer with output growth averaging 5.3% a year, reaching 90.7mnt in 2016, from 70mnt in 2011. The vast majority of this growth is due to expansion plans at Rio Tinto's Weipa mine, the world's largest bauxite mine, which is expected to see production rise from 18mntpa to 50mntpa in 2013.


Full Report Details at
- www.fastmr.com/prod/479358_australia_mining_report_q4_2012.aspx


Regulatory Environment

Australia's mining sector is one of the most business-friendly in the world, with domestic companies and overseas miners operating in the country. We expect Australia to remain a highly attractive destination for foreign investment despite the recently proposed 30% tax on mining companies' profits in coal and iron ore production. Indeed, we do not expect that the proposed tax will have a significant impact on investment in the country's mining sector as these concerns are likely to be outweighed by the country's mineral wealth. Moreover, the bill could be watered down as the ruling coalition has a majority of only one seat and thus it may be difficult to push the bill through parliament without compromise. If the bill is implemented, it is expected to come into force from July 1 2012.

Key Players

Given its vast potential and high quality of infrastructure, Australia is home to some of the biggest names in the global mining industry. Multinationals operating in the Australian mining industry include Australian companies BHP Billiton, Newcrest Mining and large overseas miners such as Rio Tinto, Norilsk Nickel and Xstrata. On the whole, we expect Australia's mining sector to remain dominated by large miners, with the exception of coal, which could become slightly more fragmented as Hancock Coal and Waratah Coal develop the 30mntpa Alpha and 40mntpa Galilee coal mines respectively, with output expected to start in 2013. These projects are the largest planned in the coal sector and thus the two companies will become significant coal miners.

Partial Table of Contents:

SWOT Analysis
- Australia Mining Sector SWOT
Global Mining Outlook
- Table: Recent Tax Increases
- Table: Largest Coal Projects
- Table: Major Frontier Mining Projects
Asia Mining Outlook
- Table: Key Asia Pacific Legislative Changes
Market Overview
- Table: Australia's Mining Industry Value & Production
Industry Forecast Bauxite: Rio Tinto To Drive Growth
- Table: Main Bauxite Expansion Plans
- Table: Australia's Bauxite Production
- Coal: Steadfast Growth For Both Coking & Thermal Coal
- Table: Australia's Largest Thermal Coal Projects
- Table: Australia's Largest Metallurgical Coal Projects
- Table: Australia's Coal Production
- Copper: Enthusiasm Wanes On Market Uncertainty
- Table: Australia's Largest Copper Projects
- Table: Australia's Copper Production,
- Gold: Global Share To Decline
- Table: Australia's Expansion Plans
- Table: Australia's Gold Production
- Iron Ore: Fortescue Metals To Jump Start Growth
- Table: Australia's Largest Iron Ore Projects
- Table: Australia's Iron Ore Production, 2009-2016
- Nickel: Production To Press On Despite Price Weakness
- Table: Australia's Largest Nickel Projects
- Table: Australia's Nickel Production, 2009-2016
- Zinc: Century To Maintain Dominance During Forecast Period
- Table: Australia's Largest Zinc Projects
- Table: Australia's Zinc Production
Regulatory Development
Business Environment
- Table: Asia Mining Risk-Reward Ratings
Competitive Landscape
- Table: Australia's Comparative Metrics
Company Profile
- BHP Billiton
- Table: BHP Billiton's Key Financial Data
- Rio Tinto
- Table: Rio Tinto's Key Financial Data
- Minmetals Resources
- Table: Minmetals Resrouces' Financial Results
- Xstrata
- Table: Xstrata's Financial Data
Commodity Strategy
- Monthly Metals Update
- Aluminium: Substantial Support Around US$1,800/tonne
- Copper: Relative Outperformer But Still Weak
- Iron Ore: Temporary Resilience
- Lead: Break Of Support Indicates Further Weakness Ahead
- Nickel: Oversupply Pushing Prices Lower
- Steel: Overcapacity To Keep Prices In Check
- Tin To Outperform
- Zinc: Downward Trend Continues
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Full Table of Contents is available at:
-- www.fastmr.com/catalog/product.aspx?productid=479358&dt=t

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