While Australian coal producers have maintained their product meets China’s new standards, the bottom line appears to be that China’s appetite for imported coal is waning and the hurdles to get cargoes cleared are increasing. IS A NEW MINE NEEDED?īut the most relevant question on the Shenhua project is one that receives little attention in Australia, namely why bother building a mine at all given the low prices for coal, the poor prospect of a recovery and the slowing demand in China?Ĭhinese coal imports have slumped 37.5 percent in the first six months of the year from the same period in 2014, a trend that if continued will see the nation lose its position as the world’s top importer to India.Ĭhina has also courted controversy in Australia by rejecting cargoes, citing quality issues. The ongoing vociferous opposition to virtually every mining project, but especially coal developments in New South Wales and neighbouring Queensland state, may well cause foreign investors to think twice about doing business in Australia, and not just miners. Putting aside the “loony” jibe, and Jackson does come closer to some of the real issues of whether Australia is open for business, as Tony Abbott claims, or whether narrow interests will be able to trump the wider aims of the federal government and the business lobby. So far the Liberal-National government has dismissed calls from the opposition Labor Party that Joyce should resign his portfolio if he doesn’t agree with the mine’s approval, but the fact that Joyce has been so vocal does call into question the unity of the coalition. Joyce hails from the rural-based National Party, the junior partner in the ruling coalition with the Liberal Party of Prime Minister Tony Abbott. He said last week that the approval of the mine, which is within his constituency, was a sign of the “world gone mad,” breaking ranks with Greg Hunt, the federal environment minister who granted the approval with what he termed strict conditions. The main issue is that the proposed mine, known as Watermark, is in prime agricultural land and there is concern that not only will it take up land that could be used for farming, but also that the mine will deplete or degrade the region’s underground water table.īarnaby Joyce, the somewhat colourful federal agriculture minister, probably best known outside Australia for threatening to kill actor Johnny Depp’s pet dogs for illegally entering the country, is a vocal opponent of the mine.

Must a mine hack