Agnico Eagle expands stake in First Nordic to 13%
First Nordic is finalizing its acquisition of the Oijärvi gold project in Finland.
The Daily Mercury reports Rio Tinto executive director Sam Walsh says the mining industry has to live with the new resources tax as the best deal that could be done with the current government.
The final tax rate had been reduced from 40% to an effective 22.5% rate in the minerals resource rent tax (MRRT), he told the meeting organised by the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia. At a breakfast meeting in Perth on Tuesday, Mr Walsh defended his company’s role in closing the tax deal, saying junior miners left out of final negotiations now have a chance to have their concerns heard.
The Daily Mercury quotes Walsh: “Clearly, that remains higher than most other mining regimes in countries around the world. But it’s something that we are going to have to live with, with the current government that’s really as best as we can do.”
On top of the MMRT, Australian miners also have to contend with a proposed carbon tax and MINING.com reported last week amid dire predictions about job losses and the drying up of investment in the sector due to the proposed tax come more bad news for Australia’s coal miners: New South Wales plans to increase the royalties it receives from coal companies to offset some $400 million in extra costs to the state’s coal-fired electricity generators due to the very same federal government carbon levy.
