Rio Tinto ready to build Simandou after almost 30 years of setbacks
Simandou has faced delays due to legal disputes, political changes, and the challenges of building out 600 km rail and port infrastructure.
Australia’s local governments have been warned the current mining boom is not big enough to carry the national economy. The Australian Local Government Association says its latest State of the Regions report indicates there is a risk that business confidence might evaporate in regions that depend on non-mining industries. The report, launched at the association’s general assembly in Canberra on Sunday, acknowledges that mining makes up only about 20 per cent of the economy.
In Queensland, times were prosperous in the Bowen Basin and in towns and cities that supported the construction boom, Dr Brain [co-author of the report] said. “By contrast, far north Queensland is doing it tough because recession overseas and the high Australian dollar have hit the tourist trade.”
