This year capital and exploration spending at BHP will be $13 billion less than in 2013, leaving the world's largest miner with a single greenfield project.
According to environmental scientist Peter Erskine, Australia will be left with a bill running into tens of billions of dollars unless the government starts taking mine rehabilitation seriously.
Even in a frozen metals price market, it only takes one event to shake off the paper manipulation keeping prices below what supply and demand fundamentals of a free market would dictate.