Rinehart’s Hancock weighs $3.3 billion iron ore mine project
Hancock acquired a 51% interest in the Mt Bevan project from Legacy Iron Ore Ltd. and Hawthorn Resources.
The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) resumed today an ad campaign initially launched in July last year, attacking alleged hikes on the federal government’s mining and carbon taxes.
“Australian mining already pays 500% more taxes and royalties than 10 years ago and will soon have to pay the new mining and carbon taxes as well,” reads the ad. “Now there are calls for even more new taxes,” it says.
In an interview with ABC on Friday, MCA Chief Executive Mitch Hooke said that Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan’s plan would overly hurt investors’ confidence, impacting on the prospective growth of the local mining industry.
“We’re making our position very clear that without a stable tax system, you continue to undermine the industry’s confidence to invest and grow for the long-term,” Hooke told ABC.
While the ad admits the industry needs to “pay fair and equitable royalties and taxes,” it cautions that “there is a point where the rush to increase taxes, royalties and charges risks making Australian mining weaker, less competitive and less able to make the important contribution everyone wants for the long term.”
