Australia's mining tax bill excludes bauxite: aluminum council

Australia's planned mining tax, passed by the lower house of parliament in the early hours of Wednesday, will not apply to bauxite, although authorities had earlier intended to include the aluminum ore, Australian Aluminium Council spokesman Miles Prosser said Wednesday.

Having passed the lower house, the bill will move to the upper house or Senate, where debate will take place early next year.

The bill extends the petroleum resource rent tax to all onshore and offshore oil and gas projects across the nation and introduces a minerals resource rent tax on iron ore and coal mining from July 1, 2012.

Under the new legislation, Australia's 40% petroleum resource rent tax, which previously applied only to offshore developments, will apply to all projects, including the rapidly developing coalseam gas industry.

The mining tax includes a 30% minerals resource rent tax that will apply to iron ore and coal miners which record annual profit of more than A$75 million ($74 million). As part of the reforms, the company tax rate for all businesses will be cut from the current 30% to 29%.

Australia is the world's largest producer of bauxite, with output reaching 71.5 million mt last year, according to the AAC's 2010 sustainability report. More than 50% of the ore is typically processed locally to alumina, although Australia's bauxite exports are substantial in absolute terms, Prosser said. Australia produced 20.3 million mt of alumina in 2010, the AAC report said.

There are currently five bauxite mines in Australia providing feedstock for seven alumina refineries, which in turn support six Australian aluminum smelters. The bauxite mines are operated by Alcoa, BHP and Rio Tinto.