Queensland Miners lobby to reform tenement auctions

Potential bidders for mining tenements in Queensland are lobbying the recently-elected Newman government to resolve environmental, native title and infrastructure issues before calling for tenders, according to a report by The Australian.

Chinese aluminium giant Chalco is among the strongest voices calling for changes. The miner is considering a renewed bid for the Aurukun bauxite deposits on the Cape York Peninsula despite its most recent experience in Queensland, which saw it spend $100 million last year in a failed attempt to shore up a mine and alumina refinery before the Queensland government stripped it of its leases, the report said.

The miners say that unless the Queensland government puts more effort into resolving potential issues they will not be willing to invest time, money and manpower into bidding for the tenements.

Chalco Australia wrote off $47.2 million in costs related to its efforts to develop the mine and refinery before ultimately losing the leases. In addition, it was hit with $53 million in casts after it decided that building a refinery to process the bauxite in Australia, which it had committed to doing in 2007 to win a previous auction of the tenements, was not viable.

“Whether Chalco will make a bid depends on various suitable conditions,” Chalco's chief Australian representative, Daniel Zhou said, according to The Australian, though he would not elaborate on what would qualify as suitable conditions.

Queensland governments have sought to develop the Aurukun tenements for nearly 40 years