NSW mining warns of repeat of ‘midnight ambush’

The New South Wales mining industry is appealing to Premier Barry O’Farrell to avoid imposing any additional taxes and charges on an industry already under extreme pressure due to flagging commodity prices and high costs, according to the Australian Financial Review.

In its submission to the 2014-15 NSW State Budget, to be lodged on Wednesday, the NSW Minerals Council is warning that any measures that promulgate the downturn in capital investment in the sector will damage the state’s economy and put thousands of jobs at risk.

Speaking in advance of the submission, Minerals Council CEO Stephen Galilee said the industry had been unexpectedly slugged with $80 million of new taxes, fees and charges two years ago in what he described as a “midnight ambush”

Banks overlook delays to boost Rio Tinto expansion in Gobi

Banks supporting Rio Tinto's $US6 billion expansion of the Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia look set to forgive ongoing delays to the project, with at least two major banks agreeing to extend their funding commitments, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Australia's export Export Finance and Insurance Corporation and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development have both agreed to extend their funding commitments towards the end of the year, with Rio now hoping to resolve issues with the Mongolian government before September 30.

Iron ore price at risk of slump amid China financing crackdown

A crackdown in China on financing backed by commodities risks unleashing a flood of iron ore sales from tens of millions of tonnes of the raw material sitting at Chinese ports, raising the prospect of a renewed price slump, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Investors who have raised funds against mostly unhedged iron ore could be at risk in the event of a price fall due to sluggish steel demand, leading to forced sales as banks wind back loans against the raw material, analysts and traders warned.

Beijing's moves to tighten access to credit have led to buyers defaulting on about $US300 million of soybean imports in recent weeks, while fears of an unravelling of copper financing deals helped push the metal to a three-and-a-half year low in March.

Iron ore prices have recovered after slumping 8% in a single day to a 17-month trough last month as steel prices plunged, but a fragile outlook for steel consumption in China and towering port stocks mean the steelmaking raw material remains vulnerable to another rout.