NSW report banks on rising coal output and royalties out to 2056

The Baird government's future projection for NSW implies the state will extract more than 10 billion tonnes of coal at the rate of almost 1 million tonnes a day by 2056, forecasts the Greens say are “delusional” in a carbon-constrained world.

The NSW Intergenerational report released this month estimated Australia's richest state would swell in population by 50% to 11.2 million in 40 years, with an annual output of $1.3 trillion by then.

The report also based its financial estimates in part on mineral volumes continuing to grow by 1.2% a year. Thermal coal used in power stations currently accounts for 87% of those volumes.

M&A won't solve BHP Billiton's big growth questions

BHP Billiton investors should not expect the company to boost returns through mergers or acquisitions and the mining giant should make divestments in its petroleum portfolio to further simplify the business, according to the Australian Financial Review.

That was one of the messages from a new report on BHP released by Citi analyst Clarke Wilkins, which asks a big philosophical question about the fate of the company: What is BHP's raison d'etre?

Citi argues that this means “returns to shareholders are now driven by volatile daily prices”

Mining industry backlash over ASIC disclosure rule

Financial institutions, legal firms and key mining industry groups are preparing a riposte to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission's controversial changes to disclosure rules for resources projects, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

The mining industry's peak lobby group, Minerals Council of Australia (MCA), and other members of the world-renowned Australasian Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) are seeking to engage with the corporate watchdog on an information note it released in April, which the industry claims restricts what resources companies can tell the market about the economic potential of their projects.