Speaking in Queensland yesterday, Rio Tinto head Tom Albanese said the backlog crisis hampering the state’s coal ports was one of the five biggest issues across the company’s global operations, the Courier Mail reported.

Albanese said South Africa, Indonesia, China or Mongolia could possibly replace Queensland as Rio’s main coal supplier.

“It is still a competitive world out there and if markets aren't getting the materials they need from one market, because of infrastructure or some other constraint, they will begin to look elsewhere," Albanese said.

Premier Peter Beattie said he was disappointed by the threat and will discuss the situation with Albanese in a meeting today.

“We're the only supplier of coal in the world that's doubled its supply in the last 10 years. We are the best supplier in the world, and Rio Tinto know that," he told ABC Online.

“I don't know that trying to resolve these things in the public arena is any help to anybody but I'm happy to talk to the CEO this morning and we will continue our reform."

In June another big Queensland coal client, Korean steelmaker POSCO, threatened to take its business elsewhere if the coal supply chain didn’t improve.

“Frankly, Queensland is the very worst of our suppliers [throughout the world] right now," Posco executive vice-president YT Kwon said.

Subsequently, an independent review of Central Queensland's Goonyella coal chain was announced to address the major coal ship bottlenecks at Dalrymple Bay and make recommendations to improve efficiency from mine to port.