Coal industry must find its voice, says Whitehaven boss

Whitehaven Coal managing director Paul Flynn is calling on the coal industry to "find its voice" and run a public campaign to counter the increasingly effective attacks from the anti-coal movement, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Coal miners are under siege from the growing fossil fuel divestment movement and environmental interest groups that want to bring it to its knees. But the industry has been slow to make its case, and can no longer rely on soft diplomacy, he said.

Rio Tinto boss says the cost-cut treadmill never stops

Rio Tinto iron ore boss Andrew Harding says he will push staff to keep running on the cost-cutting “treadmill” and retain the mining giant's mantle as the world's lowest-cost exporter, even as gains become smaller and harder to reach, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Rio began its cost-cutting drive well before the iron ore price began its stunning collapse last year, so “the low-hanging fruit is well and truly gone” and it is increasingly difficult to find substantial cuts, he said. Iron ore is languishing near $US60 a tonne.

Newcrest executives depart in PNG push

Two of Newcrest Mining's most senior executives have departed after a management reshuffle aimed at boosting the underperforming Lihir gold mine and pushing ahead with the Golpu exploration project in Papua New Guinea, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Australia's largest gold miner said its minerals general manager Colin Moorhead and international operations boss David Woodall would leave the company in the next few months while a raft of other executives, including Michael Nossal as chief development officer, will take on new roles.

Chief executive Sandeep Biswas said the changes are aimed at driving the Golpu project and creating a single point of accountability for its Lihir mine.