Cutifani sees tough times ahead

Anglo American chief executive Mark Cutifani told a forum in Canberra the outlook was grim as mining companies adapted to lower prices and weakening demand, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

“It does look pretty grim, certainly for the thermal coal industry,”' Cutifani said.

Prices for thermal coal, used for power generation, have fallen more than 30% in the past two years to about $US80 a tonne, while prices for coking coal, used for steel making, have dropped about 40% in the past year to about $US130 a tonne.

Miners hope for flow-through exploration scheme

Australia’s resources sector is increasingly confident that an election win by the Coalition could herald the introduction of long-awaited tax concessions aimed at boosting exploration activity, according to The Australian.

The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies, which represents resources companies at the smaller end of the market, has been advocating for the introduction of an amended version of the flow-through shares scheme that has been credited with driving a rise in exploration and discoveries in Canada.

Linc’s Bond says he’s a seller, not a buyer, of coal

Linc Energy chief executive Peter Bond says the company is a seller of coal assets rather than a buyer, so any talks with other companies have to be seen with that in mind.

Responding to media reports that Linc was among those in talks to buy the Gregory Crinum coking coal mine in Queensland put up for sale by BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance, Bond said Linc “looks at 50 deals a year” and “is not doing anything”

In a statement late on Tuesday, Linc said that to facilitate the divestment of its coal division it was evaluating several options, “including the possibility of working with joint venture partners who have synergies with Linc Energy’s existing coal portfolio”