This is despite no revenue being realised from the tax in its first quarter.

Peever told the Australian Resources Convention & Trade Show that the agreement reached with the government over the MRRT was part of its strategy of working with the governments of countries in which it operates.

“We struck a deal – it’s a position we would have preferred not to have been in,” he said.

He said the MRRT was still a “super profits tax” but miners weren’t making super profits as prices had fallen dramatically.

“It’s operating the way it was intended,” Peever said.

He went as far as to say that most of the coal industry in New South Wales and Queensland wasn’t making any money.

“Perhaps an inevitable consequence of what can happen when the music stops and all of a sudden you realise that costs have followed prices higher and the margin that you might have once had at a lower or historic price point has evaporated,” he said.

“I’d suggest the rationalisation will continue.”

Peever urged government and industry to work together to restore competitiveness in the resources sector.

It was up to companies to “trim the fat” and for governments to play their part on taxes, regulations and education and training, he said.

“Governments have taken their collective eyes off the productivity ball,” Peever said.

“In policy terms perhaps it’s easier to redistribute the pie than to grow it but if the pie stops growing – heaven forbid starts shrinking – we have a problem.”

He said productivity growth would be the main conduit for higher incomes in the future.

“For us to remain competitive, productivity has to rise faster than wages.”