Mining wages too high, says Mitsui

Japanese trading giant Mitsui says Australia’s lagging productivity fails to justify its high mining wages, while tipping a modest rebound in heavily depressed iron ore and coal prices by the end of the year, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Mitsui, which has ploughed $14 billion into investments in Australia in the past decade, also forecast the huge iron ore supply glut would likely correct by the end of the decade, possibly as early as 2017.

Mitsui Australia boss Yasushi Takahashi stressed the importance of executing deeper cost cuts at Mitsui’s Australian operations, which include iron ore, coal, and liquefied natural gas.

Brockman confident on securing financing

Brockman Mining chief executive Colin Paterson said he remains confident the company can secure financing for its iron ore projects in the Pilbara as it proceeds with attempts to gain access to Fortescue Metals Group’s railway networks, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Brockman last week won a victory in its fight to get Fortescue to provide rail access after Western Australia’s Supreme Court ruled the mining group had made a “valid proposal”

Santos making headway on Gladstone LNG project

Santos has welcomed the last two of 111 enormous modules for its liquefied natural gas project in Queensland on to the Curtis Island construction site in Gladstone harbour, in line with the schedule to begin production next year, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

The two steel structures, weighing more than 2890 tonnes in total, were built at Batangas in the Philippines and will be assembled with the other modules to make up the GLNG production plant on the island.