NuCoal could pay to keep licence, ICAC hears

The head of a New South Wales corruption investigation says NuCoal – whose shareholders include former union official John Maitland – may be allowed to keep the Doyles Creek coal exploration licence if it makes a payment to the state government, according to the Australian Financial Review.

NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption head David Ipp QC raised the possibility on Monday that NuCoal could keep the licence if findings of corruption were made against Macdonald, along with Maitland and his business associates.

“I’m not saying that corrupt conduct will be found,” Ipp said.

He said the two obvious courses of action if he made findings of corrupt conduct were to recommend that NuCoal should not be allowed to keep the exploration licence or receive a subsequent lease to mine coal; or that any licence or lease should be permitted to stand.

But a third possibility was allowing the licence to stand while “imposing a condition relating to a sum of money to be paid by NuCoal to the government”

The Wik people to move from royalties to mine ownership

The Wik people of Cape York are seeking to own their share of the resources boom rather than just receiving royalty payments by forming a joint venture that could become a model for indigenous people to capitalise on the minerals on their native title lands, according to The Australian.

Today the Newman government will announce that a JV between the traditional owners and aluminium smelter entrepreneur John Benson's Aust-Pac Capital has been shortlisted to develop the massive Aurukun bauxite lode, which could be worth up to $20 billion, along with four other multinational companies.

Soft landing tipped despite end of mining boom

Deloitte Access Economics predicts Australia is likely to make a soft landing as the mining investment boom ends, with a long period of low interest rates prompting consumer spending and home building to fill the gap, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Deloitte, which works closely with the mining industry, predicts mining investment will keep rising longer than the Reserve Bank forecasts.

It says the boom is unlikely to peak before Christmas and mining investment will slow next year rather than fall off a cliff.