Mining Rip Off

[Edgar]

Is it just me only that thinks giant mining companies are ripping off minerals from SA and nothing has flowed into our economy and the whole state in general?

Or is it too early to judge and we need to wait for another 10 years or so to see the difference? There has been so much talk about mineral resources in SA and how we are the next mining boom town, but I don't see anything happening, even with the slows due to GFC, but surely it must have some impact by now.

I have a gut feeling we will not prosper much from the mining industries afterall.

[arki]

While I am no expert in this field, I have always felt that the whole "mining boom" has been talked up by the government and media since it began some years ago. I think that we will see some kind of benefits in the long term (perhaps 10 years from now) but nothing close to what was speculated. I think rural areas would be the only ones really benefiting from the "boom" with increase in population even if that is only temporary.

[Wayno]

Is it just me only that thinks giant mining companies are ripping off minerals from SA and nothing has flowed into our economy and the whole state in general?

Please look at mining in SA as a fledgling industry, and then ask this question: Is short-term pain appropriate for long-term gain? and remember that short term = 7+ yrs, and long term = 2+ decades...

The Govt can quite rightly be proud of what they've achieved in the last decade - it's foundational. We've managed to eke out $150m per annum of royalties in an industry where digging a shallow hole (e.g. in WA & QLD) is much easier & cheaper than digging deep holes (which is the case across much of SA due to our overburden, not to mention other geographic complexities).

Are our royalty levels too low? well yes - but no. We must wait until we reach 'critical mass' before increasing the tax grab. I'm not sure what constitutes critical mass, but it's basically having enough operating mines so that other Miners are attracted towards us (by the fact they can operate profitably by sharing/avoiding many of the massive infrastructure costs).

You also need to consider this: It's a core goal of govt to create a balanced & growing economy that can smoothly navigate the global economic ebbs & flows. In 2009 SA received ~$150m worth of mining royalties, which is not HUGE dollars, but it's a BIG reliable cashflow, and is helping SA maintain its AAA rating, and most importantly -> it enables the govt to borrow money at cheaper rates!! Suddenly we can afford to do things like build freeways, stadia, tram lines. This point is often under appreciated.

Lastly, we'll NEVER run out of resources. Imagine a dog digs a hole in the Adelaide Oval outfield (where the hole represents our current mines, and the oval represents our outback). Well that's where we are today. Put 10 dogs out there (representing our future mining prospects - at least in our lifetimes) and the impact is still very small (although Les Burdett may disagree).

[Wayno]

Hey Edgar, did my post above answer your concern? Do you still think we are being ripped off?

I personally believe the Govt does not communicate well enough about what's going on from an SA mining perspective. Maybe that's the issue here?

[ghs]

Mining can obviously have a major impact on the development of a city. Take Perth for example.
Given that this link exists between Mining and development, I was thinking the other day that
we should setup a mining section somewhere on this website.

I think it would be good to track how things are going in the Mining industry in SA and possibly have
a separate thread for each major mine.

We could also have a map with the various mines in SA such as Prominent Hill, Olympic Dam etc.

[Wayno]

I was thinking the other day that we should setup a mining section somewhere on this website.

ghs, did you notice this? http://www.sensational-adelaide.com/for ... f=12&t=287. I give overall mining updates every 6-9months or so.

[monotonehell]

I was thinking the other day that we should setup a mining section somewhere on this website.

ghs, did you notice this? http://www.sensational-adelaide.com/for ... f=12&t=287. I give overall mining updates every 6-9months or so.

It's nice to know that the regulars notice and appreciate your efforts Wayne.

I read everything you post.

[Wayno]

I read everything you post.

Hence the PMs on my grammar (or lack thereof)