Category Archives: Resources

Deciphering the truth about our electricity system

This month has seen a variety of headlines about increasing electricity prices and our electricity system. Remembering this article from a year ago –

Watchdog warns about cost of green power
BEN HARVEY and DANIEL MERCER, The West Australian – August 12, 2011

Then this month –

Poorer suburbs switch off heating to save money – The Sunday Times – August 04, 2012
Gillard blames states for power price hike -7 Aug 2012
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I wonder what readers think about where the truth is.

For my money – if people are discussing the issue of increasing electricity bills and not accounting for the influence of years and years of increasing the percentage of expensive wind and solar power – then they are probably not getting facts right.

I wonder how much of this “poles and wires” expenditure is to accomodate wind and solar. Remembering that our grids were built to deliver cheap, reliable, steady, coal fired electricity outwards from generators.

Outbreak of common sense in New Zealand as “Slow economy puts ETS plans on hold”

Fancy the Kiwis announcing this exactly as Australia takes a huge step in the opposite direction. Our Prime Minister Julia Gillard will be sending her Kiwi counterpart a thank you John message – I am sure.
[The Government has indefinitely postponed key stages of the emissions trading scheme, saying the economic environment means consumers and businesses simply can’t afford it.
The announcement comes as Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s political future hangs in the balance due to the introduction of a carbon tax there this week.
But Prime Minister John Key said his Government’s decision had not been influenced by the political fallout in Australia. Rather, it was acting on concerns the economy would suffer if New Zealand did more than other countries to reduce carbon emissions.
“We’re not prepared to sacrifice jobs in a weak international environment when other countries are moving very slowly,” he said.]

Some news on coalition plans to wind back the Carbon Tax when they get into Government

A report in The Australian headlined – Libs to take axe to climate agencies.
Everybody employed by these shonky agencies is warned now – get a real job if you can before GreenLabor are voted out.
Greg Hunt says – “Mr Hunt said many of the programs were contradictory, citing the plans to pay for high-emission brown-coal generators to close while another part of the scheme involves an energy security fund that would pay coal-fired power stations to keep operating.”
Reminds me of a few years back when our Treasurer The Hon Wayne Swan was still stimulating the economy with programs like “pink batts” and “school halls” – at the exact same time the RBA was increasing rates to dampen down an over-stimulated economy.
Mad.

ASX keeps on weakening compared to the DOW

Back in February I posted “Australian national wealth eaten away by unpopularity of our GreenLabor Government” – and doing an update today I see the difference between the DOW and ASX has continued to widen.

ASX investors must have a horselaugh to hear our Government ministers and the Prime Minister bragging to the world about how great our economy is.
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Many ASX investors are simply voting with their wallets.

Australian Government gets told about carbon tax “compensation”

Hon T. Burke MP, ROSELANDS, NSW 2196 (copy of letter emailed to me)

Mr Burke,

During last week, as a part age pensioner, I received a ‘Household Assistance Payment’ (also known as ‘carbon tax compensation’) of two hundred and fifty dollars.

I am totally opposed to imposition of the carbon tax, believing that the climate alarmism by which the tax is justified is based entirely on bogus science and fraudulent computer modelling.

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(a) One hundred dollars donation to The Institute of Public Affairs which is actively engaged in exposing the deceit underpinning the anthropogenic climate change hypothesis.

(b) One hundred and fifty dollars donation to the Australian Liberal Party, whose leader, Mr. Abbott, has promised to repeal the carbon tax should the Coalition win the next Federal election.

Should I receive similar ‘compensation’ payments in the future, I will likewise donate such monies to parties opposed to climate lies and the carbon tax.

Fallacies in the reasons given for the extra tax on mining in Australia

It is said by Treasury and our GreenLabor Govt in their justification for extra taxes on the mining sector that minerals are non-renewable – and to be sure once you dig out a ton of mineral – nothing grows in its place.

But this GreenLabor view is very simplistic and misleading way to see mineral resources – like a buried treasure chest of coins with the mining company in possession of some secret code which leads them to the chest where they proceed to wreak great profits by selling the property of the people.

In reality metal orebodies tend to be zones with higher grade sections surrounded by haloes of successively lower grade ore.

If the lower grade orebodies are not adjacent they might be further distant along a known mineral belt. So the history of mining shows that in practical terms we are never going to mine minerals out. While a defined orebody will be depleted by mining – history tells us that mineral exploration on average will more than replace this from somewhere – albeit at a slightly lower grade.

The simplistic and harmful Govt view also completely overlooks the facts of huge advances in mining technologies – using copper as an example history tells us that globally we have more copper reserves than we did in 1900. – And of course mined ore grades have declined over a century but technology has enabled us to produce copper at a lower real price.

All rather contrary to the Govt & Club of Rome dogmas that resources will run out at some specified year.

This publication has some excellent graphics – of which I have picked three linked below.

Schodde RC, “The key drivers behind resource growth: an analysis of the copper industry over the last 100 years”, Presentation to the Mineral Economics & Management Society (MEMS) session at the 2010 SME Annual Conference, Phoenix, Arizona March 2010.

p10 of 26 – Copper endowment has grown 25 fold in 100 years
p 14 of 26 – Copper grade mined has fallen for 100 years
p 21 of 26 – Over the last 100 years, the real price and cost of copper has halved

So to sum up – I am saying that there is no rational case for higher taxes on mining compared to any other industry.

Extra taxes on mining will only tend to drive investment offshore.

There is no free lunch – the Govt might grab extra taxes to redistribute to its constituencies – but unless all countries enact identical extra taxes – overall Australia will end up weaker with a proportionally smaller mining industry.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard blusters at the mining industry

I have just read “Boom is not yours, PM tells miners” – as if the industry is not aware that State Govts own the mineral rights and issue leases/licences under various terms to competent companies/organizations to explore for said minerals.

Then if payable minerals are discovered – mining leases are negotiated to develop same and royalty payments are made back to the State. That is the basic system the great majority of nations use to develop their mineral resources.

There are examples of where Governments form State owned mining companies – the old USSR of course comes to mind – China – and I think in Chile Codelco is State owned – PNG owns OK Tedi Mining – and South Africa has recently launched a state-owned mining company – Namibia has made moves in that direction too.

I am sure readers might suggest other examples. I have no issue with States who invest in minerals alongside the private sector.

I would say to the PM and her Govt – why not form Aussie GreenLabor Mining Ltd if you think there is so much easy money to be made – pay off some of the huge debts you are building up on the Aussie Bankcard.

Another quicker way to get mining would be to buy some beaten down mineral exploration companies on the ASX – some are selling for only the value of their cash – then you get a structure, staff, ongoing projects basically for nix.

See how easy it is to find another Broken Hill, Mount Isa, Kalgoorlie, Cadia, Hammersley Iron or the next great coal-field.

Remember your own Labor history from the Whitlam years – recall the example of Rex Connor who trod a nationalist path with mineral resources – learn from the disaster that overtook him.

Olympic Dam mine expansion end of year deadline could be doubtful

In not even two weeks the sentiment in the South Australian Government has changed from

BHP likely to meet Olympic Dam deadline: Weatherill – 18 May 12

to

SA warns BHP over Olympic Dam approval – 29 May 12

I note the SA Mines minister speaking tough about not bluffing – but I wonder if a more cooperative and quiet relationship between Govt and BHP is needed at this time of global financial uncertainty and turmoil.

The Olympic Dam mine expansion could make South Australia into a minerals superstate. Deadlines set with the best of intentions in 2011 should not get in the way of BHP and SA getting this thing up when the time is right.

Does the SA Labor Govt have to emulate Canberra Labor ?

China accuses Australia as Bonn climate talks founder

News out of the Bonn climate talks sounds familiar –
Beijing lashes Canberra as carbon talks stall
then from the Guardian –
Bonn climate talks end in discord and disappointment
and USAToday asks –
Is China poor? Key question at climate talks
Amidst all the posturing rhetoric it might be useful to see some facts charted.
First the magnitude of Chinese carbon dioxide emissions compared to Australia
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Australia could decarbonize back to the stoneage and the effect on Global emissions would not be measurable.
A chart of Chinese emissions compared to major global groupings.

A chart of Australian export income from coal –

larger version from source.