What is behind Australian miners’ drive for new investments?
Mining equipment supplier Komatsu says Australian producers are looking to buy new fleets
Sydney/Melbourne — Mining companies in Australia, the world’s biggest exporter of iron ore and coal, are poised to approve new investments in projects, driven by rallying commodity prices and the need to replace depleting deposits, according to global equipment company Komatsu. "They’re looking at new fleets of equipment," said Sean Taylor, Komatsu’s Australian CEO. The miners have to reinvest in output "because otherwise they can’t maintain production at the levels that they’re at," he said. Australia’s commodity exports are set to hold above A$200bn ($156.74bn) over the next two financial years and there is a pipeline of about A$25bn of projects approved for construction, according to government estimates. The Bloomberg Commodity index has advanced more than 12% since slumping to a quarter-century low in January 2016. "The level of the commodity prices is pretty good now for the miners to consider reinvestment," Taylor said in an interview on June 29. Conversation about greenfield...
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