Australia has an opportunity to be epicentre of mining – Rio CEO

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Australia has a unique opportunity to buck the global protectionist trend and position itself as the epicentre of the global mining industry, but the country will have to raise its ambition if it is to achieve this goal, head of diversified major Rio Tinto, Jean-Sebastian Jacques, has said.

Outlining three key areas where Australia could make the most of its “obvious advantages”, Jacques said on Friday that there was an opportunity for Australia to gain ground on London and beat Vancouver as the destination for investment.

“The uncertainty of Brexit in the UK and the recent election of Donald Trump in the US, makes now the perfect time for Australia to grab the initiative,” he said at the Melbourne Mining Club, adding that the company should position itself as the financial centre for mining.

“But if Australia wants to do this, it must become more attractive as an investment destination for business, which means stable policy, stable tax settings and incentives for companies to set-up shop and stay.

“The simple truth is that Australia remains one of the most expensive places for us to do business,” Jacques said.

The second area of opportunity for Australia was to position itself in a more obvious way as the global centre of mining technology and operational excellence, Jacques said.

“Australia could, and should, be the global mecca of mining technology in the same way the US is on the Internet, smart phones, software and space exploration. Australia could achieve something similar in mining technology, but we need to start now.”

He called for a unified effort from business, government, investment capital and universities to achieve this goal.

The third area of opportunity was taking the lead in mining industry partnerships to deliver value to shareholders and customers.