Swiss coal miner Glencore warns NSW against ‘revenue grab’
Glencore, one of the largest coal miners in NSW, is urging the state not to hike coal mining levies in a “revenue grab”, as the Minns government mulls following Queensland’s lead on higher coal royalties.
The NSW government signalled a shake-up of coal royalty payments last week amid a broader consultation with the market on how to dent electricity prices after the coal price cap expires mid-next year.
The Switzerland-based miner and commodity trader, which reported 2022 full-year profits of $US34 billion ($51 billion) driven by soaring coal prices, warned the NSW government against changes to the royalty scheme.
Prices for cargoes of thermal coal at the Port of Newcastle more than tripled last year. Bloomberg
“Drastic changes to the royalty regime for a revenue grab like the Queensland government will put investment and associated jobs at risk across the Hunter region,” a Glencore spokesman warned in a statement.
Glencore is Australia’s largest coal producer, with 17 mines across NSW and Queensland. New Hope, which runs two mines in NSW and Queensland, and Whitehaven, which operates four mines in NSW, also warned last week a change to royalties could damage investment in the state.
Daniel Mookhey, the NSW Treasurer, said last week that the state was “entitled to a fair return for their resources”, and that the government intended to consult miners, electricity generators and key trading partners before possibly introducing changes to the royalty system.
But the Glencore spokesman said NSW was “already benefiting from increased coal royalties” and called for a “genuine two-way consultation process”. The state – which charges a maximum flat rate of 8.2 per cent on every tonne of open-cut mined coal – collected about $3.5
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