The fauna fights back/MICE, PARROTS, TURTLES AND SPIDERS HAVE ALL GIVEN RESOURCE PROJECT DEVELOPERS HEARTACHE, AND LET'S NOT EVEN TALK ABOUT THE FLORA

摘要

In the midst of arguably the biggest boom miners have ever enjoyed they are finding themselves getting increasingly tangled in green tape. While governments are benefiting from the royalties record commodity prices are bringing their way, they seem to be in no rush to unravel any. Indeed, the Western Australian Government has spent nearly 20 million dollars to upgrade Geraldton Port to cater for increasing iron ore exports while its environmental watchdog, the Environmental Protection Authority, has called for restrictions of mining in one of the key iron ore provinces that would be providing those exports. This green tape is also proving a concern from an investment point of view. Some of the recent decisions stalling projects on environmental grounds have industry experts wondering just how silly Australia looks from afar. Monarch Resources executive chairman Michael Kiernan even blamed environmental decisions for the loss of one of Australia's up-and-coming miners to foreign ownership.