Reply #14: Nevermind. I was given a meesage that first post did not go thru..

[BrklynLiberal]

Australia wants to impose a 40% windfall tax on the mining companies there. The biggest mining company Rio Tinto responded by saying it just might go elsewhere...."friendlier states" with all its money and power...


http://www.futurespros.com/news/commodities---futures-n...

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SYDNEY, May 24 (Reuters) - Global miner Rio Tinto said it is reviewing all investments in Australia due to a proposed new tax, describing the country as its No.1 sovereign risk concern and sending a weak Australian dollar even lower.

Australia, which accounts for the bulk of Rio's revenue from iron ore, coal and other commodities, had been considered a top safe-haven investment destination for miners hunting the raw materials to fuel Asia's growth.

But plans by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to introduce a 40 percent tax on miners' so-called super profits has sparked high-stakes political battle ahead of a general election later this year.

"This is my number one sovereign risk issue on a global basis," Chief Executive Tom Albanese told reporters on Monday, noting that the tax had set up the prospect of a long period of uncertainty which was corrosive to new investment.

Albanese's remarks were seen as adding pressure on Canberra to scrap or alter the plan as government representatives enter a second week of industry consultations. Separate meetings late last week with Rio and BHP Billiton yielded no modifications.
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"We'd be asking our managers to evaluate it on a worst-case basis," he said, adding that capital would shift in the meantime to other exploration hot-spots such as Canada.
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