Australia, the sixth largest country in the world, stands out for vastness and the abundance of its natural resources. Its territory contains 28 billion metric tons of demonstrated iron ore resources. Australia is the world’s largest coal exporter, the world’s second largest producer of gold and nickel and the third largest supplier of uranium. Copper, silver, bauxite and zinc are also found in great quantities in Australia’s rich geology. This profusion of mineral resources has shaped the history and the economy of the country.

Yet it now seems that Australian mining is reaching a turning point in its history. While the country is benefiting from a mining boom that is tangible in most aspects of the economy, the industry has to fight new struggles in order to remain internationally competitive. As skilled labor has become scarce, the remunerations in the mining sector have soared, leading to a steep increase in project costs. At the same time, the upheaval created by the attempt to introduce a Resource Super Profits Tax (RSPT) showed certain fragility in the relationship between the mining sector and the Australian federal government.