Queensland-Based Mining Companies Expect to Shed Nearly 500 Jobs From Their Operations

Queensland-based mining companies including coal producers are expecting to shed nearly 500 jobs from their operations in the Australian state in the next 12 months, and this is on top of a net loss of 3,370 jobs in the mining industry in the past six months, the Queensland Resources Council said in a report Monday. 

The figures were based on a survey of chief executives of mining companies belonging to the QRC, a representative body for miners and resource companies in the state. 

The QRC's members include coal producers such as Anglo American, BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance, New Hope, Rio Tinto Coal Australia and Xstrata. 

CEOs from 26 mining companies participated in the survey on their employment intentions, the QRC said in its State of the Sector report for the December 2012 quarter, released Monday. 

In the six-month period ended December 31, the 26 companies had hired 563 new staff members, but had shed 3,935 workers, leading to a net loss of 3,372 jobs including contractors and full-time employees. 

Asked about their hiring intentions for the next 12 months, the CEOs said their firms would be adding 547 new employees, but at the same time they expected to let go 1,005 staff, leading to a net loss of 458 positions. 

The CEOs singled out the Australian dollar's relatively high exchange rate to the US dollar, increasing numbers of industrial disputes, and higher input costs "with no significant recovery in minerals prices expected in the foreseeable future," as the most pressing challenges facing Queensland's mining industry. 

They also cited difficulty in securing funding for new projects "given global macroeconomic and regulatory uncertainty," which the QRC linked to the introduction of Australia's carbon tax on CO2 emissions, and higher Queensland state royalties on coal production.