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AUSTRALIA’S MINING BOOM is “over”, the country’s mining minister said on Thursday, after the mining company BHP Billiton announced it was delaying a major project as China slowed and commodity prices fell.
“You’ve got to understand, the resources boom is over. We’ve done well – Aus$270 billion (US$283.6 billion) in investment – the envy of the world,” he said.
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But “It has got tougher in the last six to 12 months. The commodity price boom is over and anyone with half a brain knows that.”
BHP, the world’s largest mining company, announced a 35 per cent drop in second half profits as it said it will be forced to shelve its $US30 billion Olympic mine expansion. The project would have created the world’s largest uranium mine. It comes on the back of several announcements from other companies such as Shell Oil, who are pulling investment from Australia.
“The cause is increased labour, energy and transport costs, and a high exchange rate,” he said. “While our capital project costs were previously globally competitive, they are now much higher than global averages. Even in iron ore, we have lost our operating cost advantage for all but established Pilbara projects.”
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Re: The usage of “cause” here.
When the word “because” is abbreviated it is normally spelt as ‘cos.
(This is ‘cos the words because and cause have completely different meanings)
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