I wrote this commentary for The Northern Miner after spending a month in Australia in September 2014, including a site visit in the Pilbara with Novo Resources.
The piece looks at how the China-driven resources boom has reshaped Australia’s economy, wage structure, cost base, and mining investment environment. Australia’s natural-resource windfall has lifted the country, but it has also made wages, regulation, costs, and the currency unusually high.
My argument is that capital will eventually force Australia either to become leaner and more competitive, or to adjust through currency devaluation. Either way, mining projects in Australia deserve close attention.