BHP CEO Mike Henry has continued pressuring the debt-heavy Queensland Labor government over its contentious decision to raise mining royalties in the coal-rich state.
Henry reiterated that recent policies from the state (and federal) government would compel the global mining giant to pull investment from the region, despite major opportunities in critical mineral mining.
“Capital is global. It will flow to where the risk/returns ratio is most attractive. Where governments act unpredictably and unreasonably, they increase risk for investment,” he told the World Mining Congress in Brisbane on June 27.
“In Chile, there was a push to raise copper royalties. Notwithstanding a government for the strong left, they engaged industry and sought to understand and work towards an outcome that struck a balance between public needs and what was required to keep industry and the country competitive,” Henry said….