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Call for minerals reform

THE Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) has warned that Australia risks not realising the benefits of global minerals market growth, if capacity constraints impeding the further expansion of the minerals industry are not addressed.

“There is a growing realisation that we have not taken full advantage of the resource boom,” MCA chairman and Xstrata Coal chief executive officer Peter Coates said.

“Government and industry need to do a lot better if Australia is to fully realise the opportunities of the strongest global market growth in a generation”, he said.

Coates was delivering the keynote address at the Minerals Week seminar entitled Positioning Australia in a Supercycle of Change during the MCA’s Minerals Week 07.

“Our performance to date has been impacted by east coast port and rail capacity, the availability of skilled labour and also by the legislative and regulatory barriers to development which are increasing daily,” Coates said.

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