Commodities | Mar 23 2007
By Greg Peel
Queensland premier Peter Beattie has released a press statement reporting that he will now support the mining of uranium in Queensland. The tipping point was a report commissioned by the premier which shows what just about everyone bar himself and the Queensland coal mining unions knew – uranium mining will not undermine Queensland’s valuable coal industry.
Beattie’s back-flip will not come as a huge surprise, as he has indicated to date that he would be amenable to considering lifting the state’s uranium ban were the federal ALP conference to decide to reverse its longstanding Three Mines policy. It is now accepted that this is what will transpire next month.
The stumbling block, however, was always going to be the local coal industry, but fears have proven ungrounded. This is the green light long sought by Australian and offshore uranium miners with interests in the state. While Queensland’s uranium resources pale in comparison to those of South Australia and the Northern Territory, the state nevertheless boasts globally significant uranium resources which are calculated to be worth in excess of $3 billion at today’s prices.
The most noteworthy of these is the Valhalla/Skal project near Mt Isa, the subject of a heated battle between Summit Resources (SMM) and Paladin Resources (PDN) currently being played out in court. Paladin has made a hostile bid for Summit in order to secure control of 100% of the resource.
Market speculators will no doubt take heart from Beattie’s decision, and look west to a reaction from Alan Carpenter. However, as the Western Australian premier has continued to maintain an “over my dead body” attitude to a lifting of mining bans in his state, there is little likelihood of a change in policy in Perth without a change in government.