Flow-through shares are just another form of business welfare for the mining sector, which hardly needs it at the moment. The industry is already stretched to breaking point trying to boost expansion to capitalise on high commodity prices. And the increase in exploration spending has been pretty dramatic – more than 70% in the four years to 2006. I suspect it would be even higher if we could get our hands on drilling rigs to boost offshore exploration.

Australia had a scheme in the past but abandoned it in 1983 because it didn’t deliver. The Canadian system was widely rorted when first introduced and had to be amended. This will at best make only a minor difference to exploration, and I doubt its benefit to the community is worth the cost.

Oh dear! some people just don't get it, do they ? or perhaps they are paid heaps NOT to get it. We are presented with a whole article about the need to find more coal etc and not a word about the dire fate of the planet if we continue to find, mine and burn fossil fuels. As is being said everywhere now, it is doubtful whether our rather pathetic human species will have the intelligence or the will to rise to the challenge now facing us. This article proves it - an ostrich par excellence. Sad, on a day when the IPCC report is making headlines as well as the little story about companies paying scientists and commentators $10,000 each to cast doubt on the climate change predictions.This guy is just promoting business as usual, as no doubt most of the dinosaurs will/did.

Hi there

I am about to purchase 11ha of land in Stanthorpe (2 hours southwest of Brisbane), Queensland, but have just found out last minute that the land has a permit granted for Exploration for minerals. Should I be re-considering?? What ways can my investment be affected? Is compensation usually fair if mining goes ahead some time in the future?

Any help/options/ideas/personal experience asap appreciated!

Thank you :)

To the last poster above me in this thread - just check out the hassles the owners of lands affected by gas lines south of Sydney (I think it was in Wollondilly Shire) had to go through and see if you want to visit this scenario.

Corporate greed will win every time it is economically and financially viable for them to do so (in cahoots with local and state governments of course).

You may legally 'own' the first metre of top soil, but the mines etc own everything below that - up to miles below you.

Sorry to be a downer, but the legal costs alone would probably kill you.

Best of luck there.

Thanks for the above post and feedback. I know big corporation have a lot of power and get their way. I wonder though, if sometimes they just make a good offer and buy the land outright to save a lot of time and hassle and to keep everyone happy?

“The major reasons for Canada's massive increase in exploration expenditure since 2003 is because its tax system encourages investment in exploration.” main discussion,
There was a similar tax concession here through the 1970’s & 80’s, and I did not realize things had changed. Mining companies are popping up everywhere, and yes, they can come up with sufficient interest in the proposed mineing venture, along with the banks backing, your farmland or other business site can be bought at their price, with government approval. It is far to dangerous for you to reside there any longer, so no option to take the money and try to relocate your dreams elsewhere.

The global warming debate is brought to the fore to back up the argument for Nuclear Power Stations.

If Australia's mining industry is serious about ensuring that it has a long-term future, it should forget about John Howard and instead focus on selling or marketing itself to the Australian public. At present, the public perception of the industry is not very positive: digging holes in the ground, destroying the environment, polluting waterways, exporting our raw materials overseas unprocessed and so on. The truth is quite different, of course, but no one is out there telling Australians what is true.

So what should the mining industry do? It should
* sponsor a football, cricket and/or rugby team in each state
* have large family-friendly displays at EVERY agricultural show in every state
* pay to have an Australian-produced TV series like Blue Heelers but featuring the comings and goings of the mining industry and the people who work in it
* get into every school in every state with a travelling display that is both informative, educational and interesting.

There's probably many other things that the industry should do to make itself as popular as our farming industry. However, regardless of the detail, the goal should be to have the Australian public tell Mr Howard and the state and territory leaders that they (the public) support the mining industry and want it to survive for many generations.

Sadly, after a lifetime of working in the industry, I'm aware that its leaders are scared of the public and prefer to keep as low a profile as possible. The result is and will continue to be an industry that doesn't get the government support it needs and a continuation of the last 20 years' trend of mining being denied in the southern half of Australia where most people live and more mining in the north where it's out of sight and hence largely out of mind.