One of the more enduring mysteries of the mining bust has been the persistence of the Galilee Basin coal projects, and especially that of the Adani group and its gigantic Carmichael mine.
The push for the mine has gone ahead despite stiff local resistance and very successful campaigns to turn it back owing to potential risks to the barrier reef, including convincing Deutsche Bank not to fund the port, not to mention the large consequences for greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, it is far inland and the rail and port infrastructure needed to make the project work is so expensive that it has been passed over many times by major miners. Adani has, however, recently announced a deal with Korean industrial giant POSCO to fund and build the railway.
But there are even more problems associated with the project in India. India is short of thermal coal despite huge reserves for all of usual reason that it’s short of everything: bureaucracy. Even so, Indian produced coal is still very cheap at around $50 per tonne. Much cheaper than Australia can sell it for at $70. And Galilee coal is thought to be more like $100 per tonne break even. So why would Indians want to buy much more expensive coal?
