Aluminum Corp. of China (Chalco) announced on July 1, 2010, it had agreed with the Queensland state government to terminate a development agreement dating from March 2007 for development of the Aurukun bauxite deposits on the Cape York peninsula and an alumina refinery near Bowen, Queensland. The agreement was allowed to terminate automatically after its June 30, 2010, expiration date. Chalco cited adverse changes in the aluminum industry since the signing of the agreement, including lower aluminum prices, rising project development and labor costs, and other unfavorable factors, as reasons for the termination. Costs to develop the project have been estimated at A $3 billion.

The Australian government’s proposed new tax on Australian mines and mining companies announced in early May 2010 drew continuous and heavy fire from all sectors of the nation’s mining industry and leading opposition political leaders during the two weeks following the announcement. Government spokespeople called the industry response a “scare campaign” but did not offer coherent responses to the specifics of industry criticism.

Xstrata Zinc announced on March 30 plans for an A$133-million project to deepen the Black Star open cut mine at its Mt. Isa operations in Queensland, Australia. The project would extend mining at Black Star to 400 m below ground surface, 100 m below the current design; add about 14 million mt of ore to the mine’s production profile at a production rate of up to 4.6 million mt/y; and extend mine life to 2016. A feasibility study of the project included detailed geotechnical analysis and studies into air quality, noise, vibration, and surface and ground water.

OM Holdings Ltd. has updated the reserve and resource estimates for its Bootu Creek manganese mine in Australia’s Northern Territory. According to the company, the updated resource estiate is based on a more conservative cutoff grade of 15% Mn compared with the 18% Mn cutoff used previously.

St. Barbara Ltd. is developing its King of the Hills gold project as a satellite operation to its Gwalia mine near Leonora, Western Australia. The ore will be hauled 42 km to the Gwalia processing plant on existing roads.