KPMG Partner Says Oz Mining Boom to Last At Least Another Generation

By Michael Foster, Big4.com Blogger

Once heralded as a rare beacon of economic good news as the subprime mortgage crisis tore through national economies after 2008, auditors are now taking a sterner tone on Australia.

Most recently, KPMG Partner David Ibels has suggested that at least one generation can still profit from the Australian mining boom. He said that the mining industry that has fueled Australia’s consistent economic growth may continue to see robust growth for another “30 to 50 years,” when existing projects in Queensland might begin to fizzle out.

Until then, Ibels said that greater opportunities still existed for the mining sector, noting that the last five years saw more investment in resource development than in the previous two decades. He noted that $175 billion was slated for investment in oil and gas, with more invested in mining operations throughout the region.

“We are in the middle of something really extraordinary here in Queensland that’s going to be felt for generations, not years,” he said, adding that the recent cancellation or closure of major mining projects in Australia was a poor indicator of the health of the industry in general. He noted that Queensland natural resource projects continued to grow at a rate of 7 to 10 per cent.