Hunger for steel set to fire new coal boom

Q U E E N S L A N D ’ S B o w e n Basin could be on the cusp of another mining boom, with demand for coal used in steel making forecast to soar over the next decade.

Despite calls for the world to wean itself off coal to battle global warming, new modelling suggests hunger for steel could see the equivalent of a new mine added to Queensland every year until 2030.

Global appetite for steel driven by China and India is expected to drive metallurgical coal consumption by about 100 million tonnes over 13 years.

The boost from 275Mt in 2017 to 372Mt in 2030 represents more than 50 per cent of Australia’s exports, which are the largest in the world, according to new industry forecasts commissioned by the Minerals Council of Australia.

Predicting a surge in jobs and investment for the state, a report by Commodity Insights found Queensland’s Bowen Basin could add “the equivalent of a large export mine ... to the market every year to 2030” if it capitalised on the demand.

But the report warned multiple levels of government approvals were hampering development and posed a challenge to the sector.

Minerals Council chief Tania Constable said the estimates in the report were conservative and suggested there was vast opportunity for Queensland’s coal industry.

“Australian coal from Queensland’s Bowen Basin is the best steelmaking coal in the world,” she said.

“We are ideally placed, in terms of high coal quality, proximity to key markets in Asia, reliable supply and infrastructure availability, to share in coal demand growth.”