Discount for miners to unlock Qld fortune

Green groups say miners shouldn't get discounts for chasing coal in Queensland's Galilee Basin. Source: AAP

WITH an estimated 30 billion tonnes of coal in the ground, there's a fortune to be made in Queensland's Galilee Basin, but green groups say trailblazing miners should not get discounts just for chasing it.

They say it's crazy to offer royalty reductions to rich miners like Clive Palmer and Gina Rinehart, but Queensland's peak mining body says there should be more of it.

The Queensland government is considering cutting initial royalties for miners that open up the basin in the state's central west.

Premier Campbell Newman says the state cannot afford to let the potential of the Galilee to remain untapped.

"My government is unashamedly all about growing the business of Queensland and we will do all we can to facilitate the projects proposed for the Galilee Basin," Mr Newman said.

Queensland Resources Council chief executive Michael Roche says "royalty holidays" are needed and should be extended to all miners, not just trailblazers, and beyond the Galilee Basin.

But he says incentives are particularly important to stimulate mining activity in the Galilee where poor infrastructure means projects can cost $10 billion.

"There is more and more coal being found in the Galilee Basin every week so there is probably over 30 billion tonnes of coal in the ground," he told reporters.

However green groups say the coal should stay there.

Greenpeace spokeswoman Louise Matthiesson says the plan to consider royalty cuts suggests that new mega mines in the basin aren't independently viable.

"We are really concerned that ordinary mum and dad taxpayers are going to be giving a handout to the likes of Gina Rinehart and Clive Palmer," she said in Brisbane.

Green Senator Larissa Waters agreed, saying discounts would make them even richer at the expense of the Great Barrier Reef, groundwater and climate.

Just days ago, federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt approved GVK's Kevin's Corner project in the Galilee Basin.

The Alpha Coal project - a joint venture between GVK and Gina Rinehart's Hancock coal - was approved in August last year.

Mr Palmer's Waratah Coal and Indian energy company Adani also have projects in the pipeline.

Proposed projects have a total forecast investment of $28.4 billion and will create more than 15,000 jobs during construction plus 13,000 operational jobs.

Mr Roche says approval to dredge seabed to expand Abbot Point will help unlock this potential, as it's the obvious port for Galilee mines to use. A decision is expected by December 13.

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FTSE down for fourth day on weaker miners, Tesco

* FTSE 100 index falls 0.7 percent

* Miners, oils down on growth concerns

* Tesco slips on plan of huge write-off

* Tullow, Wessex drop on exploration update

By Atul Prakash

LONDON, April 17 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index extended losses for a fourth straight session on Wednesday, with economic worries weakening commodity stocks while Tesco dropped after confirming it would take a large write-off.

Charts pointed to further declines for the blue chip FTSE 100 index, which fell 43.10 points, or 0.7 percent, to 6,260.18 by 1133 GMT, its lowest in nearly two weeks.

"The risk is skewed to the downside. With commodity prices pushing lower, we are looking for a downturn through April and May," Lynnden Branigan, analyst at Barclays Capital, said.

"There is a fair chance for the index to head towards the 6,000 area, around which you might see a stopping point for most of the people."

Major energy and mining stocks took almost 30 points off, while other decliners were offset by gains in some defensive stocks such as tobacco, beverages and personal goods, up 0.5 to 3.4 percent.

The FTSE mining index fell 2.2 percent and the FTSE oil and gas index dropped 1.4 percent, with investors dumping the sectors in the past days after recent poor economic data from China and the United States sparked concerns about demand for commodities.

"People are using commodities as a big stick to beat the market, which just wants to come back to the lower levels of its trading range," Bob Butler, head of trading at Westhouse Securities, said.

Mining and energy shares mirrored softer commodity prices, with copper falling 1.8 percent, oils dropping 0.9 percent and zinc down 0.8 percent.

Tesco, down 3.3 percent, also put pressure on the market, with Britain's top retailer taking the most points off the FTSE 100 index after writing down the value of its global operations by $3.5 billion and announcing plans to exit the United States.

EXPLORERS DOWN

An exploration update hurt Tullow Oil, down 9.8 percent, Northern Petroleum, down 13 percent, and Wessex Exploration, down 24 percent.

Traders cited an update from the joint venture saying they extended the exploration of the offshore French Guiana well, potentially causing a delay in the programme.

Tullow's trading volumes were 143 percent of its 90-day daily average, the tenth most traded stock in Europe.

On the positive side, luxury brand Burberry rose 3.4 percent after posting better-than-expected revenue, thanks to strong demand for its more expensive products in China.

"Burberry has again pleased, making earlier challenges look temporary in nature. As such, the share price has responded well, with the current consensus opinion of a strong hold potentially coming under upward pressure," Keith Bowman, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers, said.

"Nonetheless, with the company's Asian bias increasing and the debate over Chinese economic growth still ongoing, room for caution appears to persist." (Editing by Ruth Pitchford)

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