Huge mine, mammoth investment

Billionaire Clive Palmer's Waratah Coal has unveiled a central Queensland thermal coal-mining project, hailing it as the nation's largest. The project, known as "China First", will mine 1.4 billion tonnes of coal in the Galilee Basin, southwest of Mackay in central Queensland.
 

The venture's feasibility study suggests the entire project will cost $AU6.55 billion to set up.
 

Mr. Palmer said the China First project would create around 6,000 direct jobs during construction and 1,500 during operation.
 

The mining magnate estimated the project would add about 45,000 jobs overall to the Australian economy.
 

Work on Australia's biggest thermal coal project is planned to start in the first half of next year when the Queensland Government's approvals process is finalised.
 

An agreement with Chinese industrial company CMC has secured financial backing for the $AU7.5 billion scheme.
 

Mr. Palmer also announced that Waratah Coal had entered into a memorandum of understanding with China's Metallurgical Corporation of China (MCC) to develop the project.
 

"MCC has agreed to be the engineering, procurement and civil (EPC) contractor of the project by providing a fixed price, lump sum construction price for the entire project," he said.
 

They have also agreed to arrange debt funding of up to 60 per cent of the total capital cost.
 

As a result, MCC has guaranteed that it will purchase 30 million tonnes of coal per annum, which equates to $AU70 billion over the 25-year life span of the project. Clearly, projects of this scale, with production stretching far into the future, create opportunities for skilled workers from plant operators, to IT people and specialist engineers among many others. It is also clear that Australia is still experiencing severe skill shortages in many occupations. If your occupation and qualifications are not delivering prosperity and security where you live now, maybe this is a good time to investigate the burgeoning infrastructure and resource projects even now forging ahead in the land down-under.
 

With the Australian government’s reduction in skilled work visas, it’s a good thing to get to the head of the queue. Call us today, or take another look at the services we have so successfully provided for thousands of skilled professionals before you!