Australian state offers mines

The West Australian state government has recently discovered new reserves of copper, aluminium, nickel, gold, oil and gasses and the provincial government is keen on allotting mining blocks to Indian companies.

The state has already received $42.9 billion of investment from little over half a dozen companies.

The Australian state government has launched a fresh initiative in inviting Indian companies to exploit mining blocks in Australia.

"We offer all possibilities, of either taking a stake in an existing company which can then take up mining of new blocks, or setting up of new companies which would take up mining. The other possibility is to set up a new company as a joint venture with an existing one," explained Paresh V Shah, senior trade advisor, West Australian Trade Office in India.

"At present there are at least a dozen companies looking at opportunities in Australia of which four have reached an advanced stages. The government in turn is committed to provide infrastructure and linkages as and when it would be required," he added.

The government has in fact taken up fresh initiative in wooing Indians to Australia.

It has lined up a campaign that includes dissemination of information to business houses through chambers of commerce and associations of mining industries.

"The best economic proposition would be to mine the ores in Australia add value to them and then export them back to India or other countries," he added.

"India and Australia has similar type of reserves in terms of variety of minerals, and there are geographical similarities as well. Hence Indian miners would not find it very difficult in terms of technology to set up mines there. Australia also has the best in terms of technology for use in mining," Shah added.