❓ A WA parliamentary question probes the royalty payments from the Robe River Mesa J iron ore mine, focusing on the royalty rate, justification for it, and allocation of a recent settlement. The government provides some data but cites confidentiality and legal privilege for key details.
AnsweredQoN 4357Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
In reference to the payment of iron ore royalties from the Robe River Mesa J mine site, I ask:
(a) on what date did the mine site covered by this agreement first come into operation;
(b) what tonnage of iron ore has been extracted from this mine;
(c) what royalties have been paid each year to the State Government since this mine became operational;
(d) will the Minister table the advice from the State Solicitors’ Office upon which the Government has relied to justify accepting royalty payments on the lump iron ore produced from this mine; and
(i) if not, why not;
(e) what are the specifics of the
Iron Ore (Robe River) Agreement Act 1964
that have been used by the company to justify the payment of a rate of just 3.75%;
(f) what is the total royalty payment forgone by the State by virtue of the recently announced resolution of this issue which simply accepts as payment in full an amount of just $55 million to cover royalties from the period between 18 December 2007 and 30 June 2010; and
(g) how much of the $55 million in additional royalties will now be allocated for expenditure under the Government’s Royalties for Regions program?
(a) on what date did the mine site covered by this agreement first come into operation;
(b) what tonnage of iron ore has been extracted from this mine;
(c) what royalties have been paid each year to the State Government since this mine became operational;
(d) will the Minister table the advice from the State Solicitors’ Office upon which the Government has relied to justify accepting royalty payments on the lump iron ore produced from this mine; and
(i) if not, why not;
(e) what are the specifics of the
Iron Ore (Robe River) Agreement Act 1964
that have been used by the company to justify the payment of a rate of just 3.75%;
(f) what is the total royalty payment forgone by the State by virtue of the recently announced resolution of this issue which simply accepts as payment in full an amount of just $55 million to cover royalties from the period between 18 December 2007 and 30 June 2010; and
(g) how much of the $55 million in additional royalties will now be allocated for expenditure under the Government’s Royalties for Regions program?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
17 February 2011
Responded by
Minister for State Development
Response time
85 days
Department of State Development advises:
(a) Mining operations at Mesa J commenced in 1994, with sales of the lump iron ore product commencing in 1995.
(b) Cumulative production of Robe River lump ore from the Mesa J mine since its inception is approximately 95 million tonnes.
(c) Royalty information for individual mines and royalty periods is provided to the Royalties Branch of the Department of Mines and Petroleum on a confidential basis and is not able to be released separately.
(d) Advice from the State Solicitor's Office is subject to legal professional privilege. However, after consideration of advice from a number of sources, Government concluded that an option to resolve the matter was to negotiate a compromise with the Robe River Joint Venture participants.
(e) The Robe participants claim that agreement had been reached with the Government in the early years of the project that the Robe River lump iron ore product was to be assessed for royalty purposes as fine ore because of its particular handling characteristics and customers' requirements. Clause 9(2)(j) (ii) of the Iron Ore (Robe River) Agreement Act 1964 sets a rate on fine ore of three and three quarters percent (3.75%) of the free on board revenue.
(f) See (c) and (d) above. The Government negotiated a mutually satisfactory settlement with the Robe participants on this matter.
(g) 25%.
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
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(a) Mining operations at Mesa J commenced in 1994, with sales of the lump iron ore product commencing in 1995.
(b) Cumulative production of Robe River lump ore from the Mesa J mine since its inception is approximately 95 million tonnes.
(c) Royalty information for individual mines and royalty periods is provided to the Royalties Branch of the Department of Mines and Petroleum on a confidential basis and is not able to be released separately.
(d) Advice from the State Solicitor's Office is subject to legal professional privilege. However, after consideration of advice from a number of sources, Government concluded that an option to resolve the matter was to negotiate a compromise with the Robe River Joint Venture participants.
(e) The Robe participants claim that agreement had been reached with the Government in the early years of the project that the Robe River lump iron ore product was to be assessed for royalty purposes as fine ore because of its particular handling characteristics and customers' requirements. Clause 9(2)(j) (ii) of the Iron Ore (Robe River) Agreement Act 1964 sets a rate on fine ore of three and three quarters percent (3.75%) of the free on board revenue.
(f) See (c) and (d) above. The Government negotiated a mutually satisfactory settlement with the Robe participants on this matter.
(g) 25%.
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
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