Australian miners are
slashing jobs in response to critically low raw materials prices, with iron ore
miners and coal producers alike making severe cuts in headcounts to adjust to
the new pricing climate.
Iron ore producers Cliffs
Natural Resources, Atlas Iron Ore and BHP Billiton have all been reported to
have reduced employee complements at their Australian iron ore operations in
the past month.
Cliffs contractor BGC,
which provides mining and civil services to the US iron ore producer, has cut a
proportion of its 950-strong workforce at Cliffs' Koolyanobbing mine in recent
weeks.
"Through productivity
and efficiency improvements at Cliffs' Koolyanobbing mine, our labour
contractor BGC has been instrumental in streamlining and best aligning our
resources for the operation," a Cliffs spokeswoman said.
Cliffs did not confirm the
number of jobs cut at the mine, but said that the reduction in headcount would
not affect targeted sales or production volumes from its Asia Pacific Iron Ore
business segment.
Benchmark prices
Benchmark 62% Fe iron ore
prices have almost halved since the beginning of the year, dropping from more
than $130 per tonne cfr China in January 2014 to less than $78 per tonne on
Monday September 29.
Prices for 58% iron ore
have fallen by 43% from the start of the year, from $118.73 per tonne to Metal
Bulletin's index calculation on September 29 of $67.90 per tonne cfr China.
The Australian press has
reported that Atlas Iron, a mid-tier producer of 58% Fe grade iron ore, also
cut jobs, with around 40-70 permanent roles being affected.
Atlas also uses contractor
BGC, which is reported to have eliminated about 50 jobs from Atlas Iron's
Wodgina iron ore mine.
Neither Atlas nor BGC
responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.
The latest round of job
cuts in Australia's iron ore sector follows a paring down of logistics staff at
BHP Billiton's Port Hedland operations.
The mining major imposed
job cuts at the iron ore terminal in Western Australia earlier this month in an
attempt to slash costs, but did not disclose how many positions would be
affected.
Coking coal cuts
While coking coal prices
have held relatively steady over the past six months - in comparison with the
steady decline in iron ore prices - producers continue to scale back
operations, citing the poor outlook for the steelmaking raw material.
Last week, coking coal
mining major BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) announced 700 jobs cuts
across its coking coal operations in Australia.
BMA, the largest employer
in Queensland, said that the job cuts were part of a continuing review of its
operations. The cuts represent 8% of the miner's Queensland staff.