The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) is an

industry association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. An industry trade association partici ...

, notable for representing companies that generate most of Australia's mining output. The MCA was founded in 1995, succeeding the Australian Mining Industry Council which was established in 1960. It is unrelated to the former Australian Minerals Council, which was established in 1946 as an intergovernmental forum between state and federal government ministers.

Activities

In an effort to integrate

sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...

concepts into the mining industry members of the Council must release sustainability reports. Annual reports into the mining industry's safety and health performance data are published to encourage continuous improvement. The Minerals Council is an associate member of the

World Coal Association The World Coal Association (WCA) is an international non-profit, non-governmental association based in London, United Kingdom. It was created to represent the global coal industry. The association was formerly called the World Coal Institute (WCI ...

. It has opposed climate movement campaigns seeking to persuade companies, universities and others to divest from coal and other fossil fuels.

Lobbying

The Minerals Council spent $15.78 million on advertising opposing the Minerals Resource Rent Tax and Resources Super Profits Tax in 2010. The group spent close to $23 million in advertising during 2011 and 2012, then $1.67 million in the 2013 election year, and $60,000 in 2014. Three weeks before the 2015 Paris conference on climate change, the group launched a "coal is amazing" campaign. The campaign asserted that

carbon capture and storage Carbon capture and storage (CCS) or carbon capture and sequestration is the process of capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) before it enters the atmosphere, transporting it, and storing it (carbon sequestration) for centuries or millennia. Usually th ...

is "now a reality" despite only one facility operating in the world, and no plans to bring facilities online in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

until the 2020s. In the 2015 budget, the Abbott Government cut $460 million from CCS projects.

Governance

The Minerals Council of Australia is governed by a board of directors. As of November 2021, board membership includes representatives from the following resources companies: Anglo American,

AngloGold Ashanti AngloGold Ashanti Limited is a global gold mining company. It was formed in 2004 by the merger of AngloGold and the Ashanti Goldfields Corporation. It is now a global gold producer with 21 operations on four continents. The company is listed ...

BHP BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...

Glencore Glencore plc is a Swiss multinational commodity trading and mining company with headquarters in Baar, Switzerland. Glencore's oil and gas head office is in London and its registered office is in Saint Helier, Jersey. The current company was c ...

Newcrest Newcrest Mining Limited is an Australian-based corporation which engages in the exploration, development, mining and sale of gold and gold-copper concentrate. It is Australia's leading gold mining company and its operations have expanded beyo ...

Newmont Newmont Corporation is a gold mining company based in Greenwood Village, Colorado, United States. It is the world's largest gold mining corporation. Incorporated in 1921, it owns gold mines in Nevada, Colorado, Ontario, Quebec, Mexico, the Domin ...

Peabody Energy Peabody Energy is a coal mining and energy company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Its primary business consists of the mining, sale, and distribution of coal, which is purchased for use in electricity generation and steelmaking. Peabody ...

Rio Tinto Rio Tinto, meaning "red river", may refer to: Businesses * Rio Tinto (corporation), an Anglo-Australian multinational mining and resources corporation ** Rio Tinto Alcan, based in Canada ** Rio Tinto Borax in America *** Rio Tinto Borax Mine, ...

, Thiess, Whitehaven Coal and

Yancoal Yancoal is an Australian coal mining company operating mines in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. A dual-listed company on the Australian Securities Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, it is majority owned by Yanzhou C ...

Nuclear energy support

In 2017, the Minerals Council of Australia called on the Australian government to reverse legislation banning developing nuclear energy. Following MP appeal in previous March, five reasons were given to support the removal of the nuclear energy ban: reliability, low carbon emissions, proven technology, affordability and safety.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Mining organisations in Australia Organisations based in the Australian Capital Territory 1995 establishments in Australia