BHP Exec to Australia: “time to reconsider net zero” if Australia wants Mining Investment

Essay by Eric Worrall

First published JoNova; A senior executive of Australia’s largest mining company has delivered an ultimatum to our green leaders.

Mining giant’s rising star Brandon Craig warns even green policy stalwarts like Canada are moving to protect their economies

By Brad Thompson, The Australian

BHP rising star Brandon Craig has warned Labor it needs to reconsider how policy settings are calibrated, including around emissions and climate targets, or risk being left behind by governments hungrier for mining investment.

Investment rivals like Chile, Argentina, the United States and Mark Carney’s Canada were acting to attract and secure multi-billion dollar investment from miners, but Australia was failing to meet their terms.

Mr Craig suggested it was time to reconsider net zero and decarbonisation policies to safeguard Australia’s economy. “I would let readers form their own conclusions but I think if we contrast directionally where the rest of the world is going versus where Australia is going across energy policy, tax policy, industrial policy, deregulation, even in some respects net zero positioning and decarbonisation, even stalwarts like Canada – in the face of tariffs and the impact to the economy from US policy – is walking back policies that the country can’t afford anymore,” he said.

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Read more: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-giants-rising-star-brandon-craig-warns-even-green-policy-stalwarts-like-canada-are-moving-to-protect-their-economies/news-story/cf40509945848e7bfd4e926dd0f041b5

Mines need continuous investment to function. As patches of ground are exhausted, mining equipment needs to be moved to new parts of the claim, or to new claims entirely.

But nowadays there is a lot of competition for that mining investment.

Argentina is developing the enormous Vaca Muerta Shale gas field as a national priority, which directly threatens Australia’s gas dominance. The new $15 billion Simandou Iron Ore mine in Guinea threatens Australia’s iron ore exports, and Indonesia has had a 5 year winning streak of rising thermal coal exports to Asia.

Despite a lot of noise about renewables, the reality is coal demand is Asia, already at a record high, is still rising. But that demand might not be satisfied by Australia.

Tactics to dump coal are failing in Asia as energy demand booms

Bloomberg News | December 9, 2025 | 4:38 pm  Energy Asia China Coal 

Coal’s future in Asia is looking brighter, as the top-consuming region’s efforts to shift to cleaner energy suffer a series of setbacks.

Indonesia has canceled a flagship project that was the poster child for shuttering coal plants early. India is considering expanding its fleet until mid-century instead of through 2035. And China’s on track for another year of record mine output, bolstered by demand from the chemicals sector, despite a steady roll-out of renewables.

The through line here is that concerns over energy security and costs are trumping the climate agenda in Asia’s high-growth, high-polluting economies. Power demand is soaring for everything from air conditioning to AI data centers, and governments keen to avoid outages are waving through coal plant approvals.

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Read more: https://www.mining.com/web/tactics-to-dump-coal-are-failing-in-asia-as-energy-demand-booms/

Despite relatively high costs and long distance logistics, Australia until recently won top marks for political stability. That reputation for stability is now in doubt, as threats to limit gas exports, soaring energy prices and looming grid instability spook mining companies like BHP.

Australia desperately needs mining investment.

In some cases like Mount Isa, Aussie governments are so desperate for miners to stay, they’re handing out subsidies. Yet on other issues, like affordable energy and a stable political landscape, Australia is letting miners down.

If green energy delivered the lower energy costs advocates keep promising, none of this would be an issue. But the reality is Australia’s energy transition is an economy wrecking disaster. Even green stalwarts like Canada have realised it is all a big mistake, and are slowly, quietly, walking back the worst of their green energy madness.

Brandon Craig just delivered BHP’s final warning to Australia. But I very much fear Australia’s current leaders are too stupid to listen.