hopefully something nice out of the bleak day, page-7

Tax breaks, stream line, less red tape....

**Liberals win the WA Election – what this means for the miners.... Liberal leader Colin Barnett was yesterday announced as Premier after the Liberals secured the support of the Nationals. Main implication of the appointment of the newly installed government is the pro-uranium mining legislation to be brought in – it is estimated that uranium mining in WA would increase the gross state product by A$3.2 b in net present value terms to 2030 and provide an extra A$200 million in royalties over the same period. The Nationals have won backing for a scheme that will see 25% of the state's mining royalties spent on regional infrastructure and services. Also, Barnett has indicated there would be issues to discuss with the majors if the BHP/RIO merger was successful – including the concessional royalty rates. The sector would be watching keenly to see if the new government would follow up on promises to streamline the approvals process, appoint a dedicated resources minister and introduce a scheme to attract mineral exploration to WA and provide tax breaks for exploration. Uranium companies could accelerate the development of projects because drill rigs were no longer in desperately short supply as they had been until recently, also, labour had been freed up with the recent closure of some of the state’s gold and zinc mines.