henry: top mining tax rate would be 56.8% , page-18

Paul,

Mining activity was carried out on a wide scale before the current boom. Profits have increased several times over for the majors over the past 7 years, with no change either to the quality of the work they do, or the risk profile of finding the resources. They got lucky off resources that are commonly owned. The governments trying to extract from that what they can for their citizens, the miners are trying to maximise their profits. It's a power struggle. The government would be well advised to make sure they come out on top.

Reaper.