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BHP predicts return to resources boom
By Sue Lannin for PM







BHP chief Don Argus says demand for steel from big customers like China and India has Australia well-placed for another resources boom. (Getty Images: Ryan Pierse, file photo)

Audio: BHP Billiton chairman calls for more local investment in resources (PM) The chairman of BHP Billiton, Don Argus, says Australia is on the cusp of another resources boom.

During a rare public appearance at the Melbourne Mining Club, Mr Argus said future growth would be driven by China and India, but he warned that Australia had the right to economic rent for access to its resources.

And there are encouraging signs that his predictions are coming to fruition.

Iron ore production has returned to record levels at the world's biggest miner and China's economy grew by almost 9 per cent in the year to September, according to hastily produced official figures.

Government spending and record bank lending drove the expansion.

Mr Argus says demand for steel from big customers like China and India has Australia well-placed for another resources boom.

"For the first time, resources replaced manufacturing as Australia's largest source of export revenue," he said.

"In the last financial year the mining proportion of total Australian exports was 42 per cent and I was staggered when I saw that.

"I believe we stand at the threshold of an era of unprecedented growth due to demand generated by China and in future India.

"One of the statistics that gives me the confidence is steel consumption per capita, or steel intensity, as we call it."