Australia's mining sector to remain firm

The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) disclosed that the strong demand for iron ore, metallurgical coal and thermal coal will continue to bolster Australia's booming mining industry. ABARE indicated that the value of iron ore exports is expected to increase by nearly 30 percent to $17.4 billion in 2006-07. Iron ore production is expected to increase 13 percent to 305.2 million metric tons over the same period. In addition, the value of exports of metallurgical coal is expected to grow 5.7 percent to $18.3 billion in 2006-07 on the back of a 14 percent rise in volumes to 143 million metric tons.