The World’s Most Controversial Mine Is in a Hole
Australia’s Carmichael project hardly seems viable. The motivation to pursue it is difficult to fathom.
Is this really what it’s come to?
Photographer: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images via Bloomberg
It’s not unusual for large new mines to attract opposition and controversy. But rarely has so much energy, political and financial capital been spent on a project with as little prospect of making money as Australia’s Carmichael mine.
As we’ve written, the sums used to justify the pit being developed by an affiliate of billionaire Gautam Adani’s ports-to-power Adani Group don’t really make sense. At reasonable costs for production, transport, finance and infrastructure, its low-grade coal would be far more expensive than comparable product available elsewhere. Adani’s Indian-based power unit already loses money on every kilowatt-hour of electricity it sells and runs well below capacity. Fueling its power stations at the cost needed to make Carmichael stand up would make matters even worse.