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REGIONAL NEWS - AUSTRALIA/OCEANIA Rio Tinto is Australia's Largest Taxpayer Rio Tinto says it paid $11.6 billion in taxes on a global basis in 2012, with more than three-fourths of that amount, or $8.9 billion, going into various Australian government coffers. Shown here is an aerial view of the company's Port Lambert iron ore shipping terminal in Western Australia. (Photo courtesy Rio Tinto) Rio Tinto has published a report detailing the destinations of the $11.6 billion in taxes it paid around the world in 2012. More than three-fourths of these taxes, $8.9 billion, were paid in Australia to all levels of Australian governments, making Rio Tinto the nation's largest taxpayer. Rio Tinto operations in Australia include its massive iron ore operations in Western Australia, where it operates 14 mines, three port facilities and a 1,400-km rail network; coal operations in Queensland and New South Wales; the Ranger uranium mine in the Northern Territory; bauxite, alumina and aluminum operations in Queensland; the Northparkes copper mine in New South Wales; the Argyle diamond mine in Western Australia; and salt production in Western Australia. The largest share of Rio Tinto's Australian taxes, $5.25 billion, went to Australian federal corporate income taxes. Government royalties totaled $1.95 billion, with $1.46 billion of this total going to the government of Western Australia. Other taxes, including employer and employee payroll taxes, accounted for the remainder of Rio Tinto's Australian tax bill. Rio Tinto Australia Managing Director David Peever said, "Rio Tinto is the largest corporate taxpayer in Australia, and the Taxes Paid report highlights the significant financial contribution the company is making at a national and state level across the country." 24 E&MJ; • APRIL 2013 Outside of Australia, Canada ($1 billion), the United States ($376 million), Chile ($331 million), Mongolia ($280 million), the United Kingdom ($150 million), France ($140 million), and South Africa ($130 million) were among the countries where governments received significant tax payments from Rio Tinto during 2012. Rio Tinto CFO Guy Elliott said, "Rio Tinto makes significant contributions to public finances in all the countries where we are doing business. We believe it is important to disclose this tax information because this level of transparency helps us to retain our license to operate, promotes government accountability, and plays a key role in combating corruption…Rio Tinto encourages governments to work together to adopt a global approach that establishes consistent disclosure requirements and promotes sound tax governance, accountability and transparency." Crocodile's Cosmo Reaches Commercial Production Crocodile Gold reported on March 1, that it has reached commercial production at its underground Cosmo mine in Australia's Northern Territory. During the previous six months, the mine maintained a development rate well in excess of its long-term requirements while increasing total ore production rates from less than 1,000 mt/d prior to September 2012 to more than 1,650 mt/d in February 2013. At full production, anticipated for the fourth quarter of 2013, Cosmo is expected to produce between 700,000 and 750,000 mt/y of ore (2,000 to 2,150 mt/d), with associated gold production of 75,000 to 90,000 oz/y. Ore grade to the mill was running at about 3.5 g/mt gold. Gold recoveries have ranged from 91% to 94%. During the three months prior to March, the development rate in the Cosmo mine averaged 535 m/month, more than 100% of the requirements for the next few years. In February, the mine's main surface ventilation system was commissioned and will be available to meet all airflow requirements when the mine reaches full production later in the year. Peter Crooks, Crocodile Gold's general manager-Northern Territory operations, said, "Although some work remains to be done on major infrastructure such as expanding the underground electrical reticulation system, the ventilation airways network, and the expansion of the underground pumping system, the key components are in place to bring the Cosmo mine to a steady state operation. A significant amount of effort has been made to better understand all of the deposit's geology, and this will greatly assist in maintaining steady production. Four underground diamond drill rigs have been operating since last November in order to expand the resource and reserve base and allow the company to better plan its future operations." Crocodile Gold is a Canadian company with three operating mines in the Northern Territory and the state of Victoria in Australia. In both the Northern Territory and Victoria, the company has exploration programs in place designed to expand the resource base of each mine property. The company has a combined land package of more than 4,000 km2. Ivanhoe Starts Stope Production at Starra 276 Ivanhoe Australia began stope blasting and production at its Starra 276 underground mine south of Cloncurry in northwest Queensland in March 2013. Starra 276 is the third underground mine that www.e-mj.com