Sector movers: Miners rise as Australia repeals controversial MRRT tax

2nd Sep 2014 15:01

Mining stocks were on the rise on Tuesday after Australia's government repealed a controversial tax on mining companies.The Australian Senate has voted to remove the Minerals Resource Rent Tax (MRRT), first introduced by the former Labor government in 2012, which taxes 30% of coal and iron ore mining profits. The levy only applied to larger companies, whose annual profits exceeded A$75m.The bill will now move to the House of Representatives but is expected to pass.The Minerals Council of Australia released a statement welcoming the repeal, labelling it a "major step on the road to Australia reclaiming its status as a globally competitive producer and an attractive destination for mining investment".Glencore, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, three of the biggest London-listed stocks with major operations in Australia, were all making gains on Tuesday.Other miners such as Centamin and Vedanta Resources were also on the rise.However, Polymetal fell after deciding to "re-prioritise" its project pipeline. The precious metals miner said that after buying a large gold deposit in Kazakhstan earlier in the year, it will now slow the development work on two projects and terminate the Albazino expansion. Top performing sectors so far todayFood & Drug Retailers 3,133.04 +1.12%Mining 17,467.47 +1.09%Personal Goods 23,313.03 +0.87%Food Producers & Processors 7,794.67 +0.49%Technology Hardware & Equipment 1,179.95 +0.49%Bottom performing sectors so far todayIndustrial Metals & Mining 1,280.81 -2.84%Electricity 9,450.12 -1.77%Industrial Transportation 2,802.32 -1.22%Real Estate Investment & Services 2,660.85 -0.83%Real Estate Investment Trusts 2,869.55 -0.77%BC