PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Research by the Queensland Resources Council (QRC) has shown that despite an A$8-billion increase in resource exports in the December quarter, Queensland’s CEOs continue to have some concerns.

A quarterly sentiment survey has highlighted concerns around government policy uncertainty, with QRC CEO Ian Macfarlane saying the latest results showed that for the fifth quarter in a row, regulatory uncertainty was the chief concern for the resource bosses.

“The most recent data shows that Queensland’s resource industry is alive and kicking, as records tumble with the QRC’s State of the Sector value index soaring a massive 78% in the December 2016 quarter, to the highest level on record,” Macfarlane said.

“In the December 2016 quarter, the value of Queensland’s resource exports grew by an extraordinary A$8-billion dollars, which is enough to build 24 new stadiums for Townsville, or two-and-a-half times the amount needed to pay the Solar Bonus Scheme’s stream of subsidies out to 2028.

“With Queensland’s population just under five-million people, A$8-billion is the equivalent of each of us getting a cheque for A$1 600.”

Macfarlane pointed out that over the past decade, the value of Queensland’s resources has tripled, which is an extraordinary achievement that should see the industry feted as the backbone of the state’s economy.

“The impressive performance was driven by strong price increases for coking coal, thermal coal, lead, zinc and copper.

“Sadly, however, it was not all good news in the report, the CEO sentiment index tells a different story and delivered mixed results.”

Macfarlane said on Monday that the impact of poor or uncertain regulation continues to act as a wet blanket for industry and has been the number one concern for member CEOs for five consecutive quarters.

Macfarlane said, while the macroeconomic outlook and access to capital had improved by 10% and 25% respectively since the March quarter 2016, the global macro economy and social licence to operate remain major concerns for member CEOs.