b'Canberra observed Canberra observedDavid Denham AM Associate Editor for Governmentdenham1@iinet.net.au2022 a good year for Australian resource companies2022 was one of the few years when the All Ords Index declined (by 7%) over the yearsee Figure 1. At the same time the resource companies just charged ahead.Table 1 shows the relentless growthFigure 1.The All Ords Index (blue) and the market capital of resource companies (yellow) in the top 150 in their market capital from 2015. BHPcompanies listed on the ASX.was a significant contributor, when it transferred its shares from the UK toparticularly Woodside. The price ofIron ore price has peakedAustralia and moved its petroleumWest Texas crude increased from business to Woodside. As a sign ofabout $US25 in.April 2020 to $US85 in. The Rio Tinto and Fortescue increased their more rationalisation, Santos acquiredNovember 2022. values marginally in 2022, even though Oil Search, and in 2023 Oz Minerals willthe iron ore price slumped from $US214 in almost certainly be taken over by BHP.Coal price increases Table1.Market capital changes for 2022The biggest winners in 2022, wereJan 2022 Dec 2022 Annual change % % change from 2018the two coal companies; Yancoal and Whitehaven. You would not thinkBHP 129.014 231.153 791 131there was any problem with burningFortescue 62.718 63.149 1 494greenhouse gases. The price of thermalRio Tinto 38.469 43.213 12 49coal has increased in the last two yearsYancoal 3.411 8.001 134 30(see Figure 2) from about $US50/t Whitehaven 2.500 8.496 240 88in 2020 to $US425/t in 2022, mostly as a result of the Russian invasion ofPilbara Minerals 9.521 11.242 18 280Ukraine; and there are there are plentyLynas 9.177 7.104 -23 ?of buyers. Woodside 21.264 67.291 216 129Gold price declines Santos 21.371 23.656 11 108Origin 9.228 13.299 44 16After a steady rise in the gold price fromBeach 2.8 3.638 30 162018 (from $US1200/oz to $US1945) there has been a gradual decline, and it isNewcrest 20.023 18.446 -8 14now hovering close to US$1785. An 8 %Evolution Min 7.442 5.468 -27 -20decline, but enough to make a profit withOz Minerals 9.415 9.343 -1 229a good ore source. Northern Star 10.958 12.647 15 114Petroleum price rebounds All Ords 7779 7.222 -7 26Market Capital 371.47 574.59 55 109The top four Australian petroleum resource companies did well in 2022,Iron Ore + other Coal Petroleum Gold Rare Earths37 PREVIEW FEBRUARY 2023'