The Globe and Mail reports in its Monday edition that billions of dollars worth of future projects and profits are in limbo for some of the world's major miners after no clear winner emerged from the weekend's Australian election. The Globe's Brenda Bouw writes the election was to decide the fate of a controversial new tax on its resource sector. Australia, the world's largest exporter of coal and iron ore, faces several days of uncertainty as the two main parties scramble to win over independents to help form the country's first minority government in 70 years. That leaves big-name miners such as Australian-based BHP Billiton Ltd., Anglo-Australian firm Rio Tinto Group and Canada's Barrick Gold, all with significant operations in the country, waiting to see whether or not they will be forced to pay billions in new taxes. For BHP, the lack of clarity comes as it fights an uphill battle to take over Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan. The indecision around the tax issue is also likely to cast a shadow over BHP's full-year profit and production figures, set to be released on Wednesday, and may temper the company's outlook on commodities, which it described last month as "cautious on the short term."