A $40 BILLION liquefied natural gas supply contract has crowned a sustained investment push into Western Australia by South Korean companies determined to shore up their long term supplies of key commodities.
THE Greens have confirmed they will look at widening the range of minerals caught by the Gillard government's tax on iron ore and coal profits should they win the balance of power in the Senate.
The former head of investment bank Merrill Lynch's metals team is spearheading one of the year's biggest resources floats, a $20 million initial public offer by Perth-based Dampier Gold.
Two $100 million decisions highlight the gulf separating WA’s once-buoyant laterite nickel sector and the latest market darlings, the copper hunters of Doolgunna.
OZ Minerals’ $100 million plunge on shares in Western Australian copper explorer Sandfire Resources has refocused attention on what is shaping as Australia’s next great copper province.
MINING giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto have scrapped plans for a single over-arching state agreement with the Western Australian government for their proposed $US116 billion iron ore joint venture in the Pilbara.
WESTERN Power has begun preparations for a $318 million upgrade of transmission lines between Perth and Eneabba considered vital to the Mid West's emerging iron ore and renewable energy sectors.
Tony Sage's Mid-West iron ore play Fe Limited has put more pressure on the embattled board of Padbury Mining, announcing it will bid for the iron ore junior if existing directors Luke Innes, Gary Stokes and Colin Stirling leave the company.
Energy giant Shell has struck its first third party supply deal for liquefied natural gas from its planned $US5 billion Prelude floating LNG project off the Kimberley coast.
A REVIEW of the Western Australian mining sector suggests less than 20 local companies will be liable to pay the 30 per cent tax on coal and iron ore profits by 2014, the point at which the federal government expects its tax take to yield $10.5 billion.
WESTERN Australia will need only eight megawatts of additional electricity generation capacity by mid 2013 to meet forecast demand, according to the Independent Market Operator’s latest statement of opportunities.
MINING giant BHP Billiton has quietly opened a second front in its battle to prevent other miners from accessing its Pilbara iron ore railways, putting it in direct confrontation with the state government.
New Jupiter Mines chairman Brian Gilbertson today said the company was likely to raise up to $100 million later this year to fund its share of the Tshipi manganese mine development in Africa.
While Julia Gillard might be basking in the light of her new tax deal with Australia's biggest miners, the rest of the sector has been left asking what it all means.
Uranium junior Toro Energy has commenced offtake discussions with potential customers for uranium from its Wiluna uranium project planned to start production in 2013.
THE state government has no plans to co-fund a new industry backed charity aimed at providing immediate assistance to the families of miners killed or disabled in resources-related accidents.
Emerging iron ore producers Atlas Iron and Gindalbie Metals are treading different paths to becoming leading independent miners in an industry dominated by multinationals.
THE dampening effect of post-crash market volatility on conventional merger and acquisition activity has left many playmakers looking to backdoor opportunities for corporate action.
Junior oil and gas producer Empire Oil & Gas has formally started marketing gas from its Gingin West gas discovery north of Perth, just two and a half months after announcing the find.
Rio Tinto iron ore boss Sam Walsh said the mining giant was "hopeful" that new prime minister Julia Gillard's offer for comprehensive negotiations over the planned mining tax was genuine.
Julia Gillard's ascension to the prime ministership hopefully represents an opportunity to "start afresh" with the mining industry, according to Atlas Iron managing director David Flanagan.
CHINA has continued to grow its footprint in Australia’s resources sector as uncertainty over the proposed resource super profits tax complicates efforts to finance Australian mining projects.
GRANGE Resources is eyeing a significant increase in the scale and cost of its proposed $2 billion Southdown magnetite project near Albany to offset the negative impact of the Rudd government’s planned resource super profits tax.
THE findings of a two-year Senate investigation into Australia’s long-term energy needs will be deferred to allow a committee to quiz Treasury secretary Ken Henry over the planned resource super profits tax.
Fresh industry research has further undermined the federal government's justification for its proposed resource super profits tax, identifying major flaws in the economic modelling used to support the tax.
The Rudd government’s commitment to the resource super profits tax rests on its faith in tax architect Ken Henry. But holes in even some of the simplest statements by the Treasury chief have cast doubt over the assumptions underpinning the tax.
PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd need only speak to Grange Resources managing director Russell Clark for a first-hand account of how the proposed resource super profits is already affecting the mining industry.
