Matt Mckenzie

The growth of solar power over the next decade could cut the price of energy in WA, according to a man involved in one of the latest projects to take a step forward.

A Botswana copper mine is one step closer for Mod Resources after the company completed a $5.5 million institutional raising to accelerate the possible T3 development.

Osborne Park-based contractor Decmil has won a $40 million contract from Rio Tinto for work on the Silvergrass greenfields iron ore mine.

A $69 million gas storage facility will be built near Onslow by Duet Group subsidiary DBP Development Group to help producers and consumers smooth production profiles and cover planned outages.

Henderson-based shipbuilder Austal has won a $22 million contract for a high speed passenger catamaran to be used in Germany, but it will be built in the Philippines.

Sandfire Resources has encountered problems at its $40 million solar farm at the Degrussa copper mine, about six months after an ASX announcement suggested the power plant had been successfully commissioned.

Environmental advocates have lost the latest High Court application to stop the extension of Roe Highway through Beeliar Wetlands.

Engineering and construction contractor Civmec said today it planned to spend up to $80 million establishing a new shipbuilding facility at Henderson, and use it as a springboard into the federal government’s $89 billion naval build in the coming decade.

Perth’s domestic gas users could have a choice between four retailers by July next year, with Sydney-based utility Origin Energy putting forward an application to the Economic Regulation Authority to enter the market.

Initiatives to encourage indigenous entrepreneurship such as accelerators, incubators and a government-backed venture capital fund were part of a suite of policies recommended by KPMG at the recent Indigenous Business, Enterprise and Corporations Conference held at the University of Western Australia.

SPECIAL REPORT: Big businesses are employing an increasing share of the WA workforce, while the services-oriented economy maintains its growth, the latest BNiQ Biggest Employers survey has uncovered. Click through to see details on Western Australia's 170 largest employers.

Holding an even exposure to base metals and gold will be the key to keeping Independence Group’s performance consistent across the commodity cycle, according to managing director Peter Bradford, although the time was not yet right to be looking for new gold projects.

Education, research, agribusiness and mining services will be the biggest winners from a recent sister state agreement signed between the state government and the government of Indian state Andhra Pradesh, according to Treasurer Mike Nahan.

The first cargo of concentrate from Independence Group’s Nova nickel mine has been dispatched to Kambalda, with the site’s processing plant to reach nameplate production capacity of 1.5 million tonnes per annum in the middle of next year.

A $160 million project to build a utility scale solar farm near Cunderdin has received Development Assessment Panel approval and could be producing at 100 megawatts in time for Christmas next year.

Certainty around the state’s domestic gas supply received a boost today, with the Chevron-led Gorgon project delivering first domgas to Synergy and AWE taking the next step towards the development of stage two at the Waitsia gas field.

A Chinese company’s bid to buy a stake in the Kalgoorlie Super Pit would make it the latest international player to control WA’s most famous gold mine.

Mark Potter will be one of around 100 Western Australian industry representatives ready to tout the state's defence contracting capability at a forum with the federal government’s new Centre for Defence Industry Capability this morning.

Four Western Australian projects will be included in a planned spin-off from energy player Santos in a bid to increase cash flow and cut debt, including facilities at Thevenard and Barrow islands.

Commerce Minister Michael Mischin will today encourage local defence contractors to apply for a state government industry assistance program to fund productivity enhancements, speaking at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA defence conference.

Perth should consider increased use of private water recycling infrastructure in new residential developments to reduce costs for consumers and lower the capital burden on the taxpayer, according to a report by ACIL Allen to be released today.

The state’s domestic gas market is expected to have excess supply of 640 terajoules per day by 2021, according to the Australian Energy Market Operator, although a delay in commencement of production at the Wheatstone or Gorgon domestic gas facilities could lead to a tightening of the supply as early as next year.

The state government should pay for a slice of the environmental approval costs and release more freehold land in the Pilbara to encourage the growth of agribusiness in the region, according to spe

A new centrifuge at the university could contribute significant cost savings to offshore energy projects.

A proposal to roughly double the royalties paid by the state’s two biggest iron ore miners was divisive and could set a dangerous precedent for fixing budget issues, Fortescue Metals Group chief executive Nev Power told this morning’s Business News Success & Leadership breakfast.

The federal government is moving towards changing the way road usage is priced, a reform backed in last year’s Harper competition review.

Higher revenue from an improved woodchip market and a lower dollar has boosted profits at Albany Plantation Export Company, WA Plantation Resources and Bunbury Fibre Exports.

Girls will be eligible to attend secondary school at Guildford Grammar from 2018, more than 40 years after admission was extended to both genders at the campus’s primary education facilities.

Privately held tantalum miner Global Advanced Metals has reported a $6.3 million net profit for the year to June 2016, up from a $72.2 million loss in the previous 12 months, while its two Western Australian mine sites remained under care and maintenance.

Shareholders in agribusiness Wellard have strongly rejected four resolutions at the company's annual meeting, though their anger over the company's poor performance was not enough for the nominee of a dissident shareholder to get elected to the board.

SPECIAL REPORT: When Fortescue Metals Group chairman Andrew Forrest received his most recent dividend cheque from the company, it brought the total paid out to entities he controls during the past five years to nearly $600 million.

Rio Tinto has flagged a possible 2019 start date for construction of its next big greenfields project in the Pilbara, but in the interim will rely on the rollout of its rail automation program and better asset utilisation to drive a major round of productivity improvements.