Mining

West Perth-based gold explorer Mount Magnet South has announced plans to sell its Kirkalocka project in the Murchison region to Ozchina Enterprises for $1.7 million.

Perth-based minerals explorer Newera Resources will proceed with its proposed acquisition of Arena Exploration in order to own a substantial proportion of the Plomosas zinc project in Mexico, following the completion of due diligence.

The state government has opted not to change commodity royalties in this year’s budget at the expense of almost $180 million in previously booked revenue.

Engineering group UGL has been awarded a $120 million contract to provide plant services for the operational phase of Santos’s Curtis Island LNG facility in Queensland.

Subiaco-based Spitfire Resources has entered into an agreement to buy the White Lion limestone project in Zambia in a deal worth $6.3 million.

BC Iron has moved forward with its cost-cutting initiatives by awarding a $40 million contract to Viento Group to provide crushing and screening at its Warrigal hub, which forms part of the Nullagine joint venture.

Fortescue Metals Group has cited the finer points of the Australian Competition and Consumer Act to justify calls by its chairman Andrew Forrest for Australia's biggest iron ore miners to cap production in order to lift prices.

Gold have risen to a two-and-a-half-week high, lifting for the fifth straight session on growing expectations that a US interest rate increase could be pushed to September.

Oil prices have endured a mixed day of trading as the market weighed disappointing manufacturing data out of top energy consumer China.

China-based Citic Group has posted a big slide in full-year profit to $HK39.8 billion ($6.5 billion) for 2014, on the back of a $2.2 billion impairment charge on its Sino Iron project in the Pilbara.

Rio Tinto and Alcoa of Australia have struck an agreement with the state government to terminate a bauxite mining joint venture on the Mitchell Plateau in WA's far north, paving the way for the area to be included in a new national park.

Fortescue Metals Group may have to sell a stake in its iron ore mines or rail infrastructure as it looks to pay down debt after abandoning a $US2.5 billion refinancing.

Shares in copper miner Latitude Consolidated skyrocketed on news it plans to exit the resources sector with a proposed acquisition of consumer services technology company Yatango through a scrip deal valued at about $18 million.

The board of iron ore miner Pluton Resources has regained control of the company after its major shareholder, General Nice Resources, retired KordaMentha as receivers yesterday.

Woodside Petroleum is axing 300 jobs and freezing pay across the organisation as it deals with a plunge in the oil price.

Oil prices have risen as the attractiveness of a weaker dollar offset news of higher crude production by Saudi Arabia.

Gold has firmed for the fourth straight session to its highest in more than two weeks, as the US dollar extends losses and expectations rise that the Federal Reserve will hold off until at least September to raise interest rates.

Windward Resources has taken advantage of a recent spike in its share price to raise $6 million to fund exploration at its Fraser Range nickel-copper projects.

One year after buying the Thunderbox operations from Norilsk Nickel, Saracen Mineral Holdings has announced plans to develop an open pit gold mine that will double its production to about 300,000 ounces per annum by the 2017 financial year.

Peak Resources has appointed engineering firm Amec Foster Wheeler for its Ngualla rare earth project in Tanzania after locking in a $5 million interim loan.

As grim as the iron ore outlook appears for some of WA’s smaller miners, the state government, too, stands to lose out amid the sector’s upheaval.

Blue chip mineral sands miner Iluka Resources and small biotech Sun Biomedical are as different as chalk and cheese; but what they share, apart from a Perth base, is a willingness to invest in Western Australia’s emerging technology ‘accelerator’ programs.

Mining junior RNI has announced it has signed a $60 million debt finance package to develop its Grosvenor gold project.

Orica director and former BHP Billiton executive Alberto Calderon has been appointed interim CEO at the explosives maker in the wake of the sudden exit of Ian Smith.

The Environmental Protection Authority has recommended strict conditional approval of Sinosteel Midwest Corporation’s proposal for exploration drilling at its Blue Hills Mungada East hematite project.

Unions claim to have played a major role in ensuring an increase in the number of Western Australia-based workers building a 900-kilometre pipeline for Ichthys liquefied natural gas project off Darwin.

Recent events putting the spotlight of increasing female participation in the resources sector have focused on learning from personal experiences.

Multinational oil and gas service providers have set up in WA for the long haul, as the state searches for the best way to enhance its competitive advantage.

Marine services providers won’t be knocked off course by the waves of change in the oil and gas industry.

Software company Stochastic Simulation has joined a growing list of Western Australian businesses kicking goals globally in oil and gas technology development, as local providers increasingly target opportunities offshore.

As the construction peak passes and the oil price slides, service providers to the energy industry are re-evaluating how they do business. See our special report to see how technology, marine logistics and equipment providers are adapting to the new climate, and read about changes in the industry's workforce.

A dispute between Tap Oil and one of its substantial shareholders has escalated after the operator of the company’s flagship Manora oil development served joint operator Northern Gulf Petroleum with a $35 million default notice.