Mining

Customs officers and West Australian police are attempting to intercept an asylum seeker boat heading towards the Pilbara coast after it sailed near an oil and gas facility.

Santos has cut its production forecasts, but higher gas prices have helped boost the energy company's revenue.

Shares in oil and gas exploration company WHL Energy plunged in value today after a prospective partner pulled out of a $50 million-plus farm-in deal.

Perth-based contractor OTOC announced today it has acquired full ownership of a 700 person commercial kitchen/diner facility at a Fortescue Metals Group site.

Engineering company Downer has had its blasting services contracts in the mining sector extended for $230 million.

Iluka Resources' revenue from its mineral sands operations has dropped 42 per cent in the first half of 2013 after lower prices forced it to cut production.

Strike Energy has taken advantage of concern about an east coast gas supply shortage by negotiating a $52.5 million offtake deal with Orica to fast-track development of its Cooper Basin assets. Orica has agreed to buy up to 150 petajoules of natural gas over 20 years.

The completion of an initial resource estimate for Sirius Resources' second major nickel deposit near Norseman has failed to replicate the market excitement when the ore body was initially discover

Sundance Resources is now fighting legal action on three continents over a 2010 plane crash in west Africa which killed the company's entire board of directors.

A cut in mining investment will leave Australia with a steeper capital expenditure downturn than during the global financial crisis, Standard & Poor's says.

Clive Palmer says moves to transfer security rights at a West Australian port away from his private company will not stop Mineralogy from being able to export iron ore from the facility.

Arrium has revealed that a one cent fall in the dollar's value is worth $10 million to $12 million in before-tax profit for its struggling steel business.

Embattled gold miner Newcrest has told workers at its Telfer mine in Western Australia that some of them will lose their jobs in the next 12 months.

Global miner Rio Tinto has started shipping copper concentrate from its Oyu Tolgoi gold and copper mine in Mongolia.

Shares in Australia's Alumina have posted strong gains despite its giant aluminium producing partner Alcoa posting a large quarterly loss.

Ramelius Resources shares have jumped almost 20 per cent after the gold miner posted a record June quarter production result.

World oil prices have eased slightly but concerns over mounting violence in the wake of the military coup in Egypt kept the market firm.

The price of silver has plunged quicker than that of gold since Federal Reserve boss Bernard Bernanke's positive comments on the US economy three weeks ago.

The corporate watchdog will monitor analysts' briefings during the upcoming reporting season after launching an investigation into Newcrest Mining's disclosure of a $6 billion writedown.

Mining entrepreneur David Flanagan has been named as the fifth chancellor of Murdoch University, adding yet another resources player at the top of governance of Perth's tertiary education sector.

Atlas Iron will start work on a new Pilbara iron ore mine after the company's board approved the $146 million project.

Independence Group will cut jobs and halt exploration at its Stockman project in Victoria due to tough economic conditions.

Oil prices have fallen following recent rallies over Middle East supply worries after Egypt's army overthrew and detained President Mohamed Morsi.

Forge Resources has picked up $8.5 million by selling a part of its stake in the Balla Balla magnetite iron ore project in the Pilbara to its joint venture partner, New Zealand’s Todd Corporation.

Woodside Petroleum will produce less oil and gas in 2013 than previously forecast because of shutdowns and maintenance.

Rail operator Aurizon will develop and provide infrastructure to two Pilbara iron ore projects under a deal with explorer Brockman Resources.

Oil and gas major Shell plans to build more floating LNG plants after developing its world first Prelude project off the coast of Western Australia.

Gold futures have ended lower, after two straight sessions of gains, as a US stronger dollar and the swift recovery saw some investors sell their holdings to lock in profits.

Mining giant BHP Billiton says its new remote operations centre and trial of driverless trucks will boost productivity without sacrificing jobs.

Australia's export commodity prices fell in June, the third monthly fall in a row, following a run of three rises.

The Browse Basin is pivotal to the nation's future gas production amid expectations that global demand will double within 17 years, a senior energy figure says.