Mining

Engineering firm Downer EDI's first half profit has grown by 11 per cent and the company has maintained its expectation of improved underlying profit for the full year.

Nickel miner Mincor Resources has shrugged off a first half loss of $2.21 million to declared an interim dividend of 2 cents per share.

Infrastructure services firm Cardno has acquired Bunbury-based Geotech Materials Testing Services in a transaction worth up to $26.7 million.

Northern Star Resources has booked a half year profit increase of 78 per cent, after increasing production capacity at its Paulsens gold mine to more than 100,000 ounces per year.

The mining industry has urged state and federal governments to tread with caution over implementing recommendations from a parliamentary inquiry into fly-in, fly-out work practices, saying some of

Shares in Skilled Group are up more than four per cent after the labour contractor reported a double-digit lift in first half net profit.

Engineering giant WorleyParsons has posted a flat first half profit result and tempered its forecasts for the full year.

Oz Minerals' full year profit has fallen by more than 44 per cent but the company remains on track to meet its copper and gold production targets.

Rio Tinto's Gove alumina refinery will stay open, the Northern Territory government has confirmed.Chief Minister Terry Mills said the mining giant had agreed to keep he plant open.

Leighton Holdings has returned to profit and driven down debt after least year's heavy losses, and forecast further growth in the year ahead.

A Labor MP insists there is no chance a revived mining industry campaign about the resources rent tax could claim another prime minister's scalp.

Mining company KalNorth Gold Mines has begun production from its Lindsay’s project near Kalgoorlie, forecasting the production of 40,000 ounces of gold over the next 18 months.

Perth-based miner IronClad Mining claims to have successfully trialled a system loading ore onto ships without the need for deep sea ports.

Junior miners Gold Road Resources, Rox Resources and Nkwe Platinum are raising a combined total of $14.95 million to accelerate exploration programs at their respective developments.

Mining giant Rio Tinto is expected to post a full year net profit of more than $9 billion, driven by the company's iron ore business.

NRW Holdings subsidiary Action Drill & Blast has won a $140 million contract with Fortescue Metals Group at the Cloudbreak iron ore mine near Newman.

Engineering company Bradken has impressed the market by declaring that last year's economic downturn in resources had bottomed out while posting a solid half year profit.

Shares in Apex Minerals jumped on the ASX today after the Perth-based announced an agreement to sell its Youanmi gold mine near Sandstone in the Murchison for $15 million.

Former water-proofing company Hydrotech International has turned its attention to resources and overcome tough market conditions to raise more than $6 million to fund its first venture.

The federal government has no plans to change the design of its mining tax, Prime Minister Julia Gillard says.

 Independent MP Rob Oakeshott feels the Gillard government partly duped him about the design of its mining tax.

Shares in Bauxite Resources jumped on the ASX today after the Perth-based miner announced the appointment of former Sundance Resources executive Peter Canterbury as chief executive.

Engineering and construction firm Monadelphous Group has announced a suite of new contracts with a combined value of around $140 million.

Drake Resources has announced the appointment of former Phillips River Mining boss Jason Stirbinskis as its new chief executive.

Shares in one of Australia's largest gold companies, Alacer Gold, have shot up after it announced its sale of interests in the Frog’s Leg gold mine near Kalgoorlie for US$171 million ( million).

Oil and gas producer Nexus Energy says it has found the source of a fault that has halted production at its Victorian gas fields for a month but more work is required before output can be resumed.

Shares in Alkane Resources shot up 14 per cent this morning after the minerals explorer announced it has been granted a mining lease for its Tomingley Gold Project near Dubbo in NSW.

 The federal opposition says the Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Treasurer Wayne Swan are to blame for a substantial shortfall in mining tax revenue.

Energy giant Chevron has made its twentieth gas discovery off the Western Australian coast in the past two and a half years.

Shares in Africa-focused iron ore hopeful Sundance Resources plunged almost 12 per cent after it revealed yet another delay in the drawn out takeover by its Chinese suitor.

Miner Luiri Gold has announced a $4.3 million capital raising to fund the development of its Dunrobin deposit in Zambia.

Radar Iron is to become a major shareholder in a Northern Queensland magnetite project in a move it hopes will enable progression of its Western Australian projects.