Derek Fisher

Western Australia’s olive oil producers have been spending big on harvesting, processing and branding to prepare for WA’s first big olive harvest. Mark Beyer and Julie-anne Sprague report.

WITH many of Western Australia’s olive oil producers expecting yields between three and eight times those of previous harvests, brand building and distribution strategies have assumed even greater importance than usual.

West Leederville's Cortona Resources Ltd has fully acquired Big Island Mining Pty Ltd, the New South Wales gold mining subsidiary of West Perth's Moly Mines Ltd, the companies have announced.

West Perth-based Moly Mines Ltd has signed a native title agreement with the Njamal people of the Pilbara, ahead of the planned release of its feasibility study into the $600 million Spinifex Ridge project later this month.

Moly Mines has today appointed David Craig as its new chairman while director Kurt Talbot has ended his one-month stint on the board.

The head of Moly Mines is confident of receiving the final two approvals required from the Chinese government to initiate financing and development of its Spinifex Ridge project before the end of February.

Shares in Indo Mines have soared after the company announced it had acquired unlisted company Fireside Resources and its various Indonesian resource assets including a coal project scheduled to begin production in April.

THE past seven years have been anything but smooth sailing for Derek Fisher and his team at Moly Mines, with attempts to become Australia’s only molybdenum producer foiled by the GFC and the commodity’s fluctuating price.

Moly Mines has postponed its US$720 million Spinifex Ridge molybdenum project in the Pilbara, admitting that the mine development was not commercially viable at current market prices.

Laverton-focused gold explorer Midas Resources has appointed Derek Fisher as a non-executive director, to replace Terry Streeter who has resigned from the board.Mr Fisher stepped down as managing director of Moly Mines about a year ago, after nearly a decade at the helm.

Derek Fisher has joined IMX Resources as a non-executive director.Mr Fisher was co-founder and managing director of Africa-focused copper miner Anvil Mining for five years and spent nearly a decade at Moly Mines as managing director, until 2012.

IMX Resources has underlined its focus on its South Australian iron ore assets, moving its corporate head office from West Perth to Adelaide and appointing a new Adelaide-based managing director.

South Australia-based Flinders Mines has appointed Ramelius Resources chief Ian Gordon as its new managing director from June, following Gary Sutherland’s move to IMX Resources as managing director.

IMX Resources has sold its iron ore operations in South Australia to Perth-based Cu-River Mining for $3.68 million, shifting its focus solely on its Tanzanian projects.

IMX Resources will seek to raise $3 million as part of an entitlement offer for the exploration and evaluation at tenements on its Nachingwea property in Tanzania.

Local minerals explorer IMX Resources has announced plans to delist from the Toronto Stock Exchange due to a lack of demand for its shares in the Canadian market.

IMX Resources chief executive Phil Hoskins has been replaced by former Focus Minerals boss Campbell Baird, while the company plans to restructure and rebrand itself under a new name.

Bronwyn Barnes has been appointed the new chair of West Perth-based Indiana Resources, on the same day the company went to the Takeovers Panel to fight attempts by a group of shareholders to oust existing directors.

A day after the Takeovers Panel put restrictions on the voting power of a group of shareholders in Indiana Resources, the same group has withdrawn plans to seek a board restructure vote at an upcoming general meeting.