THE resources sector’s solid recent performance has had a welcome media spin off, boosting business to the sizeable WA-based trade press that focuses on mining, oil and gas.
THE resources sector’s solid recent performance has had a welcome media spin off, boosting business to the sizeable WA-based trade press that focuses on mining, oil and gas.
Perth is a natural home to these print and Internet publications, which mostly focus on national or even international news and events.
Subiaco-based Resources Information Unit is one of the oldest companies in the field, publishing the Australian Mining Times as well as niche online magazines Gold Gazette, Miner-als Gazette and Oil & Gas Gazette.
RIU marketing director Simon Hadfield said resource publications were going through a period of solid growth during the current resources boom.
“Subscriptions are going up, which they haven’t done for some time,” he said.
Mr Hadfield said RIU had found competition tight among the publishing houses around Australia.
“It’s an area of great competition, with several houses in WA concentrating on the industry, as well as a few eastern States players,” he said.
Others to figure prominently in the resources media industry in WA include listed company Aspermont, WA Publishers and Louthean Media.
The biggest of the publishing houses, in terms of number of publications produced, is Aspermont Ltd, a listed company responsible for Australia’s Mining Monthly and the Mining-News.net website, as well as other print and web-based productions.
Aspermont is currently involved in legal proceedings in the Supreme Court.
A Supreme Court judge last week declined to set a date for a hearing to lift an injunction preventing the company from paying almost $1 million to Monaco-based company Lechmere Financial Corp.
Lechmere has been fighting for some time to have the company wound up after Aspermont failed to pay its debt of $780,000 plus interest.
Aspermont paid the $955,500 to the Supreme Court on Tuesday, but the company has been prevented from making payment under an injunction granted in the Supreme Court on behalf of chief executive Andrew Kent, who is disputing ownership of the funds.
WA Publishers produces a number of publications across several industries, including building and education, but their flagship magazine is Mining Chronicle, which targets mine-sites, mining companies and associated industries directly.
The publication has also extended its reach outside of Australia to produce a quarterly section about the South African mining industry.
Editor Jenena Walker said WA Publishers has also noted improvement in readership and subscription numbers.
Louthean Media publishes Paydirt magazine and Gold Mining Journal as well as a number of handbooks, including Australian Mines handbook.
