Fraser Beattie

About a third of the town of Port Hedland should be blocked from any new residential developments, the state government's dust management taskforce has recommended.

Northern Star Resources boss Bill Beament has called on the state government to commit $100 million towards the development of a mining education hub in Kalgoorlie through Curtin University’s WA School of Mines (WASM).

The historic Piccadilly Cinema is one of six sites that will benefit from an incentive scheme introduced by the City of Perth to revitalise underused heritage-listed buildings in the CBD.

The state government has made a formal submission to the Commonwealth Grants Commission seeking a fairer share of the GST distribution, following lack of progress in talks on the issue last week in Perth.

A new gold exploration company led by former Doray Minerals boss Allan Kelly and backed by Evolution Mining has announced plans to list on the ASX, whilst two other junior miners have joined the bourse after completing backdoor listings.

Local explorer De Grey Mining has progressed plans to develop its Pilbara gold project with the release of a scoping study today, which revealed a development cost of $96 million.

Red 5 has struck agreements to buy Gold Fields' Darlot mine and Saracen Mineral Holdings' King of the Hills mine for a combined $34 million in cash and shares.

UPDATED: Eastern Goldfields is expected to be confronted at next week’s Diggers and Dealers conference by local contractors who claim they have not been paid by the Perth gold miner.

New car sales in Western Australia started the 2018 financial year in the slow lane, falling 8 per cent in July as national sales continued to rise.

Perth-based explorer Lindian Resources has announced plans to acquire a majority stake in a bauxite mine in Tanzania in a deal worth nearly $2 million, despite recently introduced legislation mandating increased government ownership of local projects and higher royalties on some minerals.

Saracen Mineral Holdings has flagged a $71 million investment in its Thunderbox operation near Leinster to develop an underground mine, after achieving record total ore reserves.

A Perth-based investment group has lined up about $17 million to farm-in on Azumah Resources’ Wa gold project in Ghana.

Six months after shutting down specialist oil and gas advisory firm Miro Advisers, Tim Woodall has joined the board of Melbourne-based explorer and producer FAR as a non-executive director.

The state’s former deputy police commissioner is returning to Western Australia to take on the top job when Karl O’Callaghan retires later this month.

Shares in Navitas were lower this morning after the Perth-based education provider posted a 10.8 per cent slide in net profit for the 2017 financial year.

Gumala Aboriginal Corporation is taking legal action against its former chief executive, Steve Mav, for allegedly breaching his duties while he was at the helm of the indigenous group.

Saracen Mineral Holdings has named private company Byrnecut as its preferred contractor for a contract, valued at $440 million, for underground mining services at its Carosue Dam gold operation north of Kalgoorlie.

Jugglr allows mothers to provide services to other mothers so they can help each other and keep their job skills fresh – from playdates to sharing house chores, kids tutoring to time out, personal training or career coaching and small business support. Where fee-for-service is involved, Jugglr takes a fee.

Experienced public relations executive Fiona McRobert is returning to Perth to lead the local office of PPR, as the one-time market leader seeks to rebuild its WA practice after a long period of downsizing.

Fortescue Metals Group chief executive Nev Power says the value of minerals would be excluded from its looming compensation battle against the Yindjibarndi people, but that claim has been disputed by the native title group's legal team.

Marindi Metals has conceded defeat in its Supreme Court fight against Kidman Resources over rights to the Mt Holland lithium operation, and has accepted a small settlement payout from Rox Resources over a separate matter.

Treasurer Ben Wyatt has all but ruled out the introduction of a bank tax in the September budget but has kept the option open for a future decision, while the industry has called on the state government to protect Western Australia’s economic growth by not bringing in the levy.

Samantha Tough has become the third director to step down this year from the board of 3D printing company Aurora Labs, which has experienced a wild ride since listing on the ASX last August, initially enjoying a spectacular share price rally before losing most of the gains.

Osborne Park-based BGC Contracting has been chosen to deliver the main civil construction work on part of a $4.4 billion highway upgrade project in NSW.

About a quarter of ASX floats in the six months to June were undertaken by Western Australian companies, but the total amount raised is falling according to a new report.

Eastern Goldfields has poured first gold at its Davyhurst operation near Kalgoorlie, amid a looming court battle against the project’s refurbishment contractor, GR Engineering Services.

Gold explorer Echo Resources has tapped investors for $5 million to fund ongoing development of its Yandal project near Wiluna.

Pilbara Minerals has signed-off four major contracts for its Pilgangoora lithium project, with RCR Tomlinson, NRW Holdings, Action Industrial Catering and the Njamal traditional owners winning the lion’s share of the work.

The administrators of Paladin Energy have entered into an agreement with Deutsche Bank to refinance some of the troubled uranium miner’s debt and fund ongoing work at the Langer Heinrich mine in Namibia.

Atlas Iron has delivered a steady result for the three months to June and has reaffirmed its output guidance for FY18.

Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation will seek compensation from Fortescue Metals Group after the Federal Court recognised it has exclusive rights over Pilbara land where the company operates the Solomon hub.

Bis Industries, one of the major transport players in Western Australia, will come under new ownership after a $1 billion debt-for-equity swap deal was struck with its major lenders.