Janelle Macri

For one reason or another it seems we often fail to notice the treasures right in front of us; little gems that somehow get lost among all the clutter of our busy lives.

Former Brownlow medalist and West Coast Eagles general manager Graham Moss has been appointed chief executive officer of the peak body Tourism Council of Western Australia.

The Department of Fisheries has granted its first commercial lobster aquaculture licence, signalling a possible revival of the fledgling industry.

While the Pilbara might be considered among the world’s premier iron ore regions, there is significant iron ore potential in West Africa

The state government has established a new body to coordinate the development of some of Western Australia’s biggest capital projects, as it prepares to deliver on its record $25 billion capital works program.

Ogilvie & Co Fine Food Merchants has come a long way since its inception in a vacant corner butcher shop 20 years ago.

Perth-based custom software developer, Beacon Technology, has been bought by global IT management consulting firm The Birchman Group, marking the group’s first acquisition in Australia and in the Asia-Pacific region

West Perth-based renewable energy company, Torrens Energy Ltd, has been buoyed by the latest hot rock drilling results at its geothermal project in South Australia, posting what it calls outstanding preliminary temperature results.

A trip to Las Vegas by one of its directors in 1998 was the catalyst for Malaga-based Tieline Technology’s growth from a technology and service supplier to becoming the manufacturer of broadcast audio products.

Managed investment schemes have played a major role in the development of the olive industry in the Moore River region, which is fast becoming known as a premier location for the production of high-quality extra virgin olive oil.

The non-forestry MIS sector is confident of a positive outcome from the Australian Tax Offices test case that would vindicate its view that investors in such schemes are carrying on a business.

Managed investment scheme project managers are confident investors will support their 2008 capital raising programs, despite uncertainty surrounding the future of non-forestry projects beyond this financial year.

Located at the northern end of Lake Street in Northbridge, the unassuming Fuze Tapas Lounge is the latest addition to Perth’s growing tapas scene.

Australian agribusiness stocks have performed solidly both in the short and longer term, with the Australian Agribusiness Group’s index of agricultural stocks showing strong returns over the past five years compared with the All Ordinaries index.

Western Australia is poised to become the world’s biggest producer of sandalwood early next decade, on the back of diminishing global native supplies and growing demand from India and China.

Great Southern Ltd founder John Young remains as private and modest in retirement as he was during his 20-year reign as head of Australia’s most successful agribusiness investment company.

The Western Australian wine industry appears to have entered the 2008 vintage with a positive outlook, amid signs the wine glut that has plagued the sector for a number of years is coming to an end.

Having taken over her father’s fledgling furniture importing business almost four years ago, NB Furniture Design managing director Emma Zlatovich has transformed the company into one of Perth’s leading independent specialist furniture importers.

Heron Resources Ltd’s decision to place its Jump-Up Dam nickel heap leach operation on care and maintenance has not deterred similar trial programs from going ahead, despite calling into question the viability of the technology as a low-cost method of nic

Nickel hopeful Heron Resources Ltd has placed its Jump-Up Dam heap leach operation on care and maintenance, after results of a pre-feasibility study concluded the process did not make an adequate return on investment on the back of rising costs.

Global testing and inspection group SGS Australia has expanded its footprint in Western Australia, acquiring Belmont-based electrical maintenance and conditioning monitoring business, Testing and Commissioning Services Australia (TACS) for an undisclosed

The rooftop of King Street cafe bistro Etro will be transformed into a bar over the next few months, after the venue secured a small bar licence.

For many years the mainstay of Western Australia’s mining industry, gold has increasingly been overshadowed by iron ore, nickel and petroleum, which have been the focus of exploration dollars and overseas investment projects.

The sale of Western Australian mining assayer Kalassay Group to UK-based inspection and testing group, Inspicio plc, signals the fall of the last remaining major independent geochemical assaying laboratory into corporate hands.

With gold production in Western Australia near five-year lows, the outlook for future production is reliant on new mines coming on stream successfully and mine expansions coming to fruition.

A Bayswater business that started from the family home just more than a decade ago has joined the growing list of small to medium enterprises across the state to benefit from the mining boom.

Finding the right people to manage Western Australia’s technology companies is like finding a needle in a haystack, according to Titan Bioventures managing director and Phylogica non-executive director Harry Karelis.

High-end tourism operators in the Margaret River region have formed a marketing alliance aimed at snaring a greater share of the highly lucrative international luxury travel market.

After a couple of failed attempts earlier this decade, Western Australia is edging closer towards connection to its first new international subsea cable in almost 10 years.

Already home to mining giants Rio Tinto, Xstrata and Anglo Gold Ashanti, Argentina is considered to be Latin America’s next worldclass mining region, after Chile and Brazil, with its relatively underexplored but highly prospective gold and silver resourc

While Western Australia’s mining stocks and their investors enjoy a bull run, emerging technology companies with new ideas are finding it harder to attract investor attention.

Former chef Brett Osler says his decision to buy Forrestfield-based camper trailer business Down Under Campers just more than a year ago was the best thing he ever did.