Jim Hawtin

TANIA Mol says she developed a passion for safety in the mining industry after a friend had his wrists crushed by an eight-tonne bulldozer at a Pilbara

WESTERN Australia’s miners and property players face one of Australia’s most onerous stamp duty regimes, according to a local accounting firm.

A PASSION for people was behind Steve Bowler’s decision, at age 35 and mid-career in the Federal bureaucracy, to establish his own private business coa

Japan may never regain its powerhouse status but it would be a mistake to write-off the world’s second biggest economy, according to outgoing Ambassador to Japan John McCarthy. Jim Hawtin reports.

ONE business looking to take advantage of the global sustainability phenomenon (see story above) is Perth-based ASX-listed aquaculture company Marine Produce Australia (MPA).

THE Western Australian Government says it would rather see infrastructure shared than have three railways leading into Port Hedland from the State’s ri

WHEN Iluka’s long-time CEO Malcom Macpherson’s left the company in late 2001, chairman Ian Mackenzie thought he knew what the company needed.

MIKE Folwell is an achiever, and while his style may not be flamboyant, it’s very effective.

AS Swiss-based Xstrata steps up the pressure in its so-called “opportunistic” takeover battle for Australian miner WMC Resources, speculation is growin

GROWING demand for mineral sands is allowing Iluka to secure much-needed price increases.

MIKE Folwell returned to his home town of Perth in 2002 after a 25-year absence, boasting an impressive CV and a reputation for getting the job done.

Exciting drill results from Western Australia’s north east goldfields have market watchers anticipating more discoveries from what is being hailed “a significant new nickel province”.

A recent move by the South Korean Government, which could be a precursor to the deregulation of its gas sector, may have reopened the door to the lucrative market for the WA-based Gorgon LNG venture and other LNG suppliers.

Indonesia's first democratically elected president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), and his new cabinet face enormous challenges if they are to rid the political system and its bureaucracy of corruption.

Investors with a preference for local stocks should be licking their lips as a flurry of Western Australian companies look to float on the hot Australian Stock Exchange in the lead up to the Christmas break.

Reforms to the Occupational Safety and Health Act, passed last week by parliament and due to become law by February next year, place corporations and individuals in breach of the act at risk of a significant increase in fines, and even the option of jail

The mining and finance industry has sounded alarm bells over expanded stamp duty provisions that may reap another massive tax windfall for the State Government while stifling takeovers and investment activity in the Western Australian resources sector.

Geographic information systems provider NGIS is hoping its experience in Asia will help it break into China, one of the world’s biggest and fastest-growing markets.

Representatives from the various sectors of the State’s mining industry are yet to fully back the Government’s offer to review local government mining-related costs.

The State’s private health service sector is missing out on significant opportunities in the growing $US30 billion global trade in health services, a new report has found.

While merger and acquisition activity is heating up in the resources sector, besides a few usual suspects, local analysts remain hard pressed to identify local takeover targets that would offer a major company significant value.

The State Government is considering a review of mining-related costs to local authorities.

Western Australian grain growers are expecting a double whammy this year with both grain yields and prices under pressure.

In a potential breakthrough for the Western Australian mining industry the State’s environmental authority this week revealed it is considering a number of key changes to the process for applications under newly established land clearing laws.

The State’s mining industry wants a faster solution to the delays and a growing backlog of mineral exploration licences that has developed in the wake of new Clearing of Native Vegetation regulations.

Pressure is mounting on the State Government over the regulation of Western Australia’s non-wheat grain exports, with the State’s two farmer lobby groups stepping up their opposing criticisms of regulation policy.

Key amendments to the Western Australian Mining Act are expected to pass through State Parliament this week, with the prime objective of the amending bill to reduce the backlog of mineral tenement applications currently in the system.

China’s seemingly insatiable demand for iron ore has helped global mining giant Rio Tinto subsidiary Hamersley Iron earn the mantle of Western Australia’s top exporter.

Soaring demand for Western Australia’s resources has created a bonanza of new business for a host of small and flexible contractors operating in the North-West.

Fortescue Metals Group has secured a second iron ore sales agreement with a Chinese buyer in a matter of weeks.