Mining

Water is being pumped out of a disused iron ore mine on a Western Australian island after pit walls slumped, sparking fears it could collapse and contaminate the ocean on the other side.

Investment plans for BHP Billiton’s South Flank project can proceed with greater certainty following the defeat of the Nationals WA's proposed iron ore levy hike at the ballot box earlier this month, according to the company’s asset president of WA iron ore, Edgar Basto.

Pilbara Minerals has signed a farm-in deal with Atlas Iron over its Mt Francisco lithium project, and the two companies have also struck a preliminary agreement allowing Pilbara to use Atlas Iron's existing infrastructure to support early shipments from the Pilgangoora project.

Potash explorer Agrimin has announced plans to raise up to $13.2 million from investors to fund ongoing work at its Mackay project in Western Australia.

Lepidico has formally rejected rival Lithium Australia’s $23.8 million takeover bid, after an independent expert labelled the offer as neither fair nor reasonable.

Gold miner St Barbara has approved a major extension of its Gwalia operations, which will extend the historic mine to a depth of 2,000 metres below surface over the next seven years.

Perth-based Spitfire Materials is seeking to grow its gold exploration portfolio through the acquisition of a private company led by Pilbara Minerals directors Neil Biddle and John Young, in a scrip deal worth $4.7 million.

Perth-based miner South32 is launching a $US500 million ($A655 million) on-market share buyback as the BHP Billiton spin-off continues to benefit from the recovery in commodity prices.

Exploration spending among ASX-listed resources juniors increased about 13 per cent in the December quarter, the third consecutive uptick, according to recent research by professional services firm BDO.

Sheffield Resources has moved to the next stage of progressing its Thunderbird mineral sands project near Derby, after releasing a bankable feasibility study which revealed a development capex of $348 million.

Uranium miner Paladin Energy says it has started arbitration proceedings against its Chinese joint venture partner over complications with its plans to sell a stake in its Langer Heinrich mine.

Todd Corporation-controlled BBI Group has signed an agreement with a Chinese firm for construction of the $6 billion Balla Balla iron ore project in the Pilbara.

Shares in infrastructure and mining services company Downer have fallen more than 20 per cent after institutional investors showed limited enthusiasm for a capital raising to help fund its $1.26 billion takeover of cleaning and catering firm Spotless Group.

Iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group is taking further advantage of stronger iron ore prices by paying off another large chunk of its debt.

The appointment of Sam Walsh as a director of Mitsui & Company this week has brought attention to the usually low-profile Japanese multinational, which according to BNiQ Search Engine data has been a major investor in Western Australia’s resources industry and is one of the state’s largest exporters.

Perth-based explorer Alara Resources has signed an offtake agreement for copper from its Al Hadeetha project in Oman, with the deal including a $US6 million ($A7.8 million) pre-payment.

Dormant Perth-based biotech company Pharmanet Group will re-emerge as a gold explorer after entering into an agreement to acquire Keras Australia by way of a reverse takeover.

Arrium administrators KordaMentha has awarded BGC Contracting a $720 million contract to continue work at the Iron Knob and South Middleback Ranges iron ore projects in South Australia through to 2022.

Almost 500,000 workers would need to be laid off in China’s steel industry by 2020 under a plan to reduce excess capacity, according to a report released by the international Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development this week.

Heavy equipment supplier Emeco Holdings has launched a fully underwritten $20 million capital raising to fund its three-way merger with east coast companies Orionstone and Andy’s Earthmovers.

Dormant explorer New Horizon Coal has extended its deadline for an $18.8 million capital raising after receiving an underwriting commitment for 70 per cent of the target amount, as it looks to shift its focus to oil.

Local gold miner Millennium Minerals has found an internal candidate to replace outgoing chief executive Glenn Dovaston, who has resigned after two years at the helm.

Perth-based gold juniors Gascoyne Resources and Intermin Resources have both reached milestones, with Gascoyne earmarking GR Engineering Services for construction of processing infrastructure while Intermin has achieved first production.

Kidman Resources has entered into an agreement to farm-in to 19 lithium-prospective tenements in Western Australia owned by nickel miner Western Areas, with the scrip-and-spend deal worth up to $11.6 million.

Graphite-focused tech company Hazer Group has announced plans to form a joint venture with diversified business Mineral Resources, after MinRes boosted its stake in Hazer by subscribing for $5 million worth of shares.

TNG spin-out Todd River Resources has raised $6 million from its initial public offering ahead of its ASX debut, which could occur before the end of the month.

Copper explorer MOD Resources launched its second capital raising in three months, tapping investors for $14.6 million to fund ongoing work at its T3 project in Botswana.

Takeover target Lepidico has tapped investors for nearly $5.7 million, a day after Breakaway Research recommended the Perth lithium company as a ‘speculative buy’.

A major shareholder in failed manganese company Mesa Minerals has lost its bid to have administrators replaced after the Supreme Court ruled there was no evidence of bias between Pitcher Partners and Mesa’s largest stakeholder, Mineral Resources.

Doray Minerals chief operating officer Peter Bamford has become the latest senior departure from the firm, following the recent exit of its CEO and chairman.

Iron ore dust in Port Hedland has cost the local economy around $60 million per annum, with an additional $216 million in one-off capital costs, according to a report released today commisoned by a local hotel opposing further expansion of BHP Billiton's port operations.

Lithium-focused Marquee Resources has closed higher on its ASX debut, after spinning out from Force Commodities and completing a $3.5 million initial public offering.