Mining

Drilling company Brandrill says it expects to incur a loss for the second half of the 2009 financial year on the back of project deferrals.

Three Western Australian junior explorers are the latest in a string of companies to head to market for fresh equity, today unveiling plans to raise a total of nearly $10 million.

Cash-strapped biodiesel producer Australian Renewable Fuels plans to raise over $2 million, underwritten by a major shareholder, as it acknowledges it has continued to struggle to generate cash flow.

Sinosteel Midwest Corporation has warned its Mid West iron ore project may not go ahead after the environmental watchdog failed to approve an integral part of the mining proposal.

Shares in West Perth-based Syngas have risen after it entered a 10-year deal to supply sulphur to Metals X's nickel project in South Australia.

Private company Mining & Civil Australia has bought a major interest in civil contracting and mining services company Brierty for $2 million cash.

Chevron has continued to sell its Wheatstone liquefied natural gas project as a standalone operation with the launch today of 'The Wheatstone Imperative'.

Nickel miner Panoramic Resources is on the hunt for "company transforming" acquisition opportunities after it bought out the remaining interest in the Lanfranchi project it did not own.

Cash-poor uranium explorer Uranio has planned a scrip-based merger with a private company headed by uranium industry stalwart Alan Eggers, and has tipped further corporate deals.

GRD Minproc, a subsidiary of GRD, has secured definitive feasibility study work for Canadian mining company Greystar Resources' gold and silver project in Colombia.

Sinosteel Midwest Corp may be forced to revise its iron ore project in the Mid West after Western Australia's environmental authority recommended that mining not proceed at one of three proposed sites.

West Perth-based explorer Forte Energy, formerly Murchison United, plans to raise $10 million through institutional investors to advance its uranium projects in West Africa.

Explorer West Australian Metals plans to raise up to $9.9 million in a bid to secure cornerstone investors for its Marenica uranium project in Namibia.

Straits Resources has entered a $5 million all-scrip option deal to offload its Whim Creek processing plant in the Pilbara to Sydney-based Finders Resources.

BP has entered a deal to sell gas from an offshore Western Australian gas field to Shell and then buy it back as liquefied natural gas after it has been processed through the Gorgon LNG project.

Fortescue Metals Group has recorded a gross profit of $US497 million ($A618 million) during the nine months to the end of March 2009.

Takeover target Bonaparte Diamond Mines has recommended shareholders reject a bid by Union Resources, deemed fair and reasonable by independent experts, in favour of the Minemakers offer.

Uranium explorer Bannerman Resources has unveiled a $37.5 million capital raising plan with commitments already received for up to $30 million.

Shares in Nedlands-based explorer Reward Minerals have slumped after the National Native Title Tribunal ruled the company cannot access its Lake Disappointment potash project.

Shares in West Perth-based Carnarvon Petroleum have risen after the company discovered oil as part of joint appraisal well in Thailand.

Subiaco-based Deep Yellow will team up with Toro Energy to explore uranium tenements in Namibia.

Fortescue Metals Group will make an upfront payment of $32 million and restructure a shipping arrangement as part of a settlement to a dispute with a shipping company.

IN just two years, Pilbara Access Management Solutions WA has increased its turnover 14-fold, from $1.

WOODSIDE Petroleum has entered a deal with Apache Corporation for the supply of gas from two Western Australian fields for a second processing train at its Pluto liquefied natural gas facility.

Environmentalists are pitching a new approach to conservation – across a region bigger than England.

ILUKA Resources has received final regulatory approval for its $420 million Jacinth-Ambrosia mineral sands project in South Australia, which allows mining to begin.

THE senior executive team at Wesfarmers has agreed to a salary freeze for two years and will forego individual bonuses potentially worth a collective $4.5 million.

Six Western Australians have made it into the top 20 of the 2009 BRW rich list with iron ore heiress Gina Rinehart taking the state's number one spot from iron magnate Andrew Forrest.

Cash-strapped Maximus Resources has put its assets up for sale, including its stake in the Windimurra uranium deposit in WA, as it resigns itself to the belief it will not be able to raise enough funds to develop its first major mine.

The first ever national audit of the resources export chain has found key infrastructure shortfalls in Western Australia's $59 billion minerals and energy sector.

Rio Tinto has agreed to a "realistic" cut of more than a third in iron ore prices with Japan's biggest steel maker, as its customers face up to challenging market conditions.

West Perth-based Catalpa Resources has cleared the final hurdle for the development of its $92 million Edna May gold project in Westonia after receiving final environmental approval.