More than 10,000 businesses in Western Australia are at a higher risk of experiencing financial distress within the next 12 months, a Dun & Bradstreet report shows.
The long wait for environmental approvals for the $1.8 billion Karara iron ore joint venture has prompted Gindalbie Metals chairman George Jones to call the situation "embarrassing".
An understanding of core strengths and a simple business model are some of the tips the state's fastest growing companies say have helped them through a turbulent 2008, a new report has found.
Gold miner Newcrest Mining says it will not achieve its $25 million cost reduction target at the Telfer mine in WA due to slower natural attrition of the workforce and maintenance costs.
A NUMBER of top tier law firms agree that Perth has become a significant player on the international stage, regularly leading globally assembled legal teams on large international transactions.
The Western Australian Trade Opportunities Service is operated by the International Trade Centre of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia.
RECOGNISED as the most concentrated form of wealth on earth, the extremely rare pink diamond is one ultra high-end niche business that appears to be defying global commodity trends.
Chamber of Minerals and Energy president Kim Horne has supported the concept of a national amalgamation of mining industry bodies but has not accepted the detail of current proposals.
The state Governor has today approved the appointment of former Northern Territory bureaucrat Richard Sellers to the role of Director General at the Department of Mines and Petroleum.
North Perth-based Australian Renewable Fuels says it has received a termination notice from Fortescue Metals Group regarding the supply of biodiesel to the Cloudbreak mine site in the Pilbara.
The development timeline for Gindalbie Metals' $1.8 billion Karara iron ore joint venture has been pushed back after delays in gaining foreign investment and environmental approvals.
Only two companies were allocated funds in the first round of the federal government's $50 million Geothermal Drilling Program with West Perth-based Torrens Energy one of the companies to miss out.
West Perth-based Gunson Resources will consider building its zircon processing plant in Western Australia instead of China following recommendations that it will save money.
Arafura Resources has further strengthened its ties with its major Chinese shareholder, which has agreed to take a 51 per cent stake in the Jervois iron-vanadium project in the Northern Territory.
Balcatta-based Repcol has announced plans to invest nearly $20 million in mining services company Resource Equipment Rentals and sell its debt collection business for $350,000.
Iluka Resources expects to pocket $77 million from the sale of its controlling stake in Queensland company Consolidated Rutile after Unimin Australia launched a $150 million takeover bid.
Copper miner Anvil Mining has called a trading halt while its stockbrokers seek to obtain subscriptions for a C$30 million (A$34 million) capital raising.
WA junior Emmerson Resources has entered into a landmark $28 million binding agreement with Ivanhoe Australia to fast track the discovery of potentially world-class deposits within its fully-owned tenements at Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory.
The Kimberley Land Council is believed to have negotiated an agreement with the state government and Woodside Petroleum that would deliver more than $1 billion over 30 years from the development of a liquefied natural gas hub near Broome.
Rio Tinto has maintained its 2009 iron ore guidance despite heavy rain in the Pilbara driving its first quarter iron ore output 15 per cent lower on the same time last year.
Initial production from Apache Energy's Van Gogh oil field in the Exmouth basin has been delayed after its processing vessel caught fire at a shipyard in Singapore.
Atlas Iron says it will focus on attracting a suitable joint venture partner for its Ridley magnetite iron ore project in the Pilbara after a preliminary study estimated a capital cost of nearly $3 billion.
Perth-based Regis Resources has given the go ahead for the development of its Duketon gold project in Western Australia with capital costs expected to peak at $125 million.
Around 160 employees at Xstrata's Sinclair nickel operation in Western Australia are facing an uncertain future as the miner defers underground development due to current market conditions.
Perth-based Impact Minerals said it is considering a range of options to advance its WA uranium project following the recent $US49 million deal to farm-out a nearby uranium deposit.
THE Chamber of Minerals and Energy says government and industry should use the current slowdown to plan for Western Australia's development once the economy returns to full strength.
GOLD is seen as an attractive investment due to its strong performance in a down turning economy, but one senior economist has warned the good times will not last forever.
