News

New Rugby Australia chief executive Raelene Castle has left the door ajar for the Western Force to return to the fold in 2021, but the Indo Pacific Rugby Championship remains in limbo.

The Australian share market has made solid gains after a surge in energy stocks and improvements for the big banks turned around a mixed overnight lead out of the US.

Aspiring graphite miner Hexagon Resources has signed a non-binding offtake agreement with a Chinese building company for 30 per cent of the company’s planned production at its McIntosh project in the Kimberley.

North Fremantle-based Mustera Property Group has announced the launch of a new fund, with its first purchase being a $16.5 million shopping centre in Perth’s southern suburbs.

West Perth-based CBH Group has recorded a grain harvest of 13.2 million tonnes for the 2017-18 season, well above initial estimates following good finishing rains.

Rare earths developer Northern Minerals has lifted the limit on its share purchase plan to $15 million on the back of strong demand from existing shareholders.

Uranium miner Paladin Energy has confirmed the approval of its recapitalisation deal, which will leave existing shareholders with a 2 per cent stake in the company, and appointed Daniel Harris and David Riekie to the board.

ASX-listed 1-Page, which has cash reserves of $25 million, is set to acquire a German medicinal cannabis company in a cash-and-scrip deal.

Australian shares have opened lower following a mixed lead from Wall Street's key indices and despite a generally strong performance across the commodities market.

Greenbushes partners at odds over big lithium deposit

Three building companies with strong indigenous links have been appointed to a panel that will handle at least $25 million of state government housing work in the Pilbara and Kimberley regions.

The share market posted its best daily gain in four months as investors anticipated strong half year earnings results for Australian companies.

Peninsula Energy has signed an agreement to sell a portion of its interests in an existing long-term uranium sale and purchase deal for $US19 million ($23.7 million).

Copper and gold explorer Stavely Minerals has raised $8.3 million via a share placement and share purchase plan, with the company completing drilling programs at a number of tenements on the east coast.

Aspiring mineral sands miner Sheffield Resources has signed an offtake agreement with a Chinese processor for nearly 20 per cent of the planned zircon production at its Thunderbird project near Derby.

Mining services company Ausdrill has received a letter of intent for a three-year contract worth $180 million with Mineral Resources at its Wodgina lithium mine in the Pilbara.

Belmont-based Pindan has been awarded a $23.4 million contract at Cape Naturaliste College, south of Busselton, while FIRM Constructions has won a $2.5 million government contract.

Global Advanced Metals has submitted a development plan to begin direct tantalum mining at Greenbushes in Western Australia’s South West, as it continues legal proceedings against the company that mines lithium at the same site.

Collaboration is key for the launch of the West Australian Ballet’s 2018 season, as ballerinas and indigenous dancers come together to perform the contemporary work Milnjiya, while opera singer Deborah Cheetham provides support with a score of traditional indigenous sounds.

Perth house prices fell 0.4 per cent in January, according to the latest data from CoreLogic, though its figures have disguised big gains in some of Perth’s more affluent suburbs.

Tap Oil has announced the resignation of four of the company’s directors, including executive chairman James Menzies and Peter Mansell, with two nominations from major shareholder Risco Energy Investments appointed as replacements.

The Australian share market is stronger during morning trade following a positive lead from Wall Street and positivity over the local company earnings season.

Rival MinRES contradicts FMG on iron discounts

Oil and gas producer AWE has given suitor Mineral Resources three business days to match a superior proposal lobbed by Mitsui & Co, after reaching an in-principle agreement with the Japanese firm.

Australian shares staged an afternoon recovery as US President Donald Trump delivered a market assuring State of the Union address.

Adventure World has become a major tourism attraction during its 35 years of operation, and there are no signs the business is slowing down.

Malaga company Galvin Engineering has developed Australia's first lead-free drinking tap as the state government deals with new revelations of lead contamination in taps at a number of Western Australian schools.

Perth-based building systems manufacturer Pro9 Global has completed an $8 million capital raising that will fund the construction of a manufacturing plant in Sydney.

Copper explorer MOD Resources has released a favourable pre-feasibility study for an open-pit mine at its T3 project in Botswana, which has an estimated annual free cash flow of $US77 million ($95 million).

Wesfarmers subsidiary EVOL has won a long-term contract to supply LNG to the power station and the process plant at Gascoyne Resources’ Dalgaranga gold project in the Murchison region.

Clinical trials company Zelda Therapeutics aims to pave the way for the use of medicinal cannabis to treat a range of disorders.

Global Energy Ventures has raised $6.7 million through a share placement, with the proceeds to be used on the development of the company’s compressed natural gas technology.