A small batch of bauxite sent overseas for refining may signal the start of a much bigger play by Alcoa, which would have major consequences for WA's South West.
To best understand what's gone wrong with Western Australia's iron ore industry you need to start by looking back 12 years, to 2003, when an ambitious Andrew Forrest created Fortescue Metals Group.
The financial year finished with sales recording their highest level in the June quarter, with this week's total activity up 3% to 723, the highest since the pre-Easter surge of 876.
Imagine you woke up one morning and the life savings you'd been squirreling away in the bank for decades was worth half as much as it was a day earlier.
July 1 will be little more than a date on a calendar for business, with only incremental change likely in the conditions that made 2014-15 such a grim year.
Despite last weekend's inclement weather, REIWA members reported a 9% increase in sales for the week ending 23 June which may also reflect a small flurry of end of financial year activity.
As the financial year draws to a close, not-for-profit organisations are seeking inventive ways to create sustainable income, but it's far from a one-size-fits-all approach.