Special Reports

The West Perth of yesteryear, with its avenues of leafy vistas and sprawling mansions housing some of Western Australia’s wealthiest families, was always destined to become the burgeoning business centre of the 21st century.

Winter is a perfect time to visit the Margaret River wine district.

Mining may dominate but there are plenty of other players in West Perth.

Potential tenants may have to look beyond West Perth’s ‘golden mile’ as the dearth of property sales and record low vacancy rates stymie those eager to position themselves in the West Perth market.

West Perth has long had a mining link, but as a hub for junior resources firms worth a collective $16 billion, it really is WA’s other ‘golden mile’.

Listed Nedlands company ISS Group Ltd is seeking to build on its strong position in the Australian market to become a global supplier of specialist software for process plants in the oil and gas and mining sectors.

The global mining services industry is a small place, judging by some of the people and companies involved in recent transactions.

Western Australia is one of the world’s great mining provinces but where are the great Perth-based mining services companies?

Barrack Square may get a lifeline within the year as plans to redevelop the city foreshore gain momentum.

The Australian mining industry has provided a strong platform for contract drilling and drilling services companies such as Ausdrill, Brandrill and Imdex, but attempts to move into the international market have met with mixed success.

Nick Archibald, the founder of pioneering Western Australian minerals software developer Fractal Graphics, is close to completing his biggest ever deal as chief executive of listed Canadian company Geoinformatics Exploration Inc.

Amidst environmental concerns, increasing petrol prices, and predictions by some industry experts that Australia’s oil reserves will be near exhaustion by 2012, biofuels have emerged from relative obscurity to take centre stage on the renewable energy age

The West Coast Eagles and Fremantle Dockers produced strong profit results last year but a close analysis of their annual accounts shows that West Coast is much stronger financially than its cross-town rival.

The biofuels sector’s growing mainstream attraction may be a relatively recent phenomenon, but local company Blue Diesel’s involvement in the business can be traced back to well before the current debate over alternative fuels began.

Australian Renewable Fuels Ltd is carrying the Western Australian biofuels banner into a rapidly expanding, multi-billion dollar international market.

The move to biofuels may not be the silver bullet resolution to our energy problems, but WA is in the thick of research, development and increasing production of these new greenhouse neutral options.

The growing awareness of the need for alternative fuel sources has focused attention on a wide range of options.

The federal government’s Fuel Tax Bill 2006 provides one of the most pressing issues currently facing the biodiesel industry.

While native title is increasingly delivering on its promises for all parties, there remain those who aren’t convinced.

Native title agreements reached in Western Australia during the past year have a major focus on providing employment and business opportunities for Aboriginal people.

The federal government provides just more than $50 million each year to native title representative bodies (NTRB), yet both business and Aboriginal groups agree this is grossly inadequate.

The mercantile industry in Western Australia has emerged from a period of rationalisation and consolidation, and insiders predict there’s more to come.

Legal action against nickel miner Minara Resources has provided a stark reminder that negotiating a native title agreement is not the end of the matter for mining companies.

A quick statistical snapshot neatly sums up the legal difficulties associated with native title. Presently, there are 606 native title applications awaiting resolution and most have been before the Federal Court for a matter of years.

Western Areas NL’s push to become Australia’s next mid-tier nickel producer is expected to begin in the second half of this year, with production from its Flying Fox project at Forrestania rising to 13,500 tonnes a year in 2010.

In the air

Mortgage brokers could double their share of housing loans with the biggest winners likely to be the industry’s big players such as Perth-based Australian Finance Group, a conference in Perth was told last week.

As the cold weather descends on the southern parts of the state, many of us dream of a holiday in the tropics. But you don’t have to go overseas to enjoy the warmer weather.

As well as a total cabin makeover, Air New Zealand has developed new menus and wine lists that reflect the “relaxed luxury” theme.

Pilbara copper and nickel producer Fox Resources Ltd’s major shareholder, Terry Streeter, has dropped a further $400,000 into the company’s Whundo prospects following some spectacular zinc drilling results there.

From a cheap early 1990s entry into a struggling gold explorer, Terry Streeter has built a $100 million base from which to launch a major international resources exploration and production house.

Options for getting into the Kimberley have never been better. Qantas, Skywest Airlines and Virgin Blue all offer differing flight and pricing packages that cover all budgets.