News Articles for Fortescue

The resources sector has dramatically increased productivity in the past year, as lower commodity prices drive a wave of cost cutting across the industry, according to the latest national accounts numbers from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

A program that links PhD students with industry is attracting support from companies as diverse as iron ore miner CITIC Pacific Mining, software developer Lateral, and aged care provider Southern Cross Care.

SPECIAL REPORT: What's next for the iron ore sector, as the final two ‘mega' iron ore projects approach completion in the Pilbara?

BC Iron expects to save about $2.3 million over three months after joint venture partner Fortescue Metals Group agreed to set the rail and port tariff for the companies' Nullagine project in accordance with varying iron ore prices.

Fresh analysis by Business News clearly shows how much WA's economic performance has fallen relative to the rest of the nation.

Fortescue Metals Group is home to two of Western Australia's wealthiest company directors, or so it was believed until a surprise disclosure last month.

SPECIAL REPORT: For the second year running, the value of shares held by company directors in WA has fallen sharply, though some operators defied the trend.

Wealth creation is a critical element of any stable society.

Iron ore miner BC Iron has continued its run of cost saving initiatives at its Nullagine operation by awarding a $40 million road haulage contract to QUBE Holdings.

BHP Billiton has posted solid production growth in the first quarter of the financial year, lifting iron ore output by 7 per cent.

SPECIAL REPORT: Earnings for the state from the powerhouse minerals and energy industries have softened, but agriculture, among other sectors, will create opportunities. Business News also takes an in depth look at Bunbury port, where a big expansion plan needs community backing and solid regional demand growth.

The winner of a new innovation program has combined gaming technology with its traditional focus on process control data to create a product that has attracted keen interest from some of the state's biggest companies.

The median salary paid to chief executives at Australian mining companies fell by 12 per cent over the past two years, and is set to decline further after recent cost-cutting moves by the likes of BC Iron, Sundance Resources, Paladin Energy and Poseidon Nickel.

Tipping the top or bottom of a market is never smart, especially at a time of volatile trading; but a series of recent events point to confidence growing in the start of a recovery in the Western Australian economy.

Leading local businesswomen Sharon Warburton and Vicki Krause have joined the board of the energy provider Western Power, replacing outgoing directors Paul Underwood and Sue Wilson.

KPMG's Energise accelerator has delivered an immediate return for the eight start-up companies participating in the program, with pilot projects and prizes worth more than $650,000 being awarded.

Top Western Australian publicly listed companies with fewer women on boards than the national average may get the boost they need following the launch of a new club.

Fortescue Metals Group has set an ambitious target of having Aboriginal workers fill 20 per cent of all trades positions in its workforce, on the back of an apprenticeship program launched today.

Australia is a step closer to its first Aboriginal-owned and operated iron ore mine, after a deal sealed today between Fortescue Metals Group and Australian Aboriginal Mining Corporation.

The commodity price crash is drawing in some big-name, high-cost producers.

Rio Tinto has mapped out a positive future for its expanding iron ore business, predicting more efficiency gains in the Pilbara, less competition from other producers and more growth in global demand.

The latest round of annual reports has revealed some highly unusual movements in chief executive remuneration, including at Monadelphous Group and Mineral Resources.

The new owners of Quadrant Energy have spoken to Business News about how the $2.7 billion acquisition came together and their plans for the oil and gas producer.

In some of the state's more remote towns, where electricity can be 700 per cent more expensive to deliver than in Perth, embracing cheaper new technology is only part of the solution to driving down costs.

As companies seek growth outside of WA, the reasons to remain domiciled here diminish.

Architects have a saying about ‘less being more'. The mining industry has flipped that around with ‘more being less', as shown in this week's production reports and share prices of Fortescue Metals and BHP Billiton.

KPMG has named the eight businesses it has selected to participate in its recently announced technology accelerator Energise, which will be held in Perth.

Energy utility owner Duet Group is set to become a bigger player in the WA market, after announcing an agreed $1.4 billion takeover of remote power producer Energy Developments.

Finalists in the 2015 Entrepreneur of the Year awards show how technology and innovation can enable rapid growth, even in mature industries.

Andrew Forrest's private vehicle, Minderoo Group, has announced plans to invest up to $7.3 million in local miner Impact Minerals.

There is no prize for guessing that iron ore companies have plunged to the bottom of the resources component of this year's TSR survey; but what is interesting is the rise of uranium hopefuls, despite few signs of an imminent increase in the uranium price.

It has been a tough year for WA's once-vaunted resources stocks, as our annual TSR survey reveals. Click through to see more on our Shareholder Returns feature.

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.

Business News shines a light on four businesses operating in WA that have achieved the highest level of national recognition for increasing opportunities for indigenous Australians.

The Pilbara Ports Authority lifted throughput to a record 619.8 million tonnes in 2014-15, primarily on the back of a 21 per cent jump in iron ore shipments through Port Hedland offsetting a small decline at Dampier.

Bannister Downs Dairy Company managing director Sue Daubney has won the Industry Advocacy award at the 2015 Women in Industry Awards in Sydney.

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.

Macmahon Holdings has sold its Mongolian operations to a private company for $US65 million ($A84m), following a long-standing payment dispute with its client at the project.

The state government has provided a further $4.6 million for drilling and prospecting activities at 44 projects in Western Australia, including Fortescue Metals Group's Trifecta base metals project.

Troubled Perth company Macmahon Holdings has flagged an impairment of up to $125 million in its full-year financial result after losing contracts with some of its biggest clients during the past six months, including Fortescue Metals Group.