Duncan Stewart, the brother-in-law of then-Kidman chief executive Martin Donohue, has been sentenced for insider trading in relation to the Wesfarmers takeover of Kidman Resources.
Wesfarmers and SQM are progressing a sharpened up lithium refinery project in Kwinana, with a $600 million proposal heading to development assessment next week.
Wesfarmers has sold $1.1 billion of Coles shares, reducing its holdings of the supermarket chain to 10 per cent, while revealing $24 million of payroll problems during its half-yearly results released today.
At least $1.6 billion of equity has been raised by WA-linked critical minerals hopefuls in the past five years, but achieving consistent returns is another battle.
Wesfarmers has more than quadrupled its full-year profit to a record $5.51 billion, on the back of post-tax gains of $3.17 billion on the demerger of Coles and other divestments during the year.
A $1 billlion-plus lithium refinery planned for the Pilbara has been put on hold and a second refinery under construction in the South West has been reduced in size as local company Mineral Resources and its US partner restructure their joint venture after a sharp fall in lithium prices.
Construction costs for many lithium refining projects have been revised up in the past year as proponents rethink the scale and scope of their developments, with Tianqi Lithium's Kwinana project the latest to run higher than forecast.
Kidman Resources shareholders will vote on Wesfarmers' $776 million takeover offer in August, as the conglomerate flagged a $700 million investment in the Mt Holland lithium project.
Wesfarmers has made a second takeover bid for a miner, with a $776 million proposal for lithium company Kidman Resources, as it seeks to benefit from the global uptake of electric vehicles.
Kidman Resources has reached a settlement with parties in relation to a minimum expenditure obligation for a series of tenements at its Mt Holland project near Southern Cross.
Albemarle Corporation has revised the construction schedule for its $1 billion lithium plant at Kemerton, with site works due to start next month and the US company accelerating expansion of the project.
Kidman Resources has announced plans to integrate the studies for its proposed Kwinana lithium refinery and Mt Holland mine near Southern Cross into a singular project, while also securing a $US100 million ($140 million) debt facility for the project.
Kidman Resources says development of its planned Kwinana lithium refinery and Mt Holland project near Southern Cross will cost up to $US755 million ($1.06 billion) and generate about 700 jobs.
Shares in lithium hopeful Kidman Resources dropped 15 per cent to be $1.08 each after the company acknowledged a Warden's Court ruling last week which recommended Kidman not be exempt from past minimum expenditure obligations on tenements at its Mt Holland project.
Nearly 140 major projects are either under way or planned for WA, new research by Business News has found. Click through to access the new list on the BNiQ Search Engine.
Lithium advocates have been cautioned to separate facts from hype as it is not yet clear if battery manufacturing in Western Australia will be practical, although refining plans should proceed immediately, according to Mckinsey & Co partner Prabhav Sharma.
Kidman Resources has signed a three-year offtake agreement with Tesla for the supply of lithium hydroxide, less than two weeks after announcing Kwinana as the site for a new lithium refinery.
Kwinana has been selected as the site for what is likely to be the fourth lithium refinery in Western Australia, with investment in the boom sector estimated to exceed $4 billion in the next few years.
Applecross-based Mineral Resources is looking to sell a 49 per cent stake in its Wodgina lithium project, as work to investigate the feasibility of a lithium hydroxide or carbonate processing plant at the site continues.
Tawana Resources has opened the state's fifth lithium operation, with the ASX-listed company announcing today that production has started at its jointly owned Bald Hill project in the eastern Goldfields.
Kidman Resources has finalised a $110 million joint venture agreement with Chilean company SQM for the Mt Holland lithium project, while Altura Mining has begun extracting ore at its Pilgangoora lithium project.
Marindi Metals has conceded defeat in its Supreme Court fight against Kidman Resources over rights to the Mt Holland lithium operation, and has accepted a small settlement payout from Rox Resources over a separate matter.
Kidman Resources' stock stock fell for a second consecutive day, despite the company seeking to quell investor unease around its joint venture agreement with a Chile-based lithium producer.
The world's largest lithium producer will make a $A150 million investment in Kidman Resources' Mt Holland project near Southern Cross, and plans to build a new refinery in the region.
Kidman Resources has successfully fended off Marindi Metals' claims of rights to the Mt Holland lithium project near Southern Cross, after a Supreme Court verdict was handed down last week.
Poseidon Nickel and Aphrodite Gold have agreed to form a jointly-owned company to own Poseidon's processing facilities at its Black Swan nickel operation and Aphrodite's nearby gold tenements.
A battle for control of the Earl Grey lithium deposit near Southern Cross between junior miners Kidman Resources and Marindi Metals will get under way in the Supreme Court today, with the trial expected to conclude within three to five days.
Kidman Resources has entered into an agreement to farm-in to 19 lithium-prospective tenements in Western Australia owned by nickel miner Western Areas, with the scrip-and-spend deal worth up to $11.6 million.
Kidman Resources has bought two lithium tenements from nickel miner Western Areas in a $6 million all-scrip deal, while Lithium Australia has signed a memorandum for a joint venture in Germany.
Doray Minerals chairman Peter Lester has told the company he will retire on Monday to focus on his other business interests, less than two months after founding managing director Allan Kelly resigned.
