WA's water minister has ducked questions about how the state government intends to shore up water supply for the Pilbara as concerns mount about unsustainable use of the region's aquifers.
From multinational private equity firms to sovereign wealth fund-backed groups and a pioneering First Nations venture, the race to build the next generation of digital infrastructure in WA is under way.
Miners which don't heed traditional owner concerns about water will face production constraints, costly infrastructure bills, and reputational damage, according to new research.
Northern Star Resources is facing opposition from traditional owners over plans to discharge water from its Hemi gold project into an ephemeral Pilbara river.
The Federal Court of Australia has waived half a million dollars in legal fees for Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation in the ongoing $1.8 billion claim.
Fast-growing indigenous business Yurra, which boasts annual revenue of about $150 million, has commenced a process to identify a strategic equity partner to join the founding shareholders.
Pilbara contractor Yurra has won a $66 million contract with Rio Tinto adding to a pipeline of work with Main Roads WA, Woodside and its recycling joint venture with Sims.
A federal government listing of high priority renewable energy projects has 56 across the country with a notable aspect being the shortage of transmissions projects in WA's South West.
Lawyers have wrapped up their arguments in the $1.8 billion compensation dispute between Yindjibarndi and Fortescue, with the latter claiming only $8 million was owed.
The Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation's compensation claim over impact of the Solomon mine on their land has been exaggerated, Fortescue's lawyer told the court.
Counsel for the state government claimed Fortescue's mining would not extinguish the Yindjibarndi people's native rights in the Pilbara, during a hearing in the Federal Court.
The Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation has upped its compensation claim against Fortescue to $1.8 billion, over the alleged cultural damage caused by the miner's Solomon hub.
Yindjibarndi traditional owners have experienced collective trauma and emotional distress over FMG's Solomon mine, a lawyer told the court in the ongoing $500 million compensation dispute.
Fortescue's way in developing its Solomon hub is an outlier in how other miners have operated in the Pilbara, a barrister for Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation told the court.
A Pilbara native title group pursuing a large renewable energy project and compensation from Fortescue is now the largest indigenous corporation in the state.
An indigenous-owned Pilbara renewable energy plant has breezed through planning approval, clearing the way for the $200 million project to be green-lit.
Low water triggers at an aquifer critical to the Pilbara's development have been breached, according to Traditional Owners, due to water abstraction and low rainfall.
A Pilbara Aboriginal corporation has accused the WA government of mismanaging an aquifer critical to a national park and Karratha's drinking water supply.
Nearly 250 sites were destroyed within the Solomon Hub mine footprint, experts told the Federal Court in the legal dispute between Fortescue and the Yindjibarndi people.
The Yindjibarndi people have ramped up their long-running battle with Fortescue by calling for an environmental inquiry into the miner's Solomon hub operations in the Pilbara.
New financial reports show a handful of Aboriginal groups gaining more income from mining royalties but others going backwards, while the sector as a whole remains the poor cousin.
Experts have disagreed on how to calculate royalties in the ongoing court action over the Yindjibarndi people's claim for compensation from Fortescue's Solomon hub operations.
The state has questioned the cause of the division in the Yindjibarndi community, which was alleged to be Fortescue setting up its mine in the Pilbara, in an ongoing hearing in the Federal Court.
More than a thousand documents and 30 gigabytes of material will be sorted out for the legal dispute between Fortescue and Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation, a court has been told.
An Indigenous-backed clean energy project targeting offtake deals with the Pilbara's major resources firms has gained a crucial land-use deal to progress the $1 billion first stage.
Mining giant Rio Tinto has paid $125 million to a major Aboriginal group in the Pilbara and is likely to contribute more in future after underpaying royalties over many years.
Rio Tinto and Yindjibarndi Energy Corporation are aiming to approve their first solar farm next year as the first step in building multiple projects in the Pilbara.
Native Title body Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation has signed an agreement with energy company ACEN Corporation for development of large-scale renewable energy projects.
The first local Aboriginal cultural heritage services (LACHS) groups have been announced by the state government, two weeks after the implementation of new laws protecting cultural heritage.
Mining giant BHP has awarded an $8 million contract to car hire company Cedrent Enterprises, partly owned by the Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation in the Pilbara.
Applicants to be a critical pillar in WA's Aboriginal Cultural Heritage approvals process have called for critics to focus on positives, as debate raged over the July 1 rollout of laws in parliament today.
Rio Tinto has quietly started paying royalties on three big iron ore mines that pre-date native title in what amounts to a major concession to traditional owners in the Pilbara.
