Latest Headlines

Woodside Petroleum has awarded the engineering contract for its Pluto gas plant to a FosterWheeler WorleyParsons joint venture, continuing the run of success Sydney-based WorleyParsons has had in Western Australia.

Michael Kiernan's diversified mineral company India Resources Ltd has expanded its footprint in the Indian resources sector, paying $2.3 million for a 17 per cent stake in fellow Indian minerals developer Pebble Creek Mining Ltd

Natural gas consumption in India has the potential to rise significantly- from 32 billion cubic metres in 2005 to 82 billion cubic metres in 2025- according to a new Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics report.

Nickel and base metal explorer Breakaway Resources Ltd has entered into a strategic farm-in joint venture worth $3.5 million with Barra Resources Ltd, over an ambitious gold exploration programme at Breakaway's Kambalda West project in Western Australia.

Solbec Pharmaceuticals Ltd's Anthony Kiernan has announced his retirement as chairman and director of the company.

Prime minister Kevin Rudd and the premiers have agreed at today's Council of Australian Governments meeting to set up several working groups to drive policy reform.

PepinNini Minerals Ltd has paid $5.5 million for a 51 per cent stake in Eagle Gold Mines Ltd and entered into a farm-in agreement with the company to explore for iron ore in seven Eagle Gold tenements in the Robinson Range area of Western Australia.

More than 60 per cent of Australia's small to medium enterprises say their preferred way of interacting with their bank is through a relationship manager but very few currently have one, East & Partners' latest SME Banking Markets Report reveals.

Base metals miner Perilya Ltd has sold its stake in takeover target Herald Resources Ltd, which said today it was in discussions with a number of other parties.

Talisman Mining Ltd managing director Steven Elliott has made an instant paper profit of $4 million today after exercising 4.9 million options at $0.25, while realising $1 million cash through the off-market sale of 2.7 million shares at $0.67.

In times to come we might look back at 2007 as the year Western Australia finally counted in the national schemes of things.

Construction and property development company, Diploma Group Ltd, has announced its fourth new contract in the past month, collectively worth nearly $95 million.

NEDLANDS-BASED mining software developer, ISS Group Ltd, has signed a purchase agreement and subsequent four-year maintenance and support contract with BHP Billiton Nickel West for its BabelFish suite

A new Western Australian business is looking to build the country’s first demonstration pilot plant to mass-produce oil derived from algae for use as biodiesel.

More than 18 months after buying its new premises, architecture firm Sandover Pinder has completed renovations of the Cremorne Arcade Buildings on Hay Street in the city’s east en

A1 Minerals Ltd - Peter Thomas has resigned as director. AuDAX Resources Ltd - Wolfgang Zimmer has been appointed as managing director.

Political corruption scandals, the continuing China boom and corporate takeovers have been the dominant themes of 2007.

Predicting the future is a mug’s game, or as US sportsman Yogi Berra once said: “the future isn’t what it used to be”.

EXPLORATION companies Navigator Resources Ltd and CityView Corporation Ltd have successfully completed share placements to raise $5 million and $10 million, respectively.

The more things change, the more they remain the same.

Western Australia continues to lead the nation in mineral exploration expenditure, recording a second consecutive quarterly rise to reach a record high of $293 million for the September quarter, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The seventh RIU Explorers Conference is to be held on February 12 and 13 at the Esplanade Hotel Fremantle.

The resources industry was yet again the driving force behind Western Australia’s tearaway economy, but one commodity in particular stole the show.

Premier Alan Carpenter has called on the corporate sector to lift its contribution to the Western Australian arts sector, after unveiling a $73 million arts funding package to reinvigorate the state’s cultural landscape.

Farmers in some parts of Western Australia may be still reeling from a poor season in 2006-07, but others are looking towards recovery as the 2007-08 harvest nears completion.

An empty espresso cup and a trail of cigarette smoke drifting in the mid-morning breeze is the first sign that West Perth restaurant Julio’s will remain Italian in nature and flavour, despite owners Aldo and Connie Dichiera having sold the business they f

Mining services companies dominated the major business awards programs in Western Australia in 2007, which was a fitting reflection of the economic drivers during the year.

The imminent arrival of the highly anticipated 1907 Bar remains…imminent.

Female business executives came to the fore in 2007, winning recognition in some of Australia’s most prominent business awards.

Future generations of Western Australians are likely to recall 2007 because of several significant, indeed unique, political events.

So what is the secret? Western Australia is meant to be at the cultural fringe, dominated by mining and other sectors that lack the sophistication necessary to appreciate the arts.

After a year of enormous highs and equally dramatic lows across Western Australia’s property industry, landlords will be counting more blessings than most this Christmas.