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Gold miner St Barbara Ltd has signed a $20 million agreement with lender GE Commercial Finance to fund ongoing development at its Gwalia mine in Western Australia.

Western Australia has formally lost its bid to host a multi-billion dollar liquefied natural gas plant, with Japanese company Inpex Ltd today announcing Darwin as its preferred site.

Western Australian Labor MP Ben Wyatt, touted as a future party leader, has been chosen to take on Treasurer Troy Buswell in the state's new parliament.

An injunction preventing Cape Lambert Iron Ore Ltd from acquiring a stake in an African iron ore project has been dropped following mediation talks with a disgruntled shareholder.

Emerging Perth-based base metals company Bass Metals Ltd has confirmed a maiden $1.78 million net profit for fiscal 2008 financial, underpinned by strong high-grade production from the Que River operation in Tasmania.

Found: Firepower chief in London, denies hiding; Double gas trouble as Inpex quits WA and oil tax is passed; Monetary shot 'a necessity'; Rio faces strike as train drivers fire up test case; Timber firms plan writs over Varanus gas crisis

The tax on condensate passed the Senate today, despite fierce opposition from WA Senators who compared the bill to a 'drive-by shooting' on Western Australians.

Treasurer Troy Buswell has announed the newly elected government will need to reign in excessive spending growth, inherited from the previous Labor government, following the release of the Annual Report on State Finances (ARSF) this afternoon.

Initial public offerings on the Australian share market have sunk to a low of 14 for the first quarter of 2008-09, with 11 of these in the mining sector, according to Ernst & Young's quarterly IPO analysis.

The Australian dollar finished marginally firmer today after US President George W Bush's comments the US economy was "in danger" sparked a US currency sell-off.

Bentley-based waste recycling company AnaeCo Ltd has won its second major contract after being commissioned by a regional council in Victoria to process their mixed and green waste.

ANZ Banking Group Ltd chief executive Mike Smith says Australian banks are looking very strong, despite the current financial market turmoil.

More than 300 local and international exhibitors will be on show at the 2009 Australasian Oil & Gas Exhibition in Perth, making it the biggest oil and gas expo ever held in the Southern Hemisphere.

Vulcan Resources Ltd, a base and precious metals development and exploration company working in Finland, has become the latest in a string of companies to feel the pinch thanks to the financial crisis affecting markets around the globe.

Avalon Minerals Ltd has announced a one for four Entitlement Issue at a price of 15 cents per share, to raise up to $1.95m.

Private Chinese company Shagang International Holdings will emerge with a 45 per cent stake in Grange Resources Ltd as a result of a merger deal announced today between Grange and Australian Bulk Minerals.

Perth-based CopperCo Ltd has announced their first full year profits, with revenue topping $81m and a net profit after tax of more than $5m

Pressing urgently for a massive financial bailout, President George W. Bush has warned "our entire economy is in danger."

Western Australia's residential market has been hit with the biggest drop in new homes sales in the country, according to a survey from the HIA.

Perth-based Catalpa Resources Ltd is aiming to become Australia's next mid tier gold producer by developing its open pit assets, located on its extensive and wholly-owned mining tenements in Western Australia.

State hit by $731m blowout: Buswell; 'Morale' cash quietens builders; Only 'faint glimmer' WA will retain Inpex gas project, says Barnett; Strike move sees NW union revival; Turbulence forces Qantas to delay $2bn float

DEVELOPERS and planners in the Mid West should learn from the Pilbara to better understand the pressures that come along with being a 'boom town', according to Carr Civil Contracting managing director Mark Blayney.

THE Brisbane Hotel won the Hotel of the Year award at the Australian Bar Awards competition held last week.

Two brothers this year celebrate five decades in business. Barry and Terry Crommelin tell their stories to Adam Orlando. WHEN you can persuade Colin Barnett to attend your business anniversary celebration during what has been a hectic time in politics,

IT'S difficult when assessing elections not to immediately reach for statistics - size of swings, percentage of preferences gained by parties, levels of various majorities, and other such measures that help assess how well or how badly parties and candida

NEW Mines and Petroleum Minister Norman Moore is under no illusions about where his focus will have to be as he returns to the position he held in the previous Liberal government - the approvals process for mining and exploration.

A MANDATORY renewable energy target of 20 per cent would add up to $300 million a year to the cost of producing aluminium in Australia, according the country's leading producer.

THREE Perth entrepreneurs have established a $40 million venture capital fund to invest in new technologies.

IT took less than 18 months for the state government's shared equity scheme - a lifeline for the first homebuyer market - to exhaust its three-year, $300 million budget.

WESTERN Australia's long-term outlook remains bright, despite the upheaval on global financial markets, with labour shortages continuing to be one of the biggest challenges.

URBAN infill was a key policy of the Carpenter government, outlined in the 'Network City' plan for a series of transit-oriented, high-density developments in Perth.

A streamlined and efficient public service is what new treasurer Troy Buswell wants to see.