Business News

Chinese group Citic has decided to appeal a ruling from the Supreme Court of Western Australia ordering the company to pay Clive Palmer nearly $US150 million in royalties on its Sino Iron project in the Pilbara.

Gold miners Perseus Mining, Ramelius Resources and Evolution Mining have all released positive quarterly reports today, with Ramelius upgrading its full-year guidance and Evolution confident of reaching its target comfortably.

Atlas Iron has appointed current chief financial officer Chris Els as joint company secretary.

Perth-based Atlas Iron has repaid $20 million of debt to reduce its term loan to less than $85 million, while also continuing to pursue diversification opportunities in copper and lithium.

Churchill Consulting has appointed Stuart Hestelow senior manager in its business information and analytics team.

The Supreme Court of Western Australia has more than doubled the penalty handed down to South Australian trucking company Cleveland Freightlines following an appeal by WorkSafe.

Robert Pertich has resigned as non-executive director of PLC Financial Solutions. The company has appointed Joe Cossari as his replacement.

AWE has urged shareholders to take no action on a takeover offer from the state-run energy giant China Energy Reserve and Chemical Group, which remains unchanged from its initial bid of 73 cents per share, after it lodged its bidder's statement.

Engineering and construction group Valmec has secured new contracts in the gas and infrastructure sectors worth $7 million, including work for APA Group at its Yamarna gas pipeline facility.

Osborne Park-based Tawana Resources has secured an offtake agreement for tantalum at its joint venture Bald Hill project, located south of Kambalda.

Kogi Iron has appointed Martin Wood as managing director and chief executive. He has been the company’s non-executive director since October 2017.

West Perth-based ICON Engineering has teamed up with Norwegian company Neodrill to secure a subsea wellhead foundation contract at Woodside Petroleum's Ferrand exploration well in the Carnarvon Basin.

Shares in telecommunications provider Swift Networks rose nearly 10 per cent today after the company released strong half-year results that show increasing revenue growth and profit margins.

The mining sector needs to embrace automation and address concerns of skills shortages as the industry outlook continues to improve, according to the latest mining business outlook report by Newport Consulting.

Scott Reid has been appointed general manager of Cougar Metals. Mr  Reid was the company’s Madagascar country manager.

Environment Minister Stephen Dawson has disclosed that the review he has requested into Chevron’s Wheatstone project was in response to the removal of abatement conditions by the previous government.

Southern Cross Electrical Engineering has been awarded a $20 million contract for work on the central section of the Northlink WA roads project, while Perth-based Tempo Australia has secured a series of contracts totalling more than $6 million.

Henderson-based Austal has been awarded a $20 million contract, through a joint venture with a Chinese shipbuilding company, for the design and build of four high-speed ferries.

Eduardo Valenzuela has been appointed technical director of Consolidated Zinc.

John Van Der Wielen-chaired Kyckr has announced the commencement of revenue from information services giant Bloomberg through its deal to provide global business registry date for the data service’s customers.

3D printing company Aurora Labs has strengthened its board, announcing the appointments of non-executive chairman Paul Kristensen and director Mel Ashton effective today.

Neil Perkins has resigned as chief financial officer and company secretary of Kresta Holdings. The company has appointed Vivi XiaoWei Jiang as his replacement.

The state’s largest residential builder has enlisted local advertising agency Marketforce to deliver the marketing and strategic requirements across its six divisions for 2018.

A 40 per cent rise in project applications with the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety last year has provided another signal of a turnaround in the mining sector.

Sir Ron Brierley-chaired Mercantile Investment Company has increased its bid for Perth-based Bauxite Resources to 11 cents, putting it within the price range set out in the independent expert’s report.

Fortescue Metals Group founder and chair Andrew Forrest has seen his stake in the miner increase $249 million in value over the past four weeks, according to data on directors’ shareholdings tracked by Business News.

Dr XiaoLing Liu has been appointed independent non-executive director of South32.

Western Australia's unemployment rate has fallen by a surprising 0.9 per cent in the month of December, while job numbers were up for a record-equalling 15th consecutive month nationwide, with economists giving positive assessments of the labour market.

Perth-based Battery Minerals has signed an offtake deal for the supply of graphite concentrate at its Montepuez project in Mozambique to a private Chinese company.

Junior explorer Spitfire Materials has tapped investors for $5.3 million via a strongly supported share placement as the company ramps-up exploration work at its Western Australian gold project.

Osborne Park-based Universal Constructions has been awarded a $13.8 million contract by the state government for work at a new primary school in Perth’s northern suburbs.