Edited announcement

Perth-based financial services technology company ThinkSmart Ltd will extend its funding relationship with Adelaide Bank for a further five years, and will also develop a new funding agreement with an international financier.

The State Government has declared a mooring control area extending from the Garden Island Causeway across the bay to the Fremantle Port Limits and north to the Naval Waters boundary, the first step in developing a marine strategy management plan for the a

Mineral sands company Iluka Resources Ltd has reached an in-principle agreement for native title consent for the development of the Jacinth-Ambrosia and Tripitaka mineral sands deposits in the Eucla Basin of South Australia, the company has announced.

West Perth-based nickel producer Mincor Resources NL's director of exploration Jim Reeve has died, the company announced today.

The interstate mainline between Kalgoorlie and Perth will be closed for at least three days after a train travelling eastwards on the Eastern Goldfields Railway derailed at around 4:00 this morning.

The Pallinghurst consortium has announced today the withdrawal of its on-market order for Consolidated Minerals effective after the close of trading tomorrow, however the off-market takeover offer will remain open after this time.

West Perth-based Marengo Mining Ltd has completed the first tranche of a placement, raising $5.5 million to help fund a feasibility study on its 100 per cent-owned copper-molybdenum project in Papua New Guinea.

Engineering and rail services company Coote Industrial Ltd plans to acquire Forrestfield-based Gemco Rail Pty Ltd for $33.8 million in a cash and scrip deal.

The owner of the Dampier to Bunbury natural gas pipeline will spend around $245 million expanding its capacity by about 40 terajoules per day after finalising contractual arrangements with shippers, the company has announced.

Perth-based diamond explorer Paramount Mining Corporation Ltd will retain its current board, with 84 per cent of voting shareholders in favour of current directors Maureen Muggeridge, Bram Janse and jeweller Charles Devenish.

Belmont-based mineral sampling equipment manufacturer Essa Australia Ltd has increased its net profit by 79 per cent to $3.2 million, slightly exceeding the company's earlier guidance.

Scrap metal group CMA Corporation Ltd has boosted its net profit for the 2006-07 financial year by 284 per cent, making $6.5 million after acquiring four businesses during the period.

West Perth-based Imdex Ltd has reported a 69 per cent increase in net profit for the 2006-07 financial year, making $12.7 million, the company has announced.

West Perth-based iron ore explorer Atlas Iron Ltd has alloted the first tranche of a placement, raising $25.7 milllion, ahead of its second tranche placement to raise $59.3 million, subject to shareholder approval.

Hamilton Hill-based barramundi producer Cell Aquaculture Ltd has appointed the California-based former Australian Cancer Technology Ltd chief executive Paul Hooper as its new executive chairman, the company announced today.

West Perth-based mining company India Resources Ltd will fully acquire the AMIL Mining India Private Ltd prospective diamond leases for a 2.5 per cent royalty payment to vendor, West Perth-based Dwyka Resources Ltd.

The chairman of Balcatta-based engine technology developer Orbital Corporation Ltd, Don Bourke, has died after a long illness, the company announced late yesterday.

Henderson-based drill and blast company Brandrill Ltd has completed a $3 million capital raising, after scaling back shareholder applications which had totalled $5.2 million.

West Perth-based nickel company Rusina Mining NL has completed two placements, with UK-based European Nickel PLC and its Philippines-based partner DMCI Holdings Inc, raising around $3.8 million

West Perth-based investment company LinQ Resources Fund has increased its net profit for the 2006-07 financial year by 271 per cent to $138.4 million, up from $37.3 million the year before.

Research released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows support for culture and the arts is strong in Western Australia, with 88 per cent of people attending cultural events.

West Perth-based hydrocarbon developer European Gas Ltd will acquire French coal mine methane production company Gazonor SA for around $42 million, the company has announced.

A series of personal journals owned by members of Western Australia's prominent Bussell family have been acquired by the State Government, along with National Cultural Heritage Account, the Shire of Busselton and Bussell family descendents for $80,000.

Cannington-based security technology group QRSciences Holdings Ltd has raised around $6.3 million through a rights issue, which it will use to retire convertible notes held by Vision Opportunity Master Fund Ltd and Platinum Partners Value Arbitrage Fund L

West Perth-based biotechnology company CollTech Australia Ltd has been granted a patent in China for the method behind the company's production of ovine collagen, cementing it as the only supplier in the nation.

Perth-based CityView Corporation Ltd has increased its stake in its Angolan metal projects to 64 per cent, more than doubling its shareholding in the past 12 months, the company has announced.

West Perth-based Jubilee Mines NL will acquire an additional 6.7 per cent stake in the Emu Lake nickel joint venture project from Skryne Hill Pty Ltd, upping its stake to 66.7 per cent.

Property developers Robert Norman Francis, of Ashfield, and Michael Francis Byrne of Mosman Park have been banned from managing corporations for two and five years respectively, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has announced.

Tourism Western Australia has launched a video-streaming website to showcase footage of tourism destinations and events, in a site developed by Sydney-based agency Soap Creative.

Osborne Park-based copper-gold explorer Talisman Mining Ltd has announced plans to shift focus onto iron ore mining, following a report on the prospects of its Wonmunna project.

Rio Tinto Ltd could acquire up to 19.9 per cent of Perth-based iron ore hopeful Grange Resources Ltd, making it Grange's largest security-holder, after agreeing to sell iron ore tenements adjoining the Southdown magnetite deposit.

Perth-headquartered bio-nanotech company pSivida Ltd has completed the recruitment stage of the second phase of a clinical study of cancer treatment technology BrachySil in the treatment of inoperable pancreatic cancer.