Deals

Cleveland Mining Company has secured a $10 million finance facility to fund further exploration of its Brazilian portfolio of mining assets.

Employment services firm Skilled Group will pay $75.5 million for a Darwin-based marine contractor focused on the oil and gas sector.

Three directors of takeover target Firestone Energy have resigned, leading to the withdrawal of a shareholder meeting requisition by bidder Waterberg Coal Company.

Green energy firm Solco has established a national finance business, offering solar power products for lease through retailers and installers.

Debt-laden Elders has received at least one formal bid for its main rural services business and is working on securing a sale, following eight months of negotiations.

Iron Road has shrugged off uncertainty in the iron ore sector, going ahead with plans to raise $50.7 million to complete a feasibility study at its Central Eyre iron ore development in South Austra

Rio Tinto has agreed to sell its Eagle project in the US to Lundin Mining Corporation for an estimated $US35 million ($A37 million) in cash.

As the slowdown in mining and exploration starts to bite across mining and related industries, company executives are faced with a choice of tightening their belts or letting them out.

The capital strike hitting the resources sector risks doing long-term damage to the industry's growth prospects.

Share market operator ASX is raising $553 million to fund growth by issuing new shares to existing shareholders.

Car dealer network Automotive Holdings Group has added Mazda to its stable of WA dealerships, with the acquisition of Jason Mazda in Osborne Park for $13 million.

Diversified explorer FairStar Resources has secured $260 million in project finance, which will cover 80 per cent of the development cost of its Steeple Hill iron project in the eastern Goldfields.

WESTERN Australian stockbrokers CPS Securities and Indian Ocean Capital have agreed to merge to create the ninth biggest stockbroking operation in the state.

US-focused oil and gas junior Sundance Energy has raised $48.1 million through a share placement, to fund development of its shale gas and conventional oil acreage in Texas and Mississippi.

OM Holdings has announced a plan to raise $24 million to fund continued development at its OM Sarawak manganese and ferrosilicon smelting project in Malaysia.

Austbrokers Holdings has expanded its insurance underwriting agency business with the purchase of majority shareholdings in Perth-based Lawsons Underwriting Australasia and Melbourne-based Guardian

Former CITIC Pacific Mining chairman Dongyi Hua has paid $15 million to take a controlling 40 per cent stake in struggling engineering and construction contractor VDM Group.

Wesfarmers chief executive Richard Goyder is hopeful the conglomerate will seek out new acquisitions offshore in the years ahead.

Peel Mining aims to raise $5.1 million through a share placement priced at 49 cents per share to new and existing institutional investors.

The Satterley Property Group has bought a 2,000-home lot in Melbourne for $100 million.

Peet chairman Tony Lennon has lifted his interest in the land development company to 21.4 per cent after participating in a special placement tied to its takeover of east coast property company CIC

Subiaco company Kairiki Energy has cancelled a $12 million right issue that was “partially and conditionally” underwritten by Patersons Securities, after failing to achieve its minimum subscription

The Wyllie Group has realised a big profit on its six-year investment in Amcom Telecommunications, selling half of its total holding in the listed Perth company.

Apex Minerals has terminated its $50 million cash sale agreement with China's Everprosperity Investment for the Wiluna gold mine.

Embattled lithium producer Galaxy Resources has announced a deeply discounted $47 million rights issue to give the company a much needed cash injection.

Glencore Xstrata has scrapped plans for a coal export terminal in Queensland, citing excess port capacity and a worsening outlook for the sector.

Redbank Copper shares had a lukewarm return to trading today, closing at 0.4 cents after a major restructuring and recapitalisation led by investor Michael Fotios.

Sumatra Copper & Gold is seeking to raise $20 million to put towards development at its flagship Tembang gold-silver project in Indonesia.

Singapore-listed resources construction services firm AusGroup has made a key step towards listing on the ASX, signing a conditional agreement to acquire two Malaysian resort development companies

Continental Coal has completed an $8 million financing arrangement with South African mining company Village Main Reef.

Cleveland Mining Company is assessing its legal options after stockbroker DJ Carmichael failed to complete a $1 million tranche of a share placement.

BC Iron and Cleveland Mining Company have taken the first steps to securing the first three projects under the iron ore miners' Brazilian strategic alliance.