Mining

Saracen Mineral Holdings managing director Raleigh Finlayson has received the top honour at Business News' 2018 40under40 awards, named First Amongst Equals ahead of a diverse field of Western Australia's young business and community leaders.

ANALYSIS: From ride-sharing to mining, WA should embrace opportunities flowing from digital disruption.

Gina Rinehart's four children have joined their mining mogul mother among the world's richest people, with nine Western Australians included in Forbes' latest world billionaire rankings.

Rio Tinto has announced it will expand its autonomous haul truck fleet to a fifth site in the Pilbara, with the iron ore miner set to add 15 driverless trucks at the West Angelas mine in May.

Investors are warming to the concept of gold mining in the Wheatbelt, with share prices of three active players moving higher in recent weeks.

The CFMEU is about to get another 'M' after the Fair Work Commission approved a merger of three of Australia's most prominent unions.

Copper explorer MOD Resources has tapped investors for $18.3 million, with the proceeds set to be used on exploration work at its T3 and T20 Dome projects in Botswana.

Australia's corporate watchdog has commenced legal proceedings against Rio Tinto and two former executives over its disastrous $US4 billion foray into Mozambique coal, 17 months after regulators in the UK and US took action on the same matter.

Lithium Australia has secured an $18.2 million funding package from US institutional investor Arena Investors LP via a multi-tranche convertible note facility, with the proceeds to be spent on developing a lithium processing pilot plant.

Finders Resources' largest shareholder, Eastern Field Developments, which is currently making a hostile takeover bid for the copper miner, has submitted an application to the Takeovers Panel requesting the company disclose details regarding its Wetar project and revise the independent expert report.

The managing director of Rio Tinto's Pilbara iron ore mining operations has left the company after 11 years.

Talison Lithium has engaged MSP Engineering to conduct a feasibility study into another expansion at its Greenbushes project while a $320 million upgrade, set to double production, is already under way.

Melbourne-based explosives manufacturer Orica has secured supply contracts in the Pilbara with BHP Billiton and Roy Hill, but expects operational issues and write-downs to cut its first-half earnings by nearly $400 million.

West Perth-based Vimy Resources has acquired a uranium project in the Northern Territory from Canadian miner Cameco for $6.5 million.

Decmil Group has launched a major board restructure that includes the retirement of company founder Denis Criddle, as it posted an interim loss but pointed to strong revenue growth in the coming year.

South Korean steel giant POSCO has signed a long-term offtake agreement with ASX-listed lithium miner Pilbara Minerals and agreed to invest in its upcoming project in Western Australia.

Heavy equipment supplier Emeco Holdings has recorded its first period of net profit since 2013 as the company cited improving market conditions as a key driver of increased earnings.

Shares in junior explorer Podium Minerals began trading on the ASX today after the company raised $5.5 million through an initial public offering.

A new report will allow executives and directors to compare remuneration with peer companies of similar size or in the same industry.

Renewables, railways, and a pick-up in the resources sector are providing work for local environmental services businesses, which have become increasingly optimistic after taking a hit amid the slowdown in mining construction projects.

Concerns over the issue of native title were most keenly felt in the nation's west and north in the late 1990s.

Two local contractors have secured more than $70 million of work, with NRW Holdings locking in a $37 million contract at Rio Tinto's Marandoo mine in the Pilbara.

UPDATED: Ausdrill's outgoing managing director Ron Sayers received $101.4 million overnight after selling his 10 per cent stake in the company he founded.

Subiaco-based RTG Mining has raised $US34 million as the company aims to secure an interest in the old Panguna copper-gold project in Bougainville, while Azure Minerals also announced a capital raising worth $8.2 million.

A couple of good years for Kerry Stokes and his Seven Group could be an indicator of the WA economy's return to health.

Mineral sands miner Iluka has lifted full-year revenue almost 40 per cent due to surging sales and higher prices for its products, but impairments have weighed on the bottom line.

Three local mining contractors have released their half-year results today with mixed outcomes, as Ausdrill posted a big increase in profit while MACA and Swick Mining both registered a decline in profit despite increased revenue.

SPECIAL REPORT: Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting and its subsidiary, Roy Hill Holdings, have moved to the top of the Business News annual ranking of private companies in Western Australia, as their surging revenue put them ahead of building company BGC Australia.

Automotive Holdings Group has selected current director Rob McEniry to replace outgoing chairman David Griffiths, while England-based Sebstian Coe will become a non-executive director at Fortescue Metals Group.

Western Australia has slipped in the latest rankings of an international survey that measures the impact of government policy on exploration and mining investment.

Shares in West Perth-based Raiden Resources (previously SubZero Group) enjoyed strong gains today after they started trading on the ASX, following a two-year restructuring of the company and acquisition of a copper-gold project in Serbia.

Gold miner Doray Minerals has raised $25 million to reduce debt and increase exploration at its Deflector project, which is located 160 kilometres east of Geraldton.