Mining

Mount Gibson Iron has terminated its offtake agreement with a Chinese company that had planned to buy product from the Iron Hill mine in the Mid West.

Business News sat down to lunch at Julio's with mining director Bronwyn Barnes.

Brazil-focused gold explorer Crusader Resources has recommended shareholders accept an all-scrip takeover offer from AIM-listed Stratex International, that values the target at $54 million.

BHP Billiton's chairman-elect Ken MacKenzie's top priority will be to meet as many shareholders as possible, when he takes the reins in September.

Pilbara Minerals has announced another capital raising, this time by way of a placement and share purchase plan, to fund development of its Pilgangoora lithium project.

A joint venture between Civmec and Amec Foster Wheeler has been formally awarded a $298 million engineering, procurement and construction contract for Gold Road Resources' Gruyere gold project.

Independence Group has announced plans to sell its Stockman copper-zinc project in Victoria for $47.2 million in cash and royalty payments, but will record a $20 million impairment on the project.

Clive Palmer has dismissed the gathering of CITIC Pacific Mining employees outside the Supreme Court of Western Australia this morning, ahead of the start of the trial between his private company Mineralogy and Citic over royalties, as a ‘Chinese tactic'.

Norway-based investment bank Pareto Securities has completed its first major Australian deal, as sole manager of a $US100 million ($A133 million) bond issue announced today by Pilbara Minerals.

Local contractor Primero Group is set to win its third major contract on a mining project this year while RCR Tomlinson has geared up to supply Rio Tinto's new iron ore mine.

Tribune Resources and Rand Mining will empty their cash reserves to pay out inaugural dividends to their shareholders, with their shared managing director to reap $3.1 million.

Australian mining and exploration companies have been urged to target North American investors, with PCF Capital Group saying this strategy could bring $4 billion into the local industry.

Nickel miner Western Areas has announced plans to sell its stake in an ilmenite-copper-nickel explorer which is dual-listed on the AIM and FSE markets for up to $27.5 million.

MACA has been named preferred contractor for a $100 million open pit mining services job at Ramelius Resources' Mt Magnet gold project.

Local gold explorers Anova Metals and Exterra Resources have entered into a merger agreement, with Anova to wholly acquire Exterra in an all-scrip deal worth $21.3 million.

West Perth-based copper producer India Resources has entered administration after facing numerous delays at its Surda mine in India, including strikes due to employee payment issues.

Resources Minister Matt Canavan said today the exploration development incentive (EDI) scheme was unlikely to continue, despite telling the industry he had an open mind on its future, and labelled alternatives put forward by the Association of Mining & Exploration Companies as radical.

Henderson-based Civmec has received $90 million worth of contracts for work on a number of projects nationwide, with the most significant being a construction job at Alcoa of Australia's Pinjarra alumina refinery.

Adani has given the green light to start work on the controversial $16 billion Carmichael coal mine in Queensland's Galilee Basin.

Junior explorer Dragon Mining's plan to delist from the ASX and join the Hong Kong Stock Exchange appears set to be delayed by several months, along with its proposed $17.5 million capital raising.

Mining work at the Kundana gold operation will be done in-house from next month, after majority owner Northern Star Resources ended a $275 million contract with Barminco two years early.

Wangara-based building company McGrath Modular is being shut down after it was ensnared in problems associated with its Queensland owner and hit by weak market conditions in regional Western Australia.

A joint venture between Decmil Group and Belgian company BESIX Group has won a $21 million contract to build tug facilities in Port Hedland for Fortescue Metals Group.

The founder of Kewdale-based technology manufacturing business RCT, Bob Muirhead, has been named the Austmine champion of innovation for 2017.

Zinc and copper explorer Orion Minerals has received a $3 million investment by private equity group Tembo Capital to fund work at its projects in Africa, and has flagged a further $1.8 million capital raising.

Aspiring graphite miner Hexagon Resources has released a pre-feasibility study on its McIntosh project in the Kimberley, which detailed a development capex of $148 million.

Simon Bennison has announced his resignation as chief executive of the Association of Mining & Exploration Companies, with the search for his successor under way.

Gold and copper explorer Ausmex Mining Group has debuted on the ASX after completing a reverse takeover of Perth-based Eumeralla Resources.

Local explorer GTI Resources has terminated plans to acquire Poseidon Nickel's Windarra gold assets near Laverton, after missing a near-$1 million payment deadline.

Mineral sands miner MZI Resources has tapped its major shareholder Resource Capital Funds for a $US5 million ($A6.7 million) debt financing deal to expand the mining area at its Keysbrook operation near Serpentine.

A battle for control of the Earl Grey lithium deposit near Southern Cross between junior miners Kidman Resources and Marindi Metals will get under way in the Supreme Court today, with the trial expected to conclude within three to five days.

An improved iron ore price delivered huge boosts for mining magnates Gina Rinehart and Andrew Forrest, who were two of the three Western Australians to feature in the top 10 on the nation's best known rich list.