News Articles for Fortescue

Iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group will continue slashing costs after first-half profit dropped 4 per cent to $US319 million ($A442 million), as fellow miner BC Iron reported a half-year loss of $62.9 million amid falling prices.

The legal battle between BC Iron and Watpac Civil & Mining has intensified with the mining services company serving a counterclaim to the iron ore miner and its joint venture partner, now seeking about $52.8 million.

Felicity Gooding has been appointed as a non-executive director on the board of Impact Minerals. Ms Gooding is the chief operating officer and chief financial officer of the Minderoo Group.

Special Report: Falling commodity prices have led some mining contractors to circle the wagons, but others are cautiously targeting opportunities.

Despite some green shoots, 2016 isn't expected to provide miners with much good news after a tough 2015.

Fortescue Metals Group reduced cash production costs around 45 per cent in the 12 months to the December quarter and has plans to further buy back debt in the months ahead, chief executive Nev Power said today.

Up to 380 employees will be made redundant when Perth-based manganese miner Consolidated Minerals puts its Woodie Woodie mine in the Pilbara on care and maintenance next month.

A recent addition to the Business News offering is keeping track of WA's performance on the markets this year. The opening weeks have not been good.

Australia's biggest iron ore miners are expected to slash dividends next month as the price of the steel-making commodity dropped to $US40 a tonne overnight.

South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon has renewed his call for an inquiry into the cause of the dramatic recent fall in the iron ore price while in Perth today, as shares in the state's biggest miners continued to fall.

Fortescue Metals Group has deepened its commitment to hockey, striking deals with the sport's national body thought to be worth more than $1.7 million over the next five years.

Watpac Civil & Mining and BC Iron have flagged legal action against each other, with Watpac seeking about $12.5 million from the iron ore miner.

SPECIAL REPORT: One of the few positives in a tough year for business was the gold sector, and at the forefront was Northern Star Resources, under the leadership of Bill Beament.

Andrew Forrest has finalised the purchase of a $16 million oceanfront house in Cottesloe from an elderly man who has apologised for implying the billionaire pressured him into the sale.

Recent annual meetings have failed to resolve long-running divisions at two of WA's most important Aboriginal corporations.

BC Iron shares plummeted today after the company announced production at the Nullagine joint venture would be suspended as a result of the weak iron ore price, with more than 200 jobs at risk.

Billionaire Gina Rinehart has seen off the first shipment of iron ore from her $10 billion Roy Hill project, on the same day BC Iron entered a trading halt ahead of a review of its Nullagine joint venture project.

SPECIAL REPORT: The 2015 CEO salary survey has some surprising names near the top of the list while some of the state's best chief executives are unexpectedly low down.

With the iron ore price falling to nearly $US40 per tonne, analysts can't see an end to the pain any time soon.

Subsidiaries of listed companies Ausdrill and RCR Tomlinson have been ordered to pay more than $450,000 in fines and court costs over two workplace deaths five years ago.

The first shipment of iron ore from Gina Rinehart's $10 billion Roy Hill project has been delayed because of commissioning and safety issues.

The latest official report into Western Australia's gas supply and demand outlook has raised the ire of a group of major domestic gas users, which says some of its key findings are misleading and called for an independent review into how the report is compiled.

Indigenous contracting in the Pilbara is getting more competitive, more complicated and arguably more divisive, as players chase a shrinking pool of work.

It is one of the most overused quotes of all time, but if you look at the old and the new of Western Australia's mining industry it is impossible to avoid thinking about the first words in Charles Dickens' novel, A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”.

Sodexo has been shortlisted with two other companies to manage all of Rio Tinto's camps and other facilities in the Pilbara, in the same week it has been awarded a contract to run Shell's Prelude Floating LNG facility.

Actress Claudia Karvan joined Fortescue Metals Group chief executive Nev Power to recognise White Ribbon Day and speak out against violence towards women.

Perth-based Indigenous Construction Resource Group is poised to become a bigger player in the mining services sector after its chairman, Clinton Wolf, lured NRW Holdings founder and former managing director Jeff McGlinn out of retirement.

BC Iron says it's doing okay in the face of falling iron ore prices and might even diversify into gold or other metals in the future.

Smart-ticketing company Vix Technology has strengthened its push into the resources sector by acquiring specialist Australian software company Osmotion for an undisclosed sum.

Indigenous contractor Yurra has formed a joint venture with BGC Contracting to provide services to Rio Tinto's rail work in Cape Lambert and Dampier, with the value of the deal undisclosed.

The state government says the shipping capacity of Port Hedland could increase by 16 per cent to 577 million tonnes, opening up the possibility of further growth in iron ore exports through the existing harbour.

Fortescue Metals Group chairman Andrew Forrest has strongly criticised the strategies of the state's other major iron ore miners at the company's annual general meeting today, although the board experienced a close shave on its remuneration report.

The resources sector has dramatically increased productivity in the past year, as lower commodity prices drive a wave of cost cutting across the industry, according to the latest national accounts numbers from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

A program that links PhD students with industry is attracting support from companies as diverse as iron ore miner CITIC Pacific Mining, software developer Lateral, and aged care provider Southern Cross Care.

SPECIAL REPORT: What's next for the iron ore sector, as the final two ‘mega' iron ore projects approach completion in the Pilbara?

BC Iron expects to save about $2.3 million over three months after joint venture partner Fortescue Metals Group agreed to set the rail and port tariff for the companies' Nullagine project in accordance with varying iron ore prices.

Fresh analysis by Business News clearly shows how much WA's economic performance has fallen relative to the rest of the nation.

Fortescue Metals Group is home to two of Western Australia's wealthiest company directors, or so it was believed until a surprise disclosure last month.

SPECIAL REPORT: For the second year running, the value of shares held by company directors in WA has fallen sharply, though some operators defied the trend.

Wealth creation is a critical element of any stable society.