Potential CSG framework delays may hurt foreign investment

Commercial law firm Middletons has warned that a delay in the federal government’s harmonized framework for the coal seam gas (CSG) industry could affect foreign investment in the sector. Speaking to Mining Weekly Online, special council Clive...

APLNG secures $8.5bn in finance

ASX-listed Origin Energy and its joint venture (JV) partners ConocoPhillips and Sinopec have secured an $8.5-billion project financing facility for the Australia Pacific liquefied natural gas (APLNG) project. The project finance facility was...

Orica, Yara to build WA ammonium nitrate plant

Mining services provider Orica has joined forces with mineral fertilizer producer Yara and explorer Apache to build a $800-million ammonium nitrate plant in Western Australia. The 330 000 t/y plant would be completed by the end of 2015, and would...

Gillard breaks ground at A$34bn Ichthys

Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Friday officially launched the construction of the Ichthys liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, in the Northern Territory. The A$34-billion Ichthy’s LNG project is a joint venture development between Japan’s...

Brazil's MPX says Colombia coal project viable

Brazil's MPX Energia SA confirmed the technical viability of its San Juan coal project in Colombia, the coal mining and natural gas company said in a statement to Brazilian regulators on Monday.

Australia gets reality check on commodities: Clyde Russell

There is a creeping realisation inside Australia that the nation's commodities boom is becoming harder work, with project costs blowing out and questions over whether there will be enough demand from Asia. Australia's economic success of the past...

Patriot lowers 2012 guidance as US coal market dulls further

As the chill in US coal markets continued, Patriot Coal on Tuesday unveiled a $75-million, or $0.82-a-share, first-quarter loss, compared with the $15.9-million it lost in the first three months of 2011. St. Louis, Missouri-based Patriot recorded...

Ferguson awards 12 offshore exploration permits

Twelve new offshore petroleum exploration permits have been awarded in waters off Western Australia and Victoria, which would see some A$303-million in new investment over the next three years. Federal Resources and Energy Minister Martin...

Caterpillar boss upbeat about Africa's future, mulling investment

“I am more optimistic about Africa than I have ever been in my career,” said Caterpillar CEO Doug Oberhelman on Friday. “Africa has changed greatly.” Delivering a presentation at Barloworld, the South African Caterpillar dealer, the...

Queensland LNG project to cost $5bn more, BG Group warns

UK gas company BG Group has warned of a $5-billion cost blowout at its Queensland Curtis liquefied natural gas (QCLNG) project. In its quarterly results for the three months to March, the BG Group noted that while the project was making good...

Origin inks A$1bn gas sales deal with Gladstone LNG

ASX-listed Origin Energy has signed a heads of agreement with the Gladstone liquefied natural gas (GLNG) partners in a deal worth an estimated A$1-billion. Under the terms of the agreement, Origin would supply LNG with 365 PJ of gas, or 100 TJ a...

Mining investments driving Australian growth

The resources sector accounted for nearly half of the A$450.2-billion worth of major investment projects under way or committed to in Australia, Deloitte Access Economics reported on Wednesday. In its quarterly Investment Monitor, Deloitte noted...