Rio Tinto launches $5 billion cost cutting drive

Rio Tinto says it will generate $5 billion in extra free cash flow over the next five years by cutting operational costs across its global empire.

Money men returning to base metals

• Opinion

Longer-term investors are also returning to the industrial metals sector for the first time in years.

Why bets on a Trump mining boom are tempting fate

• ANALYSIS

Fears grow that prices have climbed too far, too fast in wake of US election and Chinese housing boom

Five years after the boom, battle rages over mining wages

Coal prices may be recovering, but there are no celebrations in WA mining town Collie, where workers are fighting plans to slash their wages almost in half.

Gina Rinehart praises President-elect Donald Trump's 'exciting' plan

Australia's richest woman Gina Rinehart has welcomed Donald Trump's election victory as "exciting" for America's economy and called for similar policies to those of the new president-elect to be implemented in Australia. 

Iron ore drops as stockpiles surge

Prices have given up most of the gains inspired by Donald Trump's surprise win and a speculative frenzy in China.

Mining giant Rio Tinto expected to cut 500 West Australian jobs

Mining giant Rio Tinto has confirmed the company will slash more jobs across its iron ore division in Western Australia.

'Rio offered to pay me off': ex-Guinea mining minister

A Rio Tinto Group executive asked how big a bribe it would take to beat out a competitor for a hotly contested iron ore deposit in Guinea, the country's former mining minister says.

Copper extends slide

​Copper clocked its biggest weekly fall in a month as the US dollar soared to a 14-year high.

Iron ore resets lower after surge

Iron ore just capped the biggest weekly drop in six months.

Nasser warns against Trump tariff 'trauma'

BHP chair Jac Nasser says the world economy will face "complete trauma" if Donald Trump goes ahead with tariffs on Chinese products.

'No grounds': Sacked Rio Tinto executive promises legal fight

A top Rio Tinto executive sacked over a suspect multimillion-dollar payment connected to the mining giant's African operations says the company had "no grounds" to fire him and promises a legal fight.

Court challenge against Queensland coal mine dismissed

Local action groups have criticised a "weak" legal structure in Queensland to protect communities from mining operations following the dismissal of a challenge against a coal mine near Maryborough.

BHP's climate change plea to Trump

BHP's boss has urged US President-elect Donald Trump to refrain from tearing up the Paris climate change agreement.

Oil exploring heads back to 1950s

Oil markets are faced with the rising threat of an oil shortage emerging over the next few years, the IEA has warned.

Protesters target new Queensland Resources Council chief

Protesters dressed as rats have targeted the new chief of the Queensland Resources Council Ian Macfarlane outside its annual lunch on Wednesday.

Palmer companies chided over court delays

Clive Palmer's companies are frustrating liquidators' efforts to obtain documents about the collapse of Queensland Nickel, the Federal Court has heard.

'Victim' Tinkler defends Hunter Valley coal mine

Former billionaire Nathan Tinkler has issued a passionate defence of coal in the Hunter Valley, describing himself as a "victim" of the thoroughbred horse breeding industry and lashing the "self interest" of its campaign against the expansion of the controversial Drayton South mine expansion.

Wesfarmers eyes $2b sale of Australian coal mines

The retail and mining conglomerate has started a process to sell its Curragh and Bengalla mines to cash in on the recent coal price rally, sources say.

Linc Energy fights Queensland environment order

The liquidators for Linc Energy have launched a legal challenge to the Queensland government's environmental protection order on its operation near Chinchilla, claiming liquidated companies should not need to comply.

Former Linc Energy executives face charges

Green groups are calling for more underground coal gasification projects to be stopped after the Queensland government charged five Linc Energy executives.

Rich countries told to shut coal plants by 2030 to save climate

Rich countries must close all their coal-fired power plants by 2030 to have a chance of holding global warming to tolerable levels, a report from an environmental research group said.

Iron ore's party may be about to end

Soaring prices for the metal have boosted Australia's three largest exporters. But the party is about to end, with prices tipped to plunge by 40 per cent next year.

Yallourn closure could follow Hazelwood, pushing power prices further

EnergyAustralia has warned of a further round of electricity price rises if its Yallourn power station in Victoria's Latrobe Valley were to close.

Bluescope shares soar on Trump victory, profit surge

The steel maker has affirmed its December-half underlying profit before tax would be "at least" $510 million, up 50 per cent,

Rio's Simandou email trail snares former CEOs Walsh, Albanese

​Two former Rio Tinto chief executives are included in the emails at the heart of investigations across three continents into payments the global miner made over access to a mining project in West Africa.

Trumped by a sweetheart deal for Adani

• COMMENT

Co-operation to tackle the effects of coal and gas mining is not only possible: it is imperative. Yet, in our halls of power the loud voices of vested interests largely drown out the voices of those affected.

Qld government gives Adani water exemption

The Queensland government has granted the controversial Carmichael mine an 11th hour exemption to new water laws that could have seen the project subjected to further legal challenges.

Rio suspends executive over $13.5m Simandou payments

Global miner Rio Tinto has suspended two senior executives following the discovery of large payments to a consultant who worked on the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea.