Freeport-McMoRan has suspended operations at it gold and copper mine in eastern Indonesia's Papua province due to fighting among its employees.

Takeover target Macarthur Coal says it remains in a strong position to double its 2009 production levels by the 2014 financial year. The company said it was on track to deliver its previously stated goal of producing 9.2 million tonnes of coal per annum

Former Australian of the Year and Aboriginal leader, Galarrwuy Yunupingu, has called on his people to stop accepting welfare handouts, saying that it's killing them. Mr Yunupingu was speaking at this year's Garma Festival, held on a remote region of Yolngu land on the edge of the Gulf of Carpentaria in the Northern Territory. Addressing the audience, including Rio Tinto executives and Fortescue Metals chairman Aandrew Forrest, Mr Yunupingu said the Yolngu society doesn't need welfare, but appropriate education.

Australian share closed sharply lower on concerns the US government may default if an agreement cannot be reached on raising its debt ceiling.

Workers at the world's biggest copper mine in northern Chile downed their tools over the weekend as part of an indefinite strike over unmet contract demands. About 2,300 workers of the Escondida mine, under majority control of British-Australian giant

Climate Change Minister Greg Combet has promised that Queensland coal mines will be compensated for losses caused by a carbon tax, saying pollution intensive areas like Gladstone will receive significant compensation.

Queensland's coal industry will grow under carbon pricing but it will come at a cost, its industry body says. Queensland Resources Council members voiced their concerns to Premier Anna Bligh on Monday afternoon after the federal government announced its

The Greens say South Australia will benefit from the $10 billion allocated to renewable energy projects as part of the federal government's carbon pricing scheme. But the party has conceded that as the state transitions to a clean energy future, towns that are largely supported by coal mining have a limited future. Image is from Billy Hathorn.

European Union regulators cleared on Friday a bid by French minerals firm Imerys to acquire the world's biggest talc producer, Luzenac, from Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto. Imerys announced in February its intention to buy Luzenac for $US340