BHP said to owe $215m in underpaid iron ore royalties to Western Australia

The opal-mining township of Mintabie, situated on Aboriginal land at the northern edge of South Australia, could become deserted following the introduction of new laws requiring police checks of residents and prohibiting alcohol consumption in households.

BHP Billiton (ASE:BHP) has logged a remarkable performance over the past twelve months, with the release of its production report for the year ended 30 June 2012 indicating that the diversified mining giant achieved record results across a broad gamut of operations, and maintained its record-breaking run in iron ore output.

Protestors at Australia's Olympic Dam mine, which is perched on top of the world's largest known deposit of uranium, have managed to smash through the perimeter gate of the mine and enter the site itself.

A list of Australia's richest suburbs and towns compiled on the basis of census statistics indicates that mining towns now dominate amongst the country's most affluent areas.

Citic Pacific Mining executive chairman Dongyi Hua says "soaring demand for Australian food, particularly beef, among China's 100 million wealthy people could buffer Australia's economy from the effects of an end to the mining boom" particularly given the risk that iron ore prices could fall further.

This was the year for Australia’s mining boom Martin Ferguson hinted on Monday. The Resources Minister highlighted the end of the high commodity prices era that will force the country’s industry to increase its productivity and develop new technologies in order to remain competitive.

The unprecedented success of Australia's mining sector, which enabled the country to successfully weather the financial crisis and has triggered a surge in the Aussie dollar, may have caused irreparable damage to the Great Barrier Reef

Former electrician turned mining tycoon Nathan Tinkler has issued a further bid for the remainder of Australia's Whitehaven Coal Ltd., following a 17% plunge in the company's shares since Tinkler's first offer for the company on June 13.

Zijin Mining Group (HK:2899), China’s largest gold producer, announced on Friday that its bid for Australia’s Norton Gold Fields Limited (ASX:NGF) had successfully obtained approval from Australian regulators.