BHP suspends Western Australia rail operations after runaway train incident

Graham "Skroo" Turner, whose $365 million fortune makes him one of Australia's richest people, is setting up a koala sanctuary in Queensland in a bid to stop a coal mine.

Rio Tinto will run the world's first automated long-distance heavy-haul rail network, with a US$518 million investment (Rio Tinto share US$478 million) in driverless trains.

Sydney Morning Herald reports that between 3500 and 4000 miners have walked off the job at BHP Billiton's coal operations in Queensland.

The Australian mining industry's determination to reach its goal of zero harm is reflected in the latest safety performance statistics released by the Queensland Government and reported by the Queensland Resources Council. Lost time injury frequency rates for the State of Queensland fell again from 3.8 to 2.9 injuries per million hours worked in 2010-2011. Days lost to injuries were down from 14,325 days to 11,027 days while the lost time injury plus disabling injury duration rate fell from 34.4 days to 27.4 days per injury.

Xstrata Plc is looking to offload a portion of its $6.4 billion Wandoan coal project in Australia, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Uranium exploration in Australia’s eastern state of New South Wales (NSW) may soon become a reality after Premier Barry O'Farrell's cabinet checked off on a proposal to reverse a 26-year-old ban, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

Fortescue Metals was up 5% Monday on rumours that Canadian coal and copper/zinc miner Teck Resources is making a play for the third-largest iron ore producer in Australia.

An Indian conglomerate is planning to build Queensland's biggest coal mine near Rockhampton in the state's central region, including a new town, runway, railway and port facilities.

Mining companies in Australia are considering to fly foreign workers directly to their operations as the country, particularly the north-east state of Queensland, struggles to fill massive job shortages, reports local media outlet Adelaide Now.