Caterpillar says tariffs will wipe out up to $200M

Global miner BHP Billiton is looking to build a new rail line between some of its inland Australian coal mines and the coast in a move that could threaten dominant coal haulage firm QR National, a newspaper said on Thursday.

World no. two iron ore producer Rio Tinto announced on Wednesday it is suspending operations at two mines in Pilbara, Western Australia following the fatality of a worker. "Operations at Brockman 2 and the adjacent Nammuldi mine site will remain suspended until further notice," the company said in a statement. The 27-year old man was fatally injured shortly after 8:00pm while changing out a hydraulic cylinder on a front-end loader. One other work-mate was with him at the time.

The world's number two miner provided funding and logistical support as far back as March 2010 for Red Dog, a movie about a kelpie roaming the mining towns of the Pilbara region and now finds itself one of the principal investors in Australia's number one hit movie of the year. There is a statue in the cattle dog's memory in Dampier, which is one of the towns in the 1970s to which he often returned in the region where most of Australia's iron ore is mined today. Iron ore exports alone contribute some 3.6% or $50 billion to Australia's economy.

The market is expecting BHP Billiton to post record-setting annual profits of $US22.1 billion next week on revenues forecast to be a staggering $71.9 billion. BHP investors, whose stock has hardly moved in a year despite stellar growth rates at the Melbourne-based company, would want to hear if another share buyback will follow the $10 billion round completed in June and any update on its purchase of Petrohawk. The world's biggest miner has a history dating back 150 years and its operations span the globe from potash in Canada (pictured) and coal in South Africa to nickel in Australia and copper in Chile.

Contract mining and construction firm Macmahon Holdings has secured various Australian mining contracts worth $90m. The first contract involves predevelopment work adjacent to current operations at BHP Billiton Iron Ore's Wheelarra mine and mining

Oz Minerals reported its half year financial results on Monday. Highlights were revenue of $632.7 million, and reported net profit after tax of $113.9 million with underlying net profit after tax of $189.1 million.

Yukon-Nevada Gold announced that it has closed the Forward Gold Purchase Agreement with Deutsche Bank AG. Deutsche Bank has funded a US$120 million prepaid gold forward facility to Queenstake Resources USA, Inc, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. The facility is a forward contract structured to deliver 173,880 ounces of gold over a 48 month term.

China will need large quantities of Australian raw materials as its industrialisation and urbanisation race ahead, despite concerns about weak global economic conditions, Australian Trade Minister Craig Emerson said on Friday. Emerson also hinted that a fall in the Australian dollar amid the volatility that has jolted global financial markets for the past week was good, saying its strong currency had hurt manufacturing and exporters.

Xstrata has approved the commencement of an AUD47 million (USD50 million) pre-feasibility study into the development of a large multi-commodity open pit mine on the existing Xstrata Mount Isa Mines footprint. In a joint statement, Xstrata Zinc Australia Chief Operating Officer Brian Hearne and Xstrata Copper North Queensland Chief Operating Officer Steve de Kruijff said the development of a large scale zinc-lead-copper pit has the potential to extend the life of the combined operations to beyond 2060.