Rio Tinto to start building massive Koodaideri iron ore mine in 2019

Australia's government urged companies on Monday to tighten vigilance over cyber attacks launched offshore against some of the world's biggest resource firms and other businesses, warning high-tech threats were intensifying. Lockheed Martin Corp , the U.S. government's top information technology provider, raised concern about cyber hacking at the weekend, complaining of a pattern of frequent attacks on it from around the world.

Australia's Fortescue Metals said on Thursday that due to weak credit market conditions it had dropped plans to proceed with a previously announced $1 billion unsecured term loan facility. The loan was launched in the United States on Monday by JP Morgan , according to Loan Pricing Corp, a Reuters news service. It was syndicated in the range of 375-400 basis point over London Interbank Offered Rates (Libor), it said.

Chief operating officer of Alacer Gold Corporation Louw Smith told the Resources and Energy Symposium in the Australian mining city of Broken Hill that there were growth developments at both the company's operations in Western Australia and in Turkey.

The boom in resource industry wealth flowing from iron ore and coal exports to China and India has created a record number of billionaires in Australia, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. The latest to top the billionaires club Down Under is iron ore queen Gina Reinhart, who has become the richest person ever in Australia, worth an estimated $10.3 billion. Reinhart is the first woman to to top BRW's Rich 200 list. The list shows Australia now has 35 billionaires, five more than last year, and a cut-off point of $215 million, which is $30 million higher than last year's cut-off of $185 million.

Hot on the heels of a lacklustre listing by Swiss commodities and mining behemoth Glencore, news comes of another multi-billion dollar natural resources IPO going awry. Resourcehouse planned to raise $3.6bn on the Hong Kong market on Thursday but has now postponed the listing to at least the end of the month. The Australian iron ore and coal miner has made three previous attempts to go public in 2009 and 2010.

The executive chairman of private company Direct Nickel Julian Malnic told the Resources & Energy Symposium in Broken Hill in New South Wales that the company was currently moving to raise $A15 million ($US14.7 M) to utilise an ASX-listed shell company for listing.

The Australian: Australia is facing a critical skills shortage in mining and other industries, and India seemed like the perfect place to get skilled labour. However with new projects opening in India, the question is arising as to whether India can spare that labour.

The Australian government this month announced it would fast-track 457 temporary migrant visas for mining companies seeking foreign recruits for positions they can't fill from the domestic labour pool. Austrade is championing the idea of Australian vocational training courses in Indian workplaces and institutions, and eventually an India-based Australian mining and engineering college, with the capacity to train as many as 100,000 Indian workers annually.

South African coal miner Exxaro Resources has agreed to pay AUD$123 million for Territory Resources with the goal of producing 10 million metric tonnes of iron ore a year, Bloomberg reported Monday: Exxaro offered A$0.46 a share for the iron-ore miner based in Perth, Western Australia, the companies said in a statement today. The bid, at a 64 percent premium to the closing price on May 20, was recommended by Territory’s board, they said.

Bloomberg reported that a drop in coal exports following Australia’s floods pushed up exports from the US. The market news is quoted as saying: Queensland Resources Council, representing miners in the Australian state, said in January 85 percent of mines were “impaired by excess water.” Further rains delayed a production recovery, RBS Morgans Ltd. said last month.