The destruction of the culturally significant site in Western Australia triggered the exit of Rio's CEO, chairman and two senior executives.

Silver Lake had raised the cash component of the proposal by A$44 million after St Barbara rejected its earlier offer of A$707 million.

Australian cargoes in April of mostly thermal coal for power plants surged 75% from the prior month.

Women currently hold 14% of all mining executive positions and 12.3% of board roles, data showed.

Funding will be used to advance feasibility studies for the company’s proposed mine at Springdale, and advanced battery anode material manufacturing plant at Collie.

The two countries have reached an agreement to coordinate polices and investment to support the industry's growth.

Newcrest was fined A$15,000 in August last year for failing to effectively mitigate dust pollution at Cadia.