POLITICS & POLICY

China will introduce effective Friday the issuance of a rare earths specialised value-added tax invoice system to its industry producers and miners in a bid to curb the rampant illegal mining of rare earths in its country, amid plans of building a national rare earths inventory reserve to regulate price fluctuations.

What has former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd been up to these days? The gruelling world of politics has been shunned lately by Mr Rudd but on Thursday he got one of the biggest milestones of his life - the world has welcomed the entry of the Labor backbencher's first grandchild - a baby girl.

Climate Change Minister Greg Combet criticised Opposition MPs for speaking against the carbon tax while at the same time boosting their investment in mining which is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.

The board of Perth-based Norton Gold Fields has unanimously recommended and advised its shareholders to accept the $229 million takeover bid of Zijin Mining Group, China's biggest gold producer.

Fair Work Australia (FWA) has ended the country's work week with good news - workers will be getting a pay boost starting on July as the industrial watchdog said on Friday that the country's minimum wage level will be given a fair uptick.

BHP Billiton Ltd. continued to reiterate board approvals to pending projects will not be tackled until end of the year, even as it welcomed the latest positive development bequeathed by Australian government authorities on the planned expansion of its Port Hedland harbor in the country's Pilbara region.

Fair Work Australia (FWA) awarded on Friday a $17.10 per week increase in pay to the country's minimum wage earners. The award, though, is less than the $26 weekly raise that unions sought.

The Dow industrials slid, capping their biggest monthly decline in two years, after downbeat readings on the labor market and business activity. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 26.41 points, or 0.2%, to 12393.45. Stocks turned red minutes before the close Thursday in a choppy session that saw the Dow move 173.39 points from low to high.

Vale SA, the world's largest iron ore miner, on Thursday announced it is suspending the operations of its Carborough Downs coal mine in Australia in compliance to a government directive after irregular levels of carbon monoxide were detected in the mine.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: Europe's woes and weaker US data released overnight drives the Australian Dollar to yearly lows.

A new earthquake hits Italy which brought more destruction and death to the country. According to reports, 17 deaths were already accounted for due to this new earthquake.

The world greeted the guilty verdict handed down to a Thai journalist on Wednesday with grave concern even as a separate trial could further complicate the existing legal woes of Chiranuch Premchaiporn.

The Australian sharemarket lost ground for the second straight day today, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) falling 0.4 pct or 15 pts to 4133.7. At its worst, the market was down 1.3 pct early in the session. May was the worst performing month for Australian shares in two years, with stocks down 7.5 pct.

Australian mining company Mindoro Resources Ltd. is out to spin off its gold and copper assets in the Philippines to focus on the development of its Agata nickel project, also in the same country.

Australia will become the lead country on NATO's winding down mission in Uruzgan, a province in Afghanistan where the country's 1,550 troops are currently deployed.

Can there really still be a mining boom for Australia in the future? Or should it better take stock of inventories and salvage what it can from an overrated golden mining era?

Government authorities from China's province of Liaoning have confirmed the discovery of a large iron ore reserve by Fushun Hanking Maogong Mining Co. Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Hanking Holdings Limited.

Molycorp Inc.'s business plan to become a one-stop rare earths shop facility is almost on its heels after shareholders of its acquisition target, Neo Material Technologies Inc,. unanimously approved its takeover bid of the Canadian rare earths processor.

Slavery, according to the Australian government, remains thriving in many corners of the world and the country has its share of the problem in the form of arranged marriage, human organ trafficking and forced prostitution.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard gave the minerals resource rent tax a boost on Wednesday night by saying at the Minerals Council of Australia annual dinner that the government with go on with spreading the benefits of the mining boom.

Independent MP Rob Oakeshott aims to disprove the claim by large Australian mining companies that there are not enough local miners to fill in vacancies. He issued a challenge for the mining firms to send a plane to New South Wales and Mr Oakeshott promised to fill the jet with workers from his electorate.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian dollar has come under intense selling pressure overnight as a result of the ongoing Euro-zone debt crisis.

Embattled MP Craig Thomson may have created a stir in Parliament on Wednesday when he sat and voted with Liberals four times. However, the bigger story about Mr Thompson failed to air because Nine Network placed on indefinite hold on the same day the broadcast of its interview with a former prostitute who claimed the MP from Dobell was her client.

U.S. stocks slumped Wednesday as worries about the health of Spanish banks stoked concerns about the euro zone's debt crisis. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 160.83 points, or 1.28%, to 12419.86, for its worst one-day percentage fall since April 10.

Long-term prices of uranium have been on the upswing, a first since the devastating 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis that not only affected Japan but the entire uranium industry as well, the Financial Post reported, citing information from the trade publication Ux Consulting.

The Indian consortium that will mine copper and gold in Afghanistan is expected to meet on the first week of June to discuss each member's equity shareholding after due diligence work on the mineral deposits has been completed.

Wilkie Creek coal mine, U.S. firm Peabody Energy Corp.'s asset in Australia, is being eyed for possible acquisition by South Korea's LG International.

The Australian sharemarket lost ground for the first time this week, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) easing by 0.5 pct or 19.5 pts to 4148.7. The market gained by around 1 pct yesterday and on Monday but could not continue the winning streak. At its low point of the day, shares were down by 1 pct, while the market was flat at its best. Despite today's losses, local shares are still around 1.6 pct higher now than on Friday last week. The dollar value of shares that exchanged hands today re...

The Coalition remains committed to repeal the laws enabling the controversial mining tax and carbon pricing but according to Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, specific provisions in the programs may not be easy to roll back.