Union battle heats up with BHP over coal agreements

Coal unions said BHP management was seeking “extreme” and “massive departures” from legacy work agreements and that “it intends to put their proposed agreements out for a vote very soon”, according to the Australian Financial Review.

BHP manages eight operating coal mines in central Queensland on behalf of the BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance. The enterprise agreement currently under discussion will replace a 2012 pact that consumed two years of union and management time and that was punctuated by rolling strike action that cost the "Global Australian" alone more than $US1 billion in lost shipments.

Qld LNG equipment to go under the hammer

Used and brand new construction equipment from the Curtis Island LNG Projects are going under the hammer, with opening bids starting at just $5, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Shipping containers, trucks, trailers and four-wheel-drives are up for grabs at an auction on Wednesday as part of the approximately $50 million dollar ongoing sale of equipment from Curtis Island projects, near Gladstone.

Silver's rally raises questions

Excess supply has caused markets to pan silver - relative to gold - for years. Over five years gold has lost a fifth. Its poor relation silver has fallen over 60%, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Over half of silver demand comes from manufacturers. The bulk of this goes to electronics, from switches on appliances to printed circuit boards, where demand has fallen. Demand for use in solar panels has picked up, but solar accounts for only about 5% of total consumption.