Alpha coal ruling no open-and-shut case

The 149-page Queensland Land Court decision on the GVK Hancock Coal Alpha project has been hailed by activists as a landmark success, a vindication of grassroots protest and legal challenge and, ultimately, a death knell for Alpha, according to the Australian Financial Review.

But by the end of the first page of the Land Court’s judgment, it becomes obvious that this decision is more complicated and less proscriptive than the protestors want to represent.

The Land Court said approval could be refused. But, with each of its two recommendations, it offered the state government an “either” case that would pave final progress for Alpha’s debut in the Galilee Basin.

Mining services reject Diggers & Dealers

Colourful annual mining conference Diggers & Dealers has abandoned an attempt to broaden the event to include mining services companies for the first time, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

The Kalgoorlie conference has a tradition of barring companies outside hard rock mining. The issue with looking to break with tradition this year is that the mining services sector is struggling, even more than cash-starved junior explorers.

Coveted speaking invitations were sent to 15 mining services groups, but all bar one was refused.

Diggers & Dealers director John Langford was unsure why the reception was so cool, but on Thursday opted to shelve the strategy.

“We canvassed brokers and investors and they were in full support, it was a natural extension,” he said.

“The only thing we didn't expect was for mining services to say no, and turn down the opportunity to present to 2000 people. The industry didn't want to take advantage of the opportunity.”

Nickel the new market star

Nickel's transition from laggard to market darling is continuing apace, with a perfect storm of factors driving positive sentiment for the metal, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Australia's three pure-play nickel stocks are surging this week on the back of a rising commodity price, elections in Indonesia and even a hint of takeover speculation.

The fun started in January, when one of the world's major nickel suppliers, Indonesia, imposed a ban on exports of some unprocessed types of nickel, in a bid to try and lure miners to build processing facilities on Indonesian soil.

After years in the doldrums, the reduced exports sparked a rise in nickel prices that is still underway three months later.