Mining not an easy ride, says Rinehart

Billionaire iron ore magnate Gina Rinehart has chided Australians for believing it is easy to make money in the mining industry, according to The Australian.

Rinehart – Australia’s richest person and the major shareholder in Fairfax Media – said too many people believed that “once you have a tenement granted to you, all you do is sit back and wait as the money pours in from it”

Newman strikes back at Clive Palmer in court

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman yesterday struck back at Palmer United Party leader Clive Palmer by filing a document in the state’s Supreme Court in which the tycoon is squarely accused of trying to use his political donations to get favourable treatment for his coal interests in Queensland, according to The Australian.

Newman, the defendant in a defamation action lodged by Palmer in Brisbane last month, also asserts in court documents filed late yesterday that Palmer had showered gifts on two politicians before and after they defected to PUP.

BHP retrenches 100 in iron ore unit

About 100 staff at BHP Billiton’s iron ore division headquarters in Perth have lost their jobs as the world’s biggest miner marches on with a cost-cutting drive in the face of a tumbling iron ore price, according to the Australian Financial Review.

It’s understood the staff performed functional roles on project work that has wound down and is not directly related to the recent iron ore price plunge.

However, the staff cuts highlight the miner’s quest to slim down its operations as it moves to lower costs.