Sino project beset with problems

Since buying the Sino Iron magnetite project ground from Clive Palmer's Mineralogy in 2006 for $US415 million, Hong Kong-based, Chinese government-owned Citic has been plagued by cost blowouts and delays developing the project and various long-running legal disputes, most prominently with Clive Palmer, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Citic Pacific Mining CEO Chen Zeng would not confirm the cost of the now near-complete project but analysts have pegged it at about $US12 billion - more than several times the original budget.

Renewables playing havoc with power prices

The surge in renewable energy such as wind farms in South Australia has left households with whipsawing electricity bills as power companies push through a round of steep price rises, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

AGL, the dominant supplier in the South Australian market, is hiking its charges by 10 to 12% from the beginning of July, well ahead of the 7% rise flagged by Origin Energy. EnergyAustralia is to outline its new tariffs later in the week.

This compares with more modest price rises of around 9-10% in NSW, with AGL leading the way raising prices around 10% and both EnergyAustralia and Origin at 8-9%, with all telling customers to shop around for competitive rates.

Turquoise Hill lifts as copper shines again

Turquoise Hill Resources surged as much as 30% since Monday, when reports emerged that its controlling shareholder Rio Tinto Group is looking into taking the Vancouver-based company private by increasing its stake and bringing in a partner, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Goldman Sachs was hired to advise on the proposal, a person with knowledge of the matter said.

An intense phase of spending cuts amid plunging prices has left producers grappling for growth prospects as they look ahead to a price upswing.