Mine health officer wages plummet

The downturn in the mining boom has hit the pockets of workers in health, safety and environment roles, with the biggest impact in Western Australia, where their average salary has plunged 20.8%, according to The Australian.

A survey of more than 1000 workplace health and safety and health, safety and environment workers at 130 predominantly ASX 200 companies indicates that salaries in the resources states have been severely affected by the slowdown in the mining sector.

Colin Barnett calls for fair mining royalties

West Australian Premier Colin Barnett will today urge African governments to ensure that mining companies - including hundreds from Australia - pay fair rates of royalties and taxation for the right to operate on the resource-rich continent, according to The Australian.

In a keynote address at the Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town, South Africa, Barnett will explain his landmark plan to work with African governments to bolster their mining industries, a move he says will also benefit Australian mining companies active there.

Roy Hill says exports on target despite changes to Samsung contract

Gina Rinehart's Roy Hill Holdings insists it will begin exporting on schedule next year, despite extending a crucial construction contract to the brink of 2016, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Roy Hill executives confirmed yesterday that certain aspects of the company's engineering and construction contract with Samsung C&T had been altered, including a 46-day extension to the length of the agreement.

Certain terms were also changed, and the currency fluctuations increased the Australian dollar cost of the contract by $60 million to $5.65 billion.