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The state government has announced it will impose a five per cent royalty rate on uranium and magnetite iron ore, setting up another fight with Canberra.

Mines Minister Norman Moore, who was speaking at a uranium conference in Fremantle today, said the royalties on magnetite would bring in about $60 million in 2011-12.

That is expected to grow to more than $160 million by 2014-15.

Mr Moore said the WA government would consider granting individual, affected companies a temporary exemption from the royalty to allow them time to adjust.

Despite lobbying by junior and mid-tier miners, magnetite iron ore was not exempt under the federal’s government Minerals Resource Rent Tax (MMRT).

Although magnetite is deemed lower grade in its raw form, once processed it is highly sought after.

The magnetite industry is still in its infancy, with the Gindalbie Metal’s Karara project in WA’s mid-west slated to begin production in January next year with exports to follow in June.

The Australian Minerals and Exploration Council expressed disappointment about the new royalty regime.

“AMEC has been consulting with the government on various options for the future treatment of royalty rates as it relates in particular to the magnetite sector,” AMEC chief executive Simon Bennison said.

“There is a desperate need to make sure infrastructure is in place as these projects come on stream.”

“In spite of this announcement we propose to continue discussions with the government on the future application of royalties on this emerging industry with a view to assisting it come on stream in the most cost effective way as possible, whilst also optimising its long term sustainability.”

Mr Moore said the new royalty rate on uranium would bring in about $10 million in 2013-14 and $28 million by 2014-15 into state coffers.

Although there are no uranium mines in operation in WA, there are four mines being planned with one of the leading projects, Toro Energy’s proposed Wiluna mine, earmarked for 2013.

Toro Energy managing director Greg Hall said the WA government’s plans for a royalty on uranium had been flagged with the sector via its key representative body, the Australian Uranium Association.

Mr Hall said the sector still needed time to assess what the proposal meant for it.

He said Toro’s Wiluna uranium project was on track for commissioning in late 2013.

In May, WA government’s decision to remove a royalty concession on iron ore fines, a crushed form of the mineral, angered the federal government who threatened to withhold infrastructure funding. Full Post…

-Demand for North American service outpacing capacity growth.

-Gulf of Mexico activity rises though CEO warns of possible decline.

-International revenue up, but profits fall.

By Ryan Dezember and Tess Stynes

Halliburton Co.’s second-quarter earnings surged 54% on rising demand for its services, especially from producers rushing to tap North America’s new-found stores of oil and natural gas.

The Houston-based company’s profit exceeded expectations, signaling yet another strong quarter for the oilfield-service sector. The industry has quickly rebounded from its recession-era nadir, propelled by the drilling boom in shale formations throughout the U.S.

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Mutiny Gold has successfully raised $9.7 million to acquire the Gullewa gold project in the Mid West and to expand exploration programs at the development’s Deflector deposit.

Mutiny told the ASX today it had raised the $9.7 million through a 9.6 cents per share placement which included one free attaching option for every two shares purchased.

The company first announced it would acquire the Gullewa project in April.

The deposit contains existing resources of 650,000 ounces gold and around 25,000 tonnes of copper. Full Post…

VAT cuts must be put in place to restore growth in key sectors, says the Federation of Small Businesses.

The lobbying group says that the government must rethink its growth strategy in the face of falling business confidence.

Businesses were less confident in the second quarter of 2011 than they were at the start of the year as the FSB ‘Voice of Small Business’ Index fell by 6.4 points in the first quarter from +6.7 to +0.3.

The group is calling on the government to follow the lead of other EU countries and cut VAT in the construction and tourism sectors to 5 per cent for a year to help give the economy a real boost. <

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But a Herald-Tribune analysis of just-released 2010 data shows that new construction in Sarasota County actually declined another $200,000 last year to $136 million, the lowest amount in Sarasota County since the days of the Nixon administration.

During the heady days of the construction boom — when condominiums were rising across the Sarasota skyline like cornstalks — the figure hit $2 billion for two successive years.

But even with that massive drop, there are some signs of hope from what some observers might consider an unlikely source: residential construction.

Half of the 20 largest construction projects in 2010 that did not result from government spending were luxury single-family homes.

While homeowners have not seen the value of their properties bounce back from the Great Recession, stockholders have seen most of their losses recouped. Tha

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