Palmer gets nod for more toxic sludge

The Queensland government is permitting Clive Palmer’s nickel refinery to discharge a much higher level of toxicity of contaminated sludge than six months ago, according to The Australian.

Premier Campbell Newman and Environment Minister Andrew Powell have repeatedly insisted a new permit introduced in November was a major step forward in regulating the refinery’s environmental impacts, but analysis shows it lets Palmer’s refinery discharge hazardous waste at toxicity levels many times higher into the waters surrounding the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

WA project drives CITIC to $39B deal

China's CITIC Pacific has agreed to buy the main operating unit of its parent, state-backed CITIC Group, for $US36.5 billion ($A39 billion) in a stock-and-cash deal aimed at diversifying its metals and mining business, according to the Australian Financial Review.

The purchase will give a much-needed boost to CITIC Pacific's ailing finances after it miscalculated the huge cost of developing a mine in Western Australia.

The deal is the biggest injection by any Chinese firm into a Hong Kong-listed company, analysts said, and shares in CITIC Pacific have gained nearly 13% since the company and its parent unveiled initial details of the purchase in late March.

“The enhanced financing capability should enable CITIC Pacific to continue the funding of existing capital-intensive projects such as the Sino Iron project in Western Australia,” CITIC Pacific said in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Rio chief tight-lipped on Ranger mine

Rio Tinto chief executive Sam Walsh has refused to guarantee that his company will cover the cost of rehabilitating the Ranger uranium mine near Kakadu, building on uncertainty that was created last month by the Rio subsidiary in charge of the mine, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Energy Resources of Australia - which is 68% owned by Rio - raised eyebrows when it revealed it may need to find new sources of money to meet its rehabilitation commitments for Ranger, which is entirely surrounded by Kakadu National Park.

Under the Ranger permit, ERA must have rehabilitated the site by 2026, and a review of the rehabilitation strategy in 2013 found the cost would be $603 million on a net present cost basis.

ERA has $357 million on hand and has ceased mining at Ranger, with the company now exploring for more uranium underground in a bid to find future revenue streams.

In an unusual move, ERA appeared to link the success of that exploration project - known as Ranger 3 Deeps - to its ability to pay for the rehabilitation of the site.