For those who want the full story, please follow the links at the bottom of each brief back to MiningNews.netwhere the associated coverage has been made directly available for your convenience.,

Barnett launches another attack on BHP, Rio

AN industry group has defended BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto after Western Australian Premier Colin Barnett again accused the companies of flooding the iron ore market with supply.

Barnett told WA Parliament yesterday that business and economic logic dictated that if the price of a product was plummeting, the "normal commercial reaction would be to cut back on supply"

"When we get a very sharp and large fall in the price of 40%, which has been accelerated in the past month or so, I find it a strange policy - indeed, a flawed policy - that the major iron ore producers would be putting more and more product into a declining soft market," he said.

"I think that is a flawed policy and I think it will be a failed policy - no doubt about it."

It comes after Barnett accused the two majors last week of forcing the iron ore price down.

read the full story.

Day's stint at Kingsgate short-lived

GOLD producer Kingsgate Consolidated announced today that newly appointed CEO Geoff Day and chief financial officer Austen Perrin had ceased employment with the company.

The company offered no explanation for the sudden departures.

The board appointed chairman Ross Smyth-Kirk as interim executive chairman; chief operating officer Tim Benfield as interim CEO; and general manager finance and administration Ross Coyle as acting CFO, pending permanent appointments.

Day, a former Newcrest Mining executive and Kagara CEO, was appointed in July to replace the late Gavin Thomas.

He only started his role on September 8 and was being paid $A675,000 per annum plus incentives.

read the full story.

Davis' X2 secures more funds

MICK Davis' X2 Resources has secured a further $US1 billion ($A1.1 billion) in funding from new investors, adding to an already hefty war chest for mining acquisitions.

The company did not name the new investors.

X2 has already amassed $4.8 billion in funds after securing $2.5 billion of committed funding and $1.25 billion of conditional funding in March from Singapore's Noble Group, private firm TPG Capital, and sovereign wealth and pension fund investors.

The company said $3.3 billion was available for immediate drawdown and discussions with additional potential investors remained ongoing.

"With almost $5 billion in equity and access to significant additional debt funding, X2 Resources is uniquely positioned and we are currently reviewing a number of opportunities in the metals and mining sector," Davis said.

read the full story.

‘Game over for Australian coal'

MORE Australian coal mines closures seem more possible as China unexpectedly revived the coal import tariffs it cast off last decade.

Effective from October 15, China's anthracite and coking coal imports will be taxed at 3% while thermal coal will attract a 6% import tax.

The move winds back the clock with China completely scrapping tariffs on coking coal imports in 2005 and on thermal coal imports in 2007.

Australia's coal industry is already expected to be the worst hit by the policy shift.

"This is obviously another move to shore up the local coal industry," Shanghai-based ICIS-C1 Energy analyst Deng Shun told Bloomberg.

read the full story.

Cassini jumps on Nebo discovery

INVESTORS have jumped on Cassini Resources this morning after the company announced the discovery of a new massive sulphide lode at its Nebo deposit in Western Australia.

The first hole drilled beyond the current resource returned 7m at 0.98% nickel and 1.13% copper from 185m and 3m at 1.45% nickel and 0.22% copper from 199m.

The hold was targeting an untested electromagnetic conductor.

The new discovery has been dubbed the Sugar lode and it remains open along strike and down-dip.

The infill drilling program at Nebo is continuing and has returned more results which have exceeded the company's expectations.

read the full story.