Australia's largest gold miner is facing a class action from shareholders over its massive financial writedown.

Forest & Bird (F&B) has pulled the plug after a two-year legal battle to stop Bathurst Resources' new Buller coal mine.

Grey District mayor Tony Kokshoorn says the resource consent approval for Escarpment coal mine on the West Coast's Denniston Plateau is great news for the district.

A tweet that appeared to suggest Israel had attacked Syria sent US oil prices soaring - until traders realised the post referred to the 40th anniversary of a war.

A report into the oil and gas sector says the "rubber's finally hitting the road" with $2.2 billion about to be spent exploring around New Zealand.

New Zealand Oil & Gas says it should have been developing new oil fields by now as reserves at its producing assets dwindle.

The Government has opened up much of the volcanic plateau for gold and silver prospecting, including one of the largest tracts of native forest left in the North Island.

NZ Oil & Gas says it's satisfied it "did the right thing" following the disaster at its subsidiary Pike River Coal, as it posts an after-tax profit of $16.7m.

Let's get one thing straight. Chatham Rock Phosphate wouldn't be considering extracting phosphate nodules from a tiny fraction.

Australia's mining investment boom could fall away faster than anticipated, but there's still uncertainty about how non-mining sectors will rebalance the economy.

Rising oil and gas prices will make solar, wind and tidal energy, some types of biofuels, and even nuclear generation more attractive, writes Wayne Cartwright.

The decision by the police not to lay criminal charges against Pike management again shreds the hearts of the victims' families, writes Gerard Morris.

Western Australia, the state that led the mining boom, is now bleeding, shedding thousands of jobs, sacking public servants, and battling a sharply declining economy.

In her judgment against what was in many respects a phantom company on trial, Judge Jane Farish was clear about where the buck should stop, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

Herein lies the opportunity for NZ, writes Frank Duffield. Its resource base is largely underexplored, and world-scale natural gas discoveries are quite possible.

Motorists will face petrol price rises tomorrow, with a three cents a litre government tax increase, pushing total tax on petrol to about 42.7 per cent of the pump price.

Well-connected lobbyists Saunders Unsworth worked with Solid Energy, Treasury and Cabinet Ministers to thwart questions about the company's problems.