Western Australian Transport Minister Troy Buswell has raised the prospect of WA's port authorities transferring assets to the private sector as part of a push to increase efficiency and to boost returns to taxpayers.

The European probe into possible oil price manipulation has expanded with the investigation of a small niche trading house in the Netherlands, while a key US senator has called for the Justice Department to join the investigation.

The Western Australian government’s recently announced Regional Freight Transport Network Plan has been labelled “a step in the right direction” by the WA Chamber of Minerals and Energy.

World oil prices continue to rise after a better-than-expected reading on US consumer confidence boosted hopes for stronger energy demand in the top global economy.

Caterpillar Inc's deal to cut the purchase price of a Chinese mining-equipment maker it bought last year ends an embarrassing episode that overshadowed the company's effort to expand in China and distracted its executives for months.

Shares in engineering giant WorleyParsons plunged to four-year lows after it blamed a slowdown in Western Australia's mining industry for a profit downgrade.

A truck driver is being flown to Perth for emergency medical treatment after his vehicle smashed through a safety railing at a Pilbara creek, plunging 30 metres.

Premier Colin Barnett is looking three years into WA's future and sees a looming gap in new construction that needs to be filled with the next generation of big resources projects.

For the first time in the 30-year history of the Argyle Diamond Mine, Rio Tinto will be showcasing three rare red diamonds at its annual Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender, the world’s most exclusive sale of rare diamonds.

Former NSW resources minister Ian Macdonald says he's confident he'll be cleared when the state's corruption watchdog hands down its findings on the granting of a controversial mining licence.

Some of WA's biggest gold bulls are staring at more than $100 million of paper losses on their shareholdings in the miners they help run.