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

Australia is nearing the end of a mining boom which has largely insulated the economy from the travails of the global financial crisis.

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.

Bernie Monk and his son's best schoolmate have been reunited during an operation to recover the bodies of the 29 men who died in the Pike River mine disaster.

The first marine consent application for seabed mining on the North Island's west coast is about to be lodged.

A former Central Otago goldmine worker has admitted stealing gold-bearing sand, which police later found in a plastic lunchbox at his home.

Australian mining magnate and long-time philanthropist Andrew "Twiggy"Forrest has donated A$65 million ($NZ73.9m) to universities in Western Australia.

The rough seas of the southern Pacific Ocean are set to be the focus of resource consent debate as a mining company's bid to dredge the sea floor comes up against the fishing industry and environmentalists.

Seventy people descended on Parliament yesterday to protest a last-minute law change by the Government which could deny the public a say on exploratory deep sea oil drilling.

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.

Mining billionaire and would-be Prime Minister Clive Palmer says Australians will get 'a revolution' if they vote for him - and a 15% tax cut.

An Auckland electrician killed in a mining accident in Western Australia had just met the "woman of his dreams" and planned to make as much money as he could.

Huntly East miners have lashed out at those in charge of debt-laden state-owned coal miner Solid Energy.

Westport residents showed their support for a new open-cast coal mine yesterday by decorating the town in the Buller colours of red and blue.

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.

Oil drilling began yesterday in Balcombe, West Sussex, where anti-fracking campaigners have been protesting for 10 days.

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.

Forest and Bird says efforts to rehabilitate the Stockton Plateau after open-cast coalmining has missed the point, with bright green grass sown rather than restoring the natural tussock landscape.

For Tasmania's miners and environmentalists, the devil is in the detail.

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.