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.

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

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 absorbing, bitter drama of the life of Australia's richest family will resume in Sydney today, after last-minute wrangling over a key change in its exclusive cast.

Ailing state-owned coal miner Solid Energy's net value to the taxpayer has plunged from more than half a billion dollars to less than $100 million in three years, its annual result yesterday revealed.

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.

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

Young New Zealander of the Year and environmental columnist Sam Judd, is proposing that New Zealand should become the mining hub of the South Pacific.

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

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.