Energy & Natural Resources

The failed construction business of Allmine Group's Arccon was not insolvent when it paid $7 million in tax liabilities, despite signs of financial distress, a judge has found, dismissing a case by a liquidator's assignee against the tax office.

Holding Redlich has hired four Melbourne-based lawyers from HWL Ebsworth, including two partners, to bolster its construction team.

KPMG has told a judge there is no evidence that Arrium's share price would have changed even if it had recorded a $2.8 billion impairment, urging the judge to reject the shareholder class action's "intuitive" case on loss. 

Peabody Energy has paid $5 million to mine workers who were shortchanged, after the coal producer admitted it misunderstood employees' entitlements under the Award. 

Mallesons-represented Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners has obtained financing for the next stage of the Supernode battery energy storage system project in Queensland.

Former directors of steelmaker Arrium have rejected shareholder class action claims that the company's collapse was foreseeable, calling claims they had their heads in the sand “arrant nonsense”. 

Clive Palmer has lost another legal battle over Western Australian legislation shielding the state from the fallout of a decision barring a proposed Pilbara iron ore project, with a Swiss court rejecting his challenge to a tribunal's finding that it had no jurisdiction to hear the $300 billion dispute.

KPMG failed to bring the necessary scepticism to the task of auditing failing steel manufacturer Arrium, instead leaving contradictory evidence unresolved and giving the company a clean bill of health, a shareholder class action has told the court.

A shareholder class action against KPMG and ex-Arrium directors says the company's accounts were infected by "chronic and systemic overoptimism", with the former operator of Whyalla Steelworks portraying as viable a business that was impaired up to $2.8 billion.

Monadelphous Group subsidiary Kerman has secured a $165 million Rio Tinto contract for the design and construction of facilities at the mining giant's Brockman Syncline 1 project in the Pilbara.