The Latest Breaking News from Simon Trott

Economists say fall in US unemployment rate last month means Federal Reserve likely to leave borrowing costs unchanged at this month’s meeting

One of Australia's biggest commodity companies is considering a $300 billion takeover pitch to form the world's largest mining group.

Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) and Hancock Prospecting have announced on Tuesday a joint investment of $1.61 billion to develop the Hope Downs 2 iron ore project in Western Australia's Pilbara region. A 50-50 investment will drive a significant expansion of the long-standing Hope Downs Joint Venture between the two companies.

It's been three years since Rio Tinto blew up sacred rock shelters at Juukan Gorge in WA's Pilbara region. While nothing will make up for the destruction, traditional owners are working to rehabilitate the site.

Rio Tinto offers $4 million towards rebuilding flood-ravaged Fitzroy Crossing in WA's north, as payment for the painstaking search to find a tiny radioactive capsule it lost last month.

The miniscule capsule, which measures 8mm by 6mm, contains cauesium - which is commonly used in radiation gauges and emits dangerous emissions at the equivalent of undergoing 10 X-rays in an hour. It could cause skin burns and even cancer

The item, which is 6 mm by 8 mm in size, may have been caught in the tires of passing vehicles and taken off track to where teams are searching.

A mining corporation has apologized for losing a highly radioactive capsule over a 870-mile stretch of Western Australia

It has been five days since authorities found out a dangerous radioactive capsule was missing in Western Australia, but search efforts to find the tiny device across a 1,400 kilometre distance are ongoing.