The new owner of one of Australia’s deepest underground copper mines wants to double the life of the asset by digging even deeper.

The CSA mine, 14km northwest of Cobar in central-western NSW, extends almost two kilometres below the surface and has about 45 levels. 

Now owned by South Africa’s Harmony Gold Mining Company, it produces high-quality processed copper concentrate, with ores averaging between three and five per cent copper.

Harmony officially took over the almost 150-year-old mine in October 2025, after acquiring its previous owner, MAC Copper, for $1.6 billion.

CSA, which takes its name from the Cornish, Scottish and Australian syndicate that kicked off operations after copper was discovered in 1871, has a mine life of 12 years.

“We’ve got a really aggressive plan to almost double that … if we get to extend the main ore body down deeper,” general manager Rob Gracey told a media group touring the site on Friday.

“If that area is extended down to two and a half kilometres, or 2.7km, you’re probably looking at about 700,000 tonnes of contained copper.”

Copper is enjoying a resurgence in demand across the world given its importance in the construction of data centres to support a booming artificial intelligence market.

The metal, which is prized for its high conductivity and heat tolerance, is trading around $US6.58 per pound, up about $US2 from a year ago.

Harmony also owns the Eva copper project in Cloncurry in northwest Queensland, which it bought in 2022.

The company has ambitions to supercharge production from CSA and Eva to a combined 100,000 copper tonnes annually between the next three to five years.

The CSA mine produced 18,000 tonnes between October and the end of June, including its best month so far, when it produced 4159 tonnes in May.

If the results are extrapolated, production is assumed at 48,000 tonnes a year, Mr Gracey said. 

CSA has about 500 employees and contractors – made up of residential, fly-in, fly-out and drive-in, drive-out personnel – and is a major employer in Cobar, which has a population of about 5000.

Women make up about 22 per cent of the workforce, many of whom do the school drop-off and pick-up while driving trucks at the mine.

A media group touring CSA on Thursday visited the Moolarben coal mine, about 40km north of Mudgee in the NSW western coalfields region.

The open-cut and underground operation is owned by Yancoal, an $8 billion Australian stock exchange-listed group, which exports thermal and metallurgical coal and has 11 coal mines around NSW, Queensland and Western Australia.

The mine has about 1200 employees and contractors and worked with about 120 local suppliers in 2025, generating about $58 million in revenue.

Yancoal is majority-owned by China’s Yankuang and is also traded on the Hong Kong exchange.

It recently reported an operating profit of $328 million for the first six months of 2026, up 42 per cent from the same period in 2025.

A deadline to secure funding to keep embattled housing developer Bathla Group afloat has been pushed out to Monday as creditors absorb a breakdown of the group’s $3.4 billion debt. 

Insolvency advisory Teneo has been scrambling to secure short-term funding for Bathla since it entered voluntary administration in late August.

A creditors’ meeting on Friday was presented details of the company’s debt picture.

Teneo will continue negotiations with lenders over the weekend to try to secure funding ahead of a staff meeting on Monday to inform Bathla employees if a short-term package has been agreed.

Money to cover payroll had been secured through refunds of bonds held by entities such as Sydney Water, a source close to the negotiations told AAP on Friday.

“It’s a very volatile situation because there’s no money and time is running out,” said the source, who asked not to be named for commercial privacy reasons.

The worst-case scenario if no funding came through was for building operations to shut down, they said.

Figures presented to creditors showed Bathla’s total debt at $3.4 billion, including $3.08 billion to secured lenders, $130 million to unsecured lenders, $145 million to the tax office and $4 million to employees.

On Thursday, administrator Stephen Longley said Bathla’s employees had engaged with Teneo constructively, but stressed the payroll target was only the first hurdle.

“The situation is complex,” he said in a statement, adding the short-term funding administrators were still attempting to secure would only afford a few weeks of breathing room.

Bathla is one of Sydney’s largest residential developers and has 45 projects under construction.

Should they fail to secure a lifeline from lenders, the home developer is expected to be wound up after the NSW government declined to bail it out.

According to Bathla’s website, the group has 20,000 apartments and 7000 dwellings in its delivery pipeline.

The projects comprise a significant share of the NSW government’s target of 75,400 new homes a year for five years until 2029. 

Homebuyers who bought off-the-plan have been left in the dark, uncertain when, or if, their properties will be completed, while contractors have been left scrambling to recoup debts. 

Some private lenders have called in receivers to take control of certain sites, while others have taken steps to assure investors they are not overly exposed.

Founded in NSW in 1997, Bathla joins a long list of Australian home developers which have recently entered voluntary administration or liquidation.

Founder Bhart Bhushan described the move as an “orderly restructure” and cited a range of circumstances, including tax changes in the May federal budget and falling buyer confidence.

Volkswagen’s board of directors have approved a sweeping cost-cutting plan that would cut 50,000 jobs, slim the company’s model line by half and end auto production at four German plants.

The plan, the most extensive restructuring in Volkswagen’s 89-year history, includes exploring alternatives for four German plants that will eventually run out of models during the next decade.

It also averts a major clash with unions by putting the scenario of an extraordinary general ‌meeting on the ‌backburner, a scenario that ⁠was considered by management to push through its plans against workers and Volkswagen’s second-largest shareholder, ​Lower Saxony.

The deal will result in a simplification of Volkswagen’s conglomerate structure and limit the influence of the group’s supervisory board – on which unions and Lower Saxony hold a majority – on key decisions.

“This is a strong signal for the future of the Volkswagen Group. We are taking responsibility for our entire workforce, for our partners and for industrial jobs worldwide,” CEO Oliver Blume said in a ⁠statement.

Frankfurt-listed Volkswagen shares closed 7.9 per cent higher following the news, reflecting relief over ‌what sources ​said could have escalated into an unprecedented crisis at Europe’s largest automaker.

Industry analyst Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer said the next 10 months would see ​discussions over the ‌future of Volkswagen’s plants in Emden, Zwickau, Neckarsulm and Hannover, which all face a staggered phase-out from 2031 onwards.

The deal ​follows weeks of tense negotiations that pitted the board and majority owner Porsche SE against unions and Lower Saxony, with the idea of a spinoff of Volkswagen’s passenger car and components businesses no longer being mentioned.

“A certain sense of ​calm ​is returning, but it is far from ‘peace’. In ​politics, one would call it a ‘ceasefire’. That’s a good thing, because ‌now the focus can be on the business,” Dudenhoeffer said.

The “Future Plan” comes as Volkswagen faces pressure from all sides, squeezed between US import tariffs and a weak Chinese market, the world’s biggest car market and once the group’s cash cow.

Volkswagen said “a further fundamental adjustment of the global workforce capacity” was needed, saying this would include a reduction of around 50,000 positions worldwide – in addition to a ​50,000-job reduction already under way.

The company did not provide further details on the timing of the workforce reduction or ​how the cuts would be ⁠distributed across its brands and regions.

with AP

Australia’s share market has retreated from an early lead, as a sell-down in the nation’s biggest company weighed against a softening of US interest rate expectations.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index fell 11.8 points by midday on Friday, to be down 0.13 per cent to 9,008.3, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 2.3 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 9,196.

The top-200 eased from an early 56-point lead following another positive session for global equities, after US Federal Reserve governor Christopher Waller flagged a data-dependent approach to US interest rates, taking the sting out of recent hawkish comments from chair Kevin Warsh.

“Bond yields moved lower on both sides of the Pacific as comments from Fed Governor Waller and RBA chief economist (Sarah) Hunter prompted markets to scale back expectations for further policy tightening,” Westpac economist Luka Belobrajdic said.

“Oil extended its rally amid ongoing tensions between the US and Iran, while softer Fed tightening expectations supported gains in gold, and a surge in dry bulk shipping rates lifted iron ore.”

Brent crude is trading at six-week highs near $US96 a barrel, rising after US Vice President JD Vance refused to put a deadline on the Persian Gulf conflict.

Local energy stocks fell 0.4 per cent, led by refinery operators Ampol and Viva Energy after they went ex-dividend, while Woodside fell for a second session after locking in its shareholder payouts.

The raw materials sector weighed on the bourse as BHP continued its retreat from last week’s record high of $68.77 a share.

Gold stocks provided a ballast as the precious metal firmed to $US4,476 ($A6,205) an ounce, while Ora Banda beat out the top-200 with a six per cent rally.

The heavyweight financials sector traded roughly flat, tracking with mixed performances from the big four banks and weaker major insurers.

Discretionary retail stocks rebounded 0.7 per cent as dip-buyers looked for bargains, with the sector still down almost 12 per cent since early August as the gloomy spending outlook and a number of earnings misses weighed.

Investors also dipped their toes in Corporate Travel shares, which gained just over four per cent after Thursday’s massive 85.5 per cent plunge following an extended trading halt.

Looking ahead, higher interest rate expectations would continue to pressure Australia’s share market, after recent economic growth, inflation and consumer spending figures all came in hotter than expected, Pitcher Partners chief investment officer Cameron Curko said.

Making matters worse, lacklustre productivity growth was adding to Reserve Bank fears that further growth would spark higher inflation. 

“The revision in market expectations weighed on consumer discretionary names as well as the domestic technology sector given the latter’s longer-dated cashflows,” Mr Curko said.

The Australian dollar was buying 72.12 US cents, up from 71.65 US cents on Thursday at 5pm and hitting more than three-month highs as Australian and US interest rate expectations diverged.

Asian shares rose on Friday as investors embraced a global rally before crucial US jobs data, ‌while bonds found some much needed relief after a top Federal Reserve official cooled rate hike fears and dragged the dollar lower.

The dollar’s retreat turbocharged a rally in the yen, which has gained ‌2.6 per cent this week to trade at 155.7 a dollar, putting it within striking distance of the 155.2 level reached after joint intervention by Tokyo and Washington in late July.

In remarks for a ‌Reuters NEXT Newsmaker event, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said that recent data suggested some signs of disinflation and that, if upcoming reports reinforced that trend, he would favour holding rates steady at this month’s policy meeting.

Futures were quick to scale back the chance of a rate hike this month to just 50 per cent, from about 63 per cent a day ago. Those expectations had surged in recent sessions as a global bond rout drove long-dated yields to multi-year highs, fuelled by concerns over stubborn inflation, swelling government debt and geopolitical tensions.

“Waller is pushing back against the thrust of the argument made ‌by Warsh last week ‌that there is little evidence ⁠that underlying inflation has moved lower,” said analysts at JPMorgan in a note.

“We believe that Chair Warsh will deliver a hike ​if he advocates for it. Absent his advocacy, Governor Waller’s speech reinforces our view that the bar for data to sway the data-dependent majority to hike this month remains elevated.”

In Asia, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.0 per cent, tracking broad gains on Wall Street, but that was not enough to offset earlier losses with the index still down 0.4 per cent for the week.

Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.8 per cent but was down 2.7 per cent this week. Chinese blue-chips rallied 1.0 per cent and South Korea’s KOSPI increased 1.1 per cent.

Both Wall Street futures  and EURO STOXX 50 futures were flat as traders braced for the US payrolls report ⁠for August due later in the day. Forecasts are centred on a rise of 56,000 jobs after ‌a shock fall ​of 23,000 the previous month. The unemployment rate is expected to hold steady at 4.1 per cent.

US economic data overnight showed activity in the services sector picked up pace in August with a measure ​of prices paid jumping ‌to a three-year high. The Fed’s “Beige Book” survey also showed economic activity edged up in recent weeks.

After the dovish comments from Waller, Treasuries rallied, led by ​the short-end, as the yield curve bull steepened on fading fears of imminent rate hikes. Two-year yields held at 4.3381 per cent, after falling 5 basis points overnight to move away from a 20-month peak of 4.4102 per cent.

Ten-year yields were little changed at 4.7620 per cent, having dropped 3 basis points overnight, while 30-year yields were at 5.2433 per cent after a two bps fall ​overnight.

Investors ​in longer-dated bonds remain wary of inflation risks amid few signs of progress ​between the US and Iran to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. ‌Oil prices held near six-week highs, with Brent crude futures up 7.0 per cent this week to $US95.52 ($A132.58) a barrel.

The dollar drew scant support from higher yields and was fetching 98.96 against its major peers, after skidding 0.6 per cent overnight. It is set for a weekly drop of 0.7 per cent.

That helped the yen to build up on its gains this week after jumping 1.8 per cent overnight as investors ramped up bets on a Bank of Japan rate hike this month. Markets now imply a 75 per cent chance of a September move, while a hike by October is fully priced in, raising the prospect of ​either a larger increase or back-to-back tightening.

“While we can’t rule out another round of price checks, or intervention, it could also be pre-positioning — official or speculative — in expectation of a ​soft non-farm payrolls tonight and a potentially hawkish BOJ ⁠meeting in a fortnight,” said Tony Sycamore, analyst at IG.

In commodity markets, gold held at $US4,470 ($A6,205) an ounce after rallying 2.0 per cent overnight. It ​was, however, set to end the week little changed.

Two more Australians have been found safe in the Nepal-Tibet flood disaster, but grave concerns remain for the 36 still missing.

The two Australians, who had been uncontactable, have confirmed they are safe and do not require consular assistance.

It brings the number of Australians found since the catastrophic floods began on August 26 to seven, after five were confirmed safe on Wednesday.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the update would bring relief to their families, but the federal government remains concerned for those still missing.

“That would be a huge relief to the loved ones of these two Australians who have been located,” Dr Chalmers said on ABC News Breakfast on Friday.

“But we still have very serious concerns for the 36 Australians that we haven’t been able to locate yet.”

More than 1200 people have died since a glacier collapse near Nepal’s border with Tibet triggered devastating floods across towns and valleys.

The three dozen Australians still missing are among more than 5000 people unaccounted for, according to the latest count from Nepali authorities.

The federal government has sent 19 officials and disaster response specialists to the region, with another 23 to be deployed within days.

On Thursday, Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirmed local authorities would conduct searches in areas where many Australians were believed to have been staying.

Rescue teams from the Nepali army were expected to search those target areas identified by Australia on foot, with helicopter and drone support.

“I can indicate that after our inquiries that Nepali authorities have advised us that searches are being conducted in the locations identified by Australia, including (The Kailash Hotel) and the Royal Himalaya Hotel amongst others,” Senator Wong told reporters.

Australian drone operators and incident management specialists would be sent to the region along as part of a broader on-the-ground support team.

The 15-person Australian Disaster Assistance Response Team will use advanced drone technology for real-time imagery and geospatial information and mapping of affected regions, where transport routes and critical infrastructure remain severely damaged.

The technology has AI capabilities that can help find victims, along with thermal imaging to identify trapped victims through heat sources.

DFAT is working with local authorities to establish the whereabouts and welfare of affected Australians and to contact next of kin where appropriate.

Nepali authorities will also be given telecommunication data to help narrow the last known location of missing Australians.

“We continue to work around the clock to ascertain as much information as we can and provide it to the families of missing Australians,” Senator Wong said.

“We all hold on to hope, and we’ve got to hold on to hope.”

Aid supplies aboard a Royal Australian Air Force plane arrived in Kathmandu on Wednesday.

More than 1400 hygiene kits, 2200 solar lights and phone chargers were among the items.

Australians have donated more than $4 million to the Emergency Action Alliance to support recovery efforts.

The federal government will provide a further $3 million to match public donations, bringing the ongoing humanitarian support package to a total of $11 million.

President Donald ‌Trump’s administration has asked the Supreme Court to let it enforce a new US Postal Service rule tightening the use of mail-in ballots, moving swiftly ‌after a judge temporarily blocked the regulation ahead of November’s midterm elections.

In an emergency request on Thursday, the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to lift Boston-based ‌US District Judge Indira Talwani’s order temporarily preventing the USPS from enforcing the new rule, which it adopted following an executive order by the Republican president to restrict mail-in ballots.

The USPS regulation would impose new voter-specific data and ballot envelope standards, and potentially refuse the delivery of ballots that do not comply, which critics say could disrupt thousands of legitimate votes as the November 3 vote approaches.

Republicans are locked in a tight battle to retain ‌control of Congress in ‌the election. Critics say ⁠restricting mail-in ballots would stand to disproportionately benefit Republicans given that Democratic voters traditionally have been more ​likely to use mail-in ballots.

It is the second time that the administration has turned to the Supreme Court as it defends Trump’s directive against legal challenges by states and voting rights groups. On August 24 the court lifted an earlier injunction imposed by Talwani in June blocking Trump’s order.

That decision, powered by the court’s 6-3 conservative majority, faulted a coalition of mostly Democratic-governed states for suing too soon, but left the door open to another challenge. The ⁠court’s three liberal justices dissented.

Under the ‌new USPS ​rule, states must provide lists of mail ballot recipients to the postal service and use agency-approved outbound and return ballot mail envelopes outfitted with ​unique barcodes. 

The postal ‌service could then refuse to send out ballots that do not comply with the new standards or are associated with voters who do ​not appear on the lists.

Trump, who signed his executive order targeting mail-in ballots in March, has for years cast doubt on their security, although evidence of voter fraud is rare. Trump has lied about widespread fraud in US elections including his 2020 loss ​to ​former Democratic president Joe Biden.

The administration in its written ​filing urged the Supreme Court to allow it to implement ‌an “important federal policy to protect the mails from being used to commit voter fraud”.

A coalition of mostly Democratic-governed states and Washington DC, as well as a number of voting rights groups, challenged the new USPS rule.

Talwani issued a temporary order on August 27 blocking the rule for 14 days, finding that it likely violates the US Constitution, under which the states administer elections, and would be impossible for the states to comply with given the rapidly ​approaching midterms.

The Justice Department asked the Boston-based 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals to put the judge’s order on hold, but did not ​wait for a decision before turning ⁠to the Supreme Court.

Talwani also held a hearing on Thursday to consider whether to issue a ​longer-term injunction.

Plotting a path out of a mounting hospital crisis headlined by aged care bed block will be the focus of the nation’s health leaders.

State, territory and federal health ministers will meet in Sydney on Friday as the number of patients stranded in hospitals awaiting transfers to aged care placements overseen by the federal government climbs.

The number of patients awaiting transfer has grown from 2700 to more than 3600 in the past year, with about a third of them in Queensland.

Delays in transferring otherwise healthy people to aged care facilities mean hospitals have fewer beds available, delaying surgeries and causing longer wait times in emergency departments.

Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls said his state had 1400 medically fit patients trapped in hospital waiting for either aged care or disability support placements on Tuesday.

One person had been there for almost three years, Mr Nicholls said.

“Queensland leads the nation in the number of stranded Australians in our public hospitals – we are ground zero,” he said.

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park told AAP bed block was accelerating and “far beyond sustainable”. 

“We acknowledge the Commonwealth has pledged investment into aged care builds, but we know that can take some time,” Mr Ryan said.

States and territories are calling on the federal government to commit to more Support at Home packages to get the patients out.

Almost 100,000 people are waiting for Support at Home packages nationwide.

Federal Health Minister Mark Butler had tried to work “in good faith” with states and territories to solve the issue, but an agreement was yet to be reached, a federal government spokesperson told AAP. 

“During hospital funding negotiations, the states told us older long-stay patients (were) the biggest issue when it came to the hospital system,” the spokesperson said. 

“In response, our government proposed a ring-fenced $2 billion for aged care services as part of the agreement, but states and territories rejected that offer, instead choosing to direct that funding into their hospital systems.”

In addition, Victorian Health Minister Ingrid Stitt plans to raise the “urgent need” for national dental reform after her state Labor government’s commitment to open 10 free public dental clinics if re-elected in November.

“Reform to Australia’s dental system is long overdue. It’s why we’re no longer waiting,” Ms Stitt said.

“Getting dental care shouldn’t be determined by your bank balance or where you live.”

Medicare does not cover dental care for most adults.

One in four Australians aged 15 or older who needed dental work in 2024/25 delayed or did not use dental services, with cost cited as the most common reason (16 per cent).

The ministers are also likely to discuss voter anger about the federal government’s plan to end extra private health insurance rebates for those older than 65. 

Mr Butler has stood firm on the plan, saying Australians should receive private health support based on income, not age. 

“Under the proposed changes, over 65s will still receive significant government-subsidised discounts of up to 24 per cent on the premiums private health insurers charge them, the same as the rest of the population,” a federal government spokesperson said. 

The Pacific Islands Forum has again failed to condemn China for its missile test, instead walking a middle ground and “registering concern” over the show of force.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese left Palau on Thursday after this year’s summit, following the leaders-only retreat which brought the week-long talks to a close.

The 18 PIF representatives made a number of reforms, including splitting  dialogue partners into a two-tiered system, and adding a new annual police ministers gathering to the regional calendar.

The week in Palau has been flavoured by geopolitical competition between China and the west, including high-profile diplomacy by Taiwan, an ally of the Micronesian host nation.

One of the biggest talking points has been the lack of a regional response to China’s nuclear-capable inter-continental ballistic missile test in July.

Intelligence shows the dummy missile flew over the Philippines, Palau and Micronesia’s airspace before landing in the Pacific Ocean.

Several nations have criticised the test, just the second since 1980, but PIF failed to do so at a foreign ministers meeting last month.

The response has become something of a litmus test for PIF and its members for their strategic positioning.

The communique’s relevant clause includes a reference to the Fiji-led Ocean of Peace declaration made last year, which states the region should be free from coercion and militarisation.

However, it doesn’t name China by name, nor use heftier diplomatic language than “concern”.

“Recalling the Blue Pacific Ocean of Peace declaration, leaders registered concern about the recent inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) test which overflew a number of members without adequate notice,” the relevant clause read.

“Leaders call on all states undertaking ICBM testing to provide transparency and provide reassurance, including through provision of advanced notification of at least 24 hours in accordance with international practice.”

In a rare move for the usually-consensus based forum, Nauru dissented from the clause.

Kiribati, another country which reportedly vetoed a stronger statement at the foreign ministers meeting, did not offer the same objection.

While Australian officials were happy with the agreed statement, it fell short of some pre-retreat expectations, including from host Palau.

Earlier on Thursday, President Surangel Whipps made clear his displeasure at the test, which followed a 2024 effort.

“They sent a missile next to French Polynesia, another one next to Tuvalu, crossing over our airspace. They never bothered to tell us that’s what’s happening,” he said.

“I said ‘there’s a lot of space between Japan and Guam, why don’t you send it there? Why does it have to come to the middle of the Pacific when last year we just signed a declaration of peace?’

“We don’t want our backyard, our homes, to be threatened and really disrespected.”

Mr Whipps said “a unified Pacific voice” would be critical to get Beijing to “respect sovereignty”.

In other decisions of the leaders retreat, PIF will categorise external powers, currenly known as “dialogue partners” as either strategic or sector partners.

The 13 strategic partners will be China, the US, France, Germany, the UK, the EU, Canada, Japan, India, Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea and the UAE.

Those partners will be able to continue to travel to leaders meetings, while sector partners will be referred to the annual foreign ministers gathering.

A region-wide security pact, championed by Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale, did not progress – as expected, given Mr Wale’s absence.

A proposal to bring the Australia-backed Joint Heads of Pacific Security (JHOPS) under the Pacific Islands Forum has also won a level of support.

More people in the United States filed for unemployment benefits last week but lay-offs are still rare and jobless claims remain at historically low levels.

The Labor Department reported on Thursday that filings for benefits ticked up to 206,000 last week from a revised 204,000 the week before.

The four-week average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, rose modestly to 207,250 last week.

Claims for jobless benefits are a proxy for lay-offs, and economists watch them because they can be a sign of where the job market is headed.

For the past year, claims have mostly stayed within a historically low range of 200,000 to 230,000 a week.

The number of people collecting unemployment benefits rose slightly to 1.78 million the week that ended August 22, up by 8000 from the week before.

Companies, remembering the worker shortages that followed the end of COVID-19 lockups, are still reluctant to let go of staff.

The unemployment rate is low at 4.1 per cent.

But US employers are not eager to take on new workers.

The Labor Department reported on Tuesday that gross hiring – before subtracting people who lost or left their jobs – fell 5 per cent to fewer than 5.1 million new jobs.

The result is what economists call a “no-hire, no-fire” labour market in which those who have work enjoy job security but times are tough for young workers trying to land an entry-level job or unemployed people seeking to get back to work.