States and territories of Australia

Climbing the Uluru rock formation, a popular tourist attraction in Australia, will be banned in 2019 because of its spiritual significance for a local Aboriginal community, DPA reported.

The ban will come into force on 29 October 2019. On that date in 1985 the land and the rock were returned to their traditional owners.

An interesting article from Australia about mining activities there and the similarities with our case:

Australia's under-pressure Great Barrier Reef is an asset worth Aus$56 billion (US$42 billion) and as an ecosystem and economic driver is "too big to fail," a study said on June 26.

Coral-munching crown-of-thorns starfish can be safely killed by common household vinegar, scientists revealed April 27 in a discovery that offers hope for Australia's struggling Great Barrier Reef.

The pyrenean chamois, which have been taken under protection by the Forestry and Water Affairs Ministry, are being monitored by Nature Protection and National Parks personnel while searching for food on snowy ground in the eastern province of Erzurum's Tercan district.

Mining giant BHP Billiton reported yesterday a dramatic rebound in half-yearly profits on the back of soaring iron ore prices and improved productivity.

The underlying profit of $3.2 billion and earnings before tax of $9.9 billion for the last six months of 2016 exceeded expectations.

Workers at the world's top copper mine, BHP Billiton's Escondida in Chile, launched what they vowed would be a "long and hard" strike on Feb. 9, causing jitters on world commodity markets.

Escondida is the first of several key mines worldwide where contracts expire this year, and markets are watching nervously to see how the strike impacts supply and prices.

Oil prices plunged in Asia on April 18, pushing energy firms and regional stock markets lower after the collapse of talks among the world's top oil producers intended to ease a global supply glut.

Hopes that the talks in Doha on Sunday would result in an output cap helped the black gold climb to 2016 highs last week, having approached 13-year lows just months ago.

The blaze started in the Lane-Poole Reserve near the city of Perth in the state of Western Australia and was reported early on Wednesday morning, while it has already burned more than 11,000 hectares.

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services has issued a warning statement claiming that the fire is threatening human lives and homes, since it is moving fast.

A dam holding back waste water from an iron ore mine in Brazil that is owned by Vale and BHP Billiton burst on Nov. 5, devastating a nearby town with mudslides and leaving officials in the remote region scrambling to assess casualties.