ORI ($11B) - Orica reached FID on Hunter Valley Hydrogen Hub, a 4.7ktpa hydrogen plant, with $245–$283m capex and production in early 2029

IPX ($1.3B) - IperionX was awarded up to US$6.6m from OSW-SWIB to scale titanium plate manufacturing in Virginia | ▲ 9%

SGQ ($399m) - St George reported 200m at 2.86% TREO and 0.44% niobium from surface, with an MRE upgrade due this quarter

CBE ($314m) - Cobre is converting Sierra Atacama, Chile, to a JORC MRE (foreign estimate 110Mt at 0.67% Cu), with near-term open-pit targets defined

BCN ($297m) - Beacon targets a Q1 FY2027 Iguana MRE after assays including 20m at 9.9 g/t gold from 23m

TRE ($283m) - Toubani appointed Corica Mining Services for a 5‑year mining contract at Kobada, Mali, targeting first ore in 2027

BML ($203m) - Boab began dismantling the DeGrussa plant at Sorby Hills and will update reserves this quarter

WTM ($196m) - Waratah reported 55.9m at 2.6 g/t gold from 3.1m at Spur | ▲ 6%

BHM ($192m) - Broken Hill trucked first Ag-Pb-Zn ore from restarted Pinnacles Mine to Rasp Processing Plant

TSO ($168m) - Tesoro accelerated the El Zorro DFS: GRES started 3Mtpa gold plant design, STRACON as preferred contractor and BurnVoir as debt adviser

QGL ($137m) - Quantum Graphite commenced FEED for Uley 2, appointing Lycopodium to design infrastructure and Sunlands Pure plant

TER ($118m) - TerraCom expects FY26 coal sales of 1.45Mt (from 1.52Mt) after a deferred Blair Athol shipment, which shifts into FY27

BOC ($82m) - Bougainville’s EL01 at Panguna is suspended and subordinated after LSML‑01 was granted to Bougainville Minerals over the EL area

BCA ($63m) - Black Canyon targets maiden Wandanya MRE by end-Q3 after securing a $26k WA EIS grant

VMC ($54m) - Venus closed the quarter with $67m cash and investments after selling its 1% NSR over Youanmi to Franco-Nevada for $47m

NMR ($49m) - Native Mineral Resources lodged a PRCP for Far Fanning gold, Qld; amended laws allow operations under the EA while assessed

VBX ($40m) - VBX signed a term sheet with thyssenkrupp for $10m prepayment and 0.5Mtpa bauxite offtake for 5 years

BEZ ($36m) - Besra received a requisition from 5.2% holders seeking board changes and restrictions on Quantum’s gold purchase agreement

Iran says it won't meet with U.S. envoys, clouding prospects for peace deal (Reuters)

Gold prices drop 15% in three months, worst quarter in 13 years (Mining.com)

Harmony halts $1.5B Eva project in QLD due to protected species discovery (MiningMX)

Rio & Mongolia agree new financial terms for Oyu Tolgoi (FT)

Copper price surge prompts shift to aluminium by global manufacturers including BMW (Reuters)

Cobalt prices surge as DRC intervenes, boosting cobalt and lithium futures trading (FT)

Yancoal to close Ashton coal mine in NSW by 2028, impacting 60 jobs (West)

HESTA may close struggling ESG fund before potential test failure (AFR)

AAI ($21B) - Alcoa will acquire South32’s bauxite, alumina & aluminium assets for US$4.1B in cash and stock plus a CVR up to US$750m; funding includes a US$3.1B bridge, with completion targeted H1 2027 subject to approvals

DNL ($6.8B) - Dyno Nobel completed the sale of Phosphate Hill to Ryowa for $1, paying $50m and committing $126m rehab funding, with up to $150m deferred consideration and all liabilities transferred

WGX ($4.6B) - Westgold completed the Peak Hill divestment to Great Boulder for $54m consideration, plus a 1% NSR

MPK ($138m) - Many Peaks exercised option for 100% of the Baga gold project for 1.5m shares plus US$1m cash or scrip

ETM ($95m) - Energy Transition Minerals received Galicia gov’t approval to transfer Penouta mining licences to ETM Spain, satisfying the final condition

Alcoa acquires South32's alumina & bauxite assets for $5.6B (AFR, Bloomberg)

Vedanta's CopperTech Metals delays US IPO, initially aiming to raise $423m, citing copper market volatility (Mining.com)

We floated the prospect of a South32 x Alcoa deal in this column just last week. We thought it had merit, but we didn't think it would emerge this quickly.

And while we're correcting the ledger, here's another South32 update. We don't think Cannington is for sale anymore.

CHN ($430m) - Chalice appointed Paul De Ponte as Gonneville project director

ASL ($406m) - Andean appointed Matthew Allen as MD, effective today

ASN ($68m) - Gabriel Nominees & associates formed an s249P association, lifting their voting power in Anson to 8.8% from 5.2%

ARD ($37m) - Argent appointed Mike McKevitt as CEO, commencing today

SKM ($31m) - Nikolai Zelenski bought $276k of Skylark shares

VRX ($31m) - VRX appointed Tony Swiericzuk CEO; Bruce Maluish to NED, Paul Boyatzis retires, Peter Pawlowitsch interim chair

List management in critical minerals (Strictly Boardroom) Australia needs more 2^nd-round draft picks

WA Supreme Court rules on legal costs in Hancock, Wright, Rhodes dispute (BN)

Stock selection key for gold investors as they await signs of peak inflation (Livewire)

Oil & The China Syndrome (Paulo Macro)

The Cartography of the Risk-Free Rate (Massif Capital)

4 ASX stocks we like despite the macro uncertainty (Livewire) Glenmore AM, includes New Hope

We’re getting nitpicky here with CZR - complimentary vs complementary…