The Pre-Start
West African’s quarterly showed production of 93koz at an AISC of US$1,532/oz for operating cash flow of A$242m. Kiaka contributed ~33koz at US$1,921/oz. It moved from notional US$72m in net debt to US$33m net cash (WAF) No new info regarding Burkina/Kiaka ownership
Alkane reported drilling at Tomingley has discovered new mineralisation at McLeans, with a 9-hole program returning hit such as 26m at 4.4g/t gold from 112m (ALK)
Vulcan Energy announced it has received the permit to build its upstream Lithium Extraction Plant for the Phase One Lionheart project Germany, with all major construction permits now received (VUL)
Santana lodged its fast-track approvals application for the Bendigo-Ophir Gold Project (SMI)
New Murchison trucked 61kt of ore at 3.95g/t to Westgold’s Bluebird for ~7.3koz of recoverable gold (NMG)
Medallion’s Ravensthorpe project advanced to the final stage of assessment under the EPBC Act, with a determination expected in Dec (MM8)
Kula hit 15m at 9.4g/t from 87m (including 6m at 20.3g/t from 90m) at its Mt Palmer gold project in the Southern Cross goldfields (KGD)
Sarama filed its Memorial detailing its claim against the government of Burkina Faso, as well as damages for the sum of US$242m (SRR)
Auravelle extended mineralisation at the Sheoak prospect with a hit of 4m at 1.6g/t from 68m, 100m north of recent hits (AUV)
Mandrake signed a non-binding letter of intent to supply US-based lithium refiner Stardust Power with 7.5kt of lithium chloride per annum (MAN)
Resolution shared assays from its Golden Gate target, claiming the results confirm a large, open intrusion-related gold system (RML)
FireFly added Leanne Heywood to its board of directors (FFM)
Bellavista appointed Glenn Jardine and Peter Canterbury as MD and finance director, respectively (BVR)
BlackRock emerged as a 5% shareholder of Lynas (LYC)
High Grade It
Andrew Forrest has taken a swipe at Gina Rinehart over her rejection of net-zero emissions targets on fiscal grounds, saying renewables would be a source of economic prosperity (Australian)
Australia and Canada have signed a deal to promote and strengthen bilateral co-operation on critical minerals (Reuters)
India plans to almost triple the size of its incentive program for rare earth magnet manufacturing to more than ~US$800m (Bloomberg)
Gold’s rally has boosted the prospects of cyanide producers as they increase production to meet rising demand for chemicals to process the metal (FT)
African copper shipments to China are being disrupted by the temporary closure of a crucial exporting port in Tanzania after election unrest (Bloomberg)
China is scrapping a long-standing gold tax incentive, which will no longer allow retailers to offset a value-added tax when selling gold (Bloomberg)
Wheelin’ n Dealin’
Coal entrepreneur Matt Latimore will compete with BlueScope Steel and international players to buy Sanjeev Gupta’s Whyalla steelworks in South Australia out of administration (Australian)
Mexican precious metals miner Fresnillo is acquiring Canada’s Probe Gold for C$780m in cash, marking the company’s entry into Canada. It has offered a 24% premium as it looks to add 10Moz of gold, predominantly from the Novador project in the Val d’Or camp (FRES.L)
Rattlin’ the Tin
The U.S EX-IM Bank has issued a Letter of Interest indicating the potential for financing support of up to US$191m for Locksley’s Mojave project (LKY)
Word on the Decline
Fresnillo, the world’s biggest silver miner, has just wandered north with a C$3.65 bid for Probe Gold. It’s their first foray into Canada. Probe’s Novador project sits is in Agnico’s home ground.
Agnico loves this setup. When Gold Fields went for Yamana in 2022,
Agnico waited, then teamed with Pan Am to take it. When Shandong thought it had TMAC in 2021, Agnico stepped in after Ottawa blocked the Chinese and paid up. When Goldcorp tried to take Osisko in 2014, Agnico and Yamana tag-teamed the counter.
Notice a pattern? Agnico is comfortable waiting for someone else to set the price floor, then takes the keys with a superior offer and home advantage.
Now, Fresnillo’s built the floor. Eyes on Agnico.
Got Word on the Decline? Simply reply or email [email protected]. We will always take your privacy seriously.
In the Weeds
Why this stock is a better pick than Rinehart’s rare earths bet (AFR) Acorn’s Rick Squire on gold, lithium, rare earths & uranium investments
We are playing a dangerous game in heavy rare earths (Australian op-ed) How to balance US wishes
Matt Latimore owns more than 10 Ferraris and has a million social media followers (Australian) “Australia’s newest billionaire”
Why WA should be wary of the Federal Government’s critical minerals deal with Donald Trump (West)
Why resource stocks are finally on track for a re-rating (AFR op-ed) Written by Paul Taylor, Fidelity’s Aussie head of investments
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Today’s Top Tweet
Great that all analysts in this space have come to a common conclusion: Everything is bullish for gold.
— #Brandon Macdonald (#@YukonBrandon)
9:43 PM • Oct 24, 2025
Devil’s in the Detail
Plug this in your calculator: 230+48-4+15-26-6=
The real answer is 227…
Answer: cash & bullion marginally decreased instead of marginally increasing in Catalyst’s September quarter.
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Smart Money is Buying-the-Dip in Copper and Gold
Stocks mentioned: DVP, RMS, WGX, GGP, LTR, BOE, LRV, UAMY.NY, PLS, ALB.NY, CRN, PPTA.TO. AEM.TO, ARU, MM8, AIS