The Pre-Start

Barrick produced of 928koz Au and 55kt of Cu. Operating cash flow came to US$2.4B, with US$1.5B in free cash flow, leading to a lift in the base dividend by 25% to US$0.125/share, plus an extra 5c this quarter (B.NY) Up 5%
Capricorn’s Orion South conceptual study found potential for underground mining below the pit, based on a 895koz underground resource (31% lift) and ~6.1Mt (513koz) of conceptual mineable shapes, prompting a PFS (CMM)
Lithium Argentina produced 8.3kt LCE at Cauchari-Olaroz, earning a US$2m margin above its cost of sales. Additionally, it outlined PPG scoping study results, headlined by an NPV₈ of US$8.1B, IRR of 33%, and a capex of US$3.3B (LAR.NY) Up 9%
Coronado quarterly disclosed a net loss of US$110m, 9‑month loss of US$282m and net debt of US$328m (CRN) Down 30%
K92 produced 44koz AuEq over the quarter at an AISC of US$1,254/oz. Net cash stands at US$131m, after EBITDA of US$130m (KNT.TO) Up 5%
Mount Gibson reported Tanami Gold’s updated Central Tanami MRE of 31Mt at 2.8 g/t for 2.8Moz, including Groundrush 11Mt at 3.3 g/t (1.2 Moz) (MGX)
Gorilla intercepted a best hit of 19m at 18g/t Au from 80m at its Lakeview prospect, as well as 5m at 66g/t from 399m at Sovereign (GG8)
Dreadnought submitted its Metzeke’s Find mining lease application based on 14.9koz Au at 6.8g/t (72% indicated) (DRE)
Many Peaks reported final diamond‑drill results from a ~21km campaign at the Ouarigue prospect, Ferké, extending mineralisation at depth & along strike (MPK)
Petratherm changed its name to PTR Minerals (PTR)
New presentations: West Wits, Waratah, & Many Peaks

High Grade It

Street Talk reported Paradice is working with lawyers on a potential move against the board of Deep Yellow after John Borshoff’s departure (AFR)
China's market regulator said that it granted conditional approval for a lithium-related JV between Chile's Codelco and local lithium producer SQM (Reuters) Reads quite lithium to us
Interim CEO Mark Hill said he’s “shifting the focus” to assets in Nevada and the Dominican Republic (Bloomberg) Is the breakup play on?
Aluminium advanced with copper and other industrial metals as hopes rose for an end to a week-long shutdown of the US government (Bloomberg)
Iron ore is inching back towards US$100/t after defying bearish predictions for the best part of the year, amid signs of weakening Chinese demand (AFR)
Gold's rally is likely to take prices over $5k next year, driven mainly by buying from central banks in emerging economies, according to JPM (Bloomberg)

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Wheelin’ n Dealin’

Japan's Marubeni will invest $15m in a mineral sands project owned by RZ Resources, following in the footsteps of compatriot JX Advanced Metals, which struck a similar deal with RZ earlier this year (Reuters)
Sibanye Stilwater and Appian have settled their dispute over the Atlantic Nickel material adverse event, with Sibanye paying US$215m to Appian (Appian)
Catalyst acquired the remaining 49% interest in the Tandarra Gold project for $1.3m, settling the legal dispute and consolidating ownership adjacent to its Four Eagles project in Victoria (CYL)
Yandal’s tenement sale of Gordon’s gold project received $1.2m cash and $1.6m in Horizon shares (YRL)

Rattlin’ the Tin

Canadian polymetallic developer BMC Minerals lodges prospectus to raise $100m ahead of ASX IPO Listing (BMC) Project is the Kudz Ze Kayah in the Yukon
Stellar raised $9m to advance Heemskirk (SRZ)
Tactical Resources announced US$140m in financing for its US rare earth project (RARE.V)

Word on the Decline

Perseus executives have been spotted in Guinea meeting government officials. You ask why, when none of their operating mines are in Guinea?

If we were to guess, we suspect Perseus is aiming to firm up government support should they be the company bringing Predictive’s Bankan gold project into development.
Recall that Perseus has a 17% stake in Predictive. And now one month after Predictive’s announced merger with Robex, we suspect Perseus is weighing its move for Predictive very actively.
The deal includes fiduciary outs on both sides, leaving a door open for an interloper coming for either company. Though if we remember anything from some of the competitive deals we’ve followed in recent history, Boards can stand behind conditionality pretty heavily to fend off an interloper wanting a look at the dataroom.
Strategically, pairing Nyanzaga and Bankan would give Perseus two premier development assets in Africa, creating an attractive portfolio with optionality for future growth - be it status quo, a merger with Endeavour or even a sale to Zijin.
For new CEO Craig Jones, interloping on an active deal in your first month in the company would be a very bold move.
The synergies between Robex and Predictive will come under the microscope if a Perseus bid surfaces, with the river dividing the deposits set to be a point of contention. Throw in potential funding dynamics of any change-of-control tax in Guinea plus ambiguous support from Predictive shareholders (ex PRU) and this live situation has all the hallmarks of an M&A blockbuster 🍿.

Oh, and look who else just landed in Guinea! The ship-tracking junkies tell us first ore from Simandou looks like it will be loaded on ‘Winning Youth’ today

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In the Weeds

The Rise of Rich & The Founding of the Modern Trading House (HC Pod YouTube)
Rio Tinto's rush to reinvent itself (Dryblower) “Take control of a change process or have it forced on you”
Meet the CEO determined to end pointless meetings (AFR) Mike Henry
Booming Gold Prices Are Hiding China’s Deflationary Pain for Now (Bloomberg)