The Pre-Start
SFR ($8.5B) - Sandfire kept FY26 CuEq guidance at 149–165kt but now expects the lower half (with Motheo at the bottom of 58–64kt), delivered Q3 CuEq 34.5kt, moved to US$76m net cash, and cut FY26 capex by US$15m
NIC ($4.2B) - Nickel Industries restarted mining at Hengjaya Mine
WAF ($3.9B) - West African produced 108koz gold in Q1 and sold 104koz at US$4.9k/oz, maintaining 2026 guidance at 430-490koz
SX2 ($2.5B) - Southern Cross Gold confirmed the Sunday Creek system persists 460m below Golden Dyke, intersecting 6.6m at 1.0 g/t AuEq from 1389m
ALK ($2.3B) - Alkane produced 45.8koz AuEq in the quarter, closed with $362m cash and bullion (+$130m QoQ), & maintained FY26 guidance at 160–175koz AuEq
DVP ($1.7B) - Develop reached steady-state at Woodlawn copper, exceeding 850ktpa nameplate; producing 14.2kt concentrate in the quarter
BNZ ($885m) - Benz outlined a 1km corridor at Hurricane in the Glenburgh gold project, with 11m at 6.4 g/t gold from 306m within 102m at 1.1 g/t
GNG ($705m) - GR Engineering was awarded a $68m EPC contract for the Northparkes coarse particle flotation upgrade, with early works underway
STK ($566m) - Strickland's first-pass drilling at Obradov Potok within Rogozna intersected 8m at 1.3% zinc and 0.2% lead from 677m
PEN ($230m) - Peninsula restarted uranium precipitation and dried yellowcake production at the Lance CPP after fixing agitators
ARR ($204m) - American Rare Earths set a three-stage pilot plant pathway for Halleck Creek
AS1 ($193m) - Asara extended mineralisation along strike and down-dip at Massan within Kada, reporting 121m at 1.2 g/t gold from 18m | ▲ 8%
EGR ($178m) - EcoGraf commenced the US$9.0m farm-in at Golden Eagle with AngloGold Ashanti, which will spend US$8.9m to earn 70%
RML ($162m) - Resolution secured US FAST-41 coverage for Antimony Ridge in Idaho as it advances a US antimony-tungsten-gold platform | ▼ 8%
EL8 ($140m) - Elevate Uranium delayed Namibia pilot plant results to August pending steady-state operations and circuit optimisation, appointing an in-country operations manager and extra met staff
ARL ($121m) - Ardea's Kalgoorlie Nickel project was selected for the Federal Investor Front Door pilot
AON ($89m) - Apollo Minerals’ review at Couflens outlined historical intercepts near the unmined Veronique Zone including 20m at 1.4% WO₃ | ▲ 6%
MTH ($76m) - Mithril reported new intercepts at Copalquin, including 0.9m at 6.2 g/t gold and 764 g/t silver from 123m
LEX ($50m) - Lefroy recovered 1.4koz of gold from 31.8kt at 1.42 g/t (96.2% recovery) in its first Lucky Strike toll‑milling campaign
OR3 ($49m) - Ore Resources outlined a 3.2km +20ppb gold soil anomalous corridor at Miriam
PGO ($43m) - Pacgold produced first gold from the recommissioned White Dam operation (~60oz in 14 days) | ▲ 12% RC drilling paused pending diesel supply certainty
OD6 ($33m) - OD6 Metals reported 12m at 40.8% CaF₂ from channel sampling at Mammoth within the Quinn fluorspar project, Nevada | ▲ 12%
High Grade It
Israel’s bombing campaign in Lebanon has undermined a fragile ceasefire, sparking an angry reaction from Tehran (AFR)
Miners are urging the Albanese gov’t to temporarily pause its emissions plans to prioritise energy security (AFR)
Industrial action-hit BHP is in a union showdown after an AMWU official failed a breath test (Australian)
Traders are bidding heavily for oil in the North Sea, a sign that supply remains tight despite a plunge in futures prices (Bloomberg)
Rusal plans to reroute aluminium from China to Japan as Iran conflict reshapes trade (Reuters)
Zimbabwe introduces lithium export quotas, mandates local processing for export resumption (Mining.com)
Africa Finance Corp to develop $5B railway linking Zambia copper belt to Angola (MiningMX)
Environmental groups appeal US judge's approval of ioneer's Rhyolite Ridge lithium project (Mining.com)
Chilean investigators expose criminal networks shipping copper to Peru and China (Bloomberg)
Greatland Resources faces strict conditions for Havieron gold mine due to night parrot concerns (Australian)
Barminco secures $180m contract extension at Regis Resources' Duketon gold operations (BN)
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Wheelin’ n Dealin’
AQI ($309m) - Alicanto sold a 1% NSR over Mt Henry to Stria Lithium for $5m cash and 4.0m Stria shares valued at $3.1m, with a further $10m payable if a ≥2.0Moz at 0.8 g/t gold MRE is delivered (royalty to 2%)
American Ocean Minerals merges with Odyssey Marine Exploration in US$1B seabed mining deal (Bloomberg) involving ex Rio boss Tom Albanese
Eramet’s top shareholder, the Duval family, weighs exit as €500mn capital raise looms (FT)
Engineers and Planners win bid for Damang gold mine in Ghana (Bloomberg)
First Quantum partners with IFC for sustainable financing of Taca Taca copper project in Argentina (Mining.com)
Rattlin’ the Tin
E25 ($86m) - Element 25 is in a trading halt pending a capital raise
JAL ($59m) - Jameson Resources is in a trading halt pending a placement announcement
BMI Group invests C$200m in Rock Tech Lithium's Ontario lithium plant (Mining.com)
The Metals Royalty lists on Nasdaq, targets deep-sea mining royalties in Pacific Ocean (Mining.com)
Word on the Decline
Good morning from the road in South Africa. Where you don’t even need drone warfare to shut down global logistics routes.
We are reminded how much bigger the mining sector truly is each time we depart Perth for a different continent. Fortunately for this column, our intel becomes more international when we travel too.
So chew on this one…
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In the Weeds
Easter Bunny Special (Le Shrub)
It’s time for BHP to decide whether it’s in or out of Queensland (AFR oped)
Vitrinite founder criticizes Queensland over coal royalties impacting investment (Australian)
Chile Uncovers Criminal Networks Shipping Millions of Dollars of Copper to Peru and China (Bloomberg)
Where To From Here? (Syncretica) “It is entirely possible the conflict resumes this weekend”
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Today’s Top Tweet
Ownership & Oversight
RSG ($3.2B) - Helikon Investments bought $28.6m of Resolute Mining shares on-market, lifting its stake to 10.8%
RSG ($3.2B) - Resolute Mining appointed Gina Jardine as NED
PDI ($2.5B) - Helikon Investments bought $40.2m of Predictive Discovery shares on-market, lifting its stake to 11.0%
LRV ($653m) - Larvotto appointed former senator David Fawcett as strategic advisor
USL ($431m) - Unico Silver issued 2.3m performance rights to director Peter Canterbury following shareholder approval | ▼ 7%
AR1 ($212m) - Velrosso bought $7.3m of Austral Resources Australia shares, lifting its stake to 8.9%
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