The Pre-Start
Gorilla Gold's Comet Vale gold project MRE increased to 0.86Moz at 3.7 g/t Au, adding 765koz with 220koz indicated and drilling ongoing (GG8)
Resolute updated the DFS for the Doropo gold project, forecasting 170koz gold pa over 13yrs, post-tax NPV5 US$1.46B and upfront capital of US$516m (RSG)
Magnetic is updating underground mine design and schedules, assessing processing options and responding to DMPE RFIs for Lady Julie (MAU)
An independent inferred JORC resource for the Orion deposit at the Tarraji-Yampi project is 1.17Mt at 1.2% Cu, 1.0 g/t Au and 0.06% Co (DRE)
Galan said its nano-filtration plant has been assembled and is in transit to Hombre Muerto West; evaporation ponds, earthworks and foundations are complete and Phase 1 remains on track for H1 2026 production (GLN)
Lindian hosted senior US Gov’t representatives at the Kangankunde to discuss development progress & timelines to first production in 2026 (LIN)
Minerals 260 reported assays from 83 holes at Bullabulling gold project, including 7m at 38.75 g/t Au from 251m (infill) (MI6)
Aeris reported underground drilling at Tritton delivering copper intersections that extend Avoca Tank mineralisation, plus identifying a possible new trend (AIS)
PMET reported multiple new lithium and caesium discoveries at the Shaakichiuwaanaan property from its 2025 drilling, including 27m at 1.14% Li2O, 29m at 1.3% Li2O and 3m at 5.8% Cs2O (PMT)
Strickland's drilling at the Copper Canyon deposit returned 135m at 0.6% Cu and 0.1g/t Au from 95m (STK)
Ballard reported Pluto hits (5m at 9.4 g/t from 46m), confirmed a 900m Astro-Quasar trend and extended known mineralisation at Neptune (BM1)
AusQuest extended its Strategic Alliance Agreement with South32 to December 2027. South32 will fund exploration, can earn 70% for US$4.5m per project and AusQuest receives a 15% administration fee (AQD)
Great Southern Mining’s Duketon gold project returned 17m at 1.4 g/t Au from 20m (GSN)
Resolution Minerals appointed Dr Adam Roper as chief metallurgist (RML)
Diatreme has submitted the Draft EIS for its Northern silica project (DRX)
High Grade It
China’s state-backed iron ore buyer is proposing measures to curb hoarding at ports, in a move that could dent the pricing power of miners & traders (AFR)
Australia’s largest aluminium smelter, Tomago, will operate beyond 2028 after owner Rio Tinto struck a deal to receive subsidised power (Australian)
Argentina’s push to become a major minerals producer got a boost as the world’s two biggest miners advanced plans in the country (Bloomberg)
Jose Kast won Chile's presidential election, steering the copper powerhouse to its sharpest rightward shift since the 1990 military dictatorship's end (Reuters)
British Columbia’s mining industry faces upheaval from a court ruling affirming Indigenous rights in a precedent-setting Court of Appeal ruling (NM)
Want to streamline your operations, but don’t have the capacity? Get Switch Technologies to engineer an integrated solution for you, from concept to deployment.
Wheelin’ n Dealin’
Equinox Gold has agreed to sell its Brazil operations (Aurizona, RDM and Bahia to CMOC for US$1.015B ($900m upfront + a production-linked contingent payment of up to $115m in 12 months) (EQX.TO)
BHP will support a $1.7B Jiangxi takeover of SolGold, ending a decade-long battle for control of the Ecuadorian Cu-Au discovery, if the bidder can formalise a £0.28/share offer (AFR)
Fortescue, which holds 33.6m Alta Copper shares, will acquire the remaining 64% for C$1.40 per share, implying an equity value of C$139m (FMG)
Li-FT will acquire 100% of Winsome via a scheme, offering 0.107 Li-FT shares per Winsome share (implied $0.501), valuing Winsome at $131m, Li-FT will also acquire 75% of the adjacent Galinée property from Azimut and SOQUEM (WR1) Winsome shareholders to own 35.3% of the pro forma
Ioneer is interested in bidding on a bundle of Rio’s US assets that produce boron, according to its CEO (AFR)
Westgold will demerge Reedy and Comet gold projects into Valiant, which plans an IPO to raise $65-$75m, with Westgold retaining ~48% at minimum subscription; the assets hold 15.6Mt at 2.4 g/t Au (1.2 Moz) (WGX)
Ravenswood Gold mine owners plan to raise $300m through royalty sales to escape costly hedge contracts before reviving the $2B sale next year (Australian)
Rattlin’ the Tin
Concurrent with the Winsome deal, Li-FT is conducting a private placement for gross proceeds of C$30m (LIFT.V)
Medallion Metals has secured a $60m capital raising to fund FEED and early works for the Ravensthorpe gold project and development using Forrestania processing infrastructure (MM8) Lion Selection invested $5m
Boab received firm commitments for a $60m placement at 40c and will offer a $7m SPP, with funds + a $236m debt facility fully funding Sorby Hills (BML)
Word on the Decline
CMOC’s $1B acquisition of Equinox’s Brazil ops is worth paying attention to. CMOC is primarily a copper, cobalt, and molybdenum producer. Their existing gold production is a mere immaterial byproduct. And now they’re buying a suite of gold mines.
We think they intently looked at a number of gold opportunities in South America. Some of which we expect CMOC to come back for when development is further ahead…
Got Word on the Decline? Simply reply or email [email protected]. We will always take your privacy seriously.
In the Weeds
Mining funds declare new ‘commodity boom’ as returns explode (AFR) Terra +113%, Paragon +166%, Acorn NextGen +77%, Perennial +46%, Ausbil +32%
Real Asset Private Equity Returns (OPERF) This doc shows the returns of numerous mining PE funds, of various vintages. It’s also a teaser for an upcoming ep
Top Aussie CEOs on the risks we can’t ignore (AFR) Regulatory, productivity, energy, inflation,…
The Serbian mining town where copper is everything (FT)
Were you forwarded this email from someone else?
Today’s Top Tweet
Devil’s in the Detail
And we thought relocating gold processing plants were a thing of the past…
Our Latest Show
30 Fundies’ Highest Conviction Trades for 2026 (Part 2)
Featuring: David Sparks, Chris Judd, Warren Irwin, Michael Teran, Sam Broom, Rodrigo Carvallo, Robert Mullin, Matthew Fist, Romano Sala Tenna, Peter Prendiville, YJ Lee, George Cheveley, Tom Solomon, Will Thomson, Emanuel Datt, and David Franklyn