The Pre-Start
BHP ($282B) - BHP now expects FY26 copper output in the upper half of guidance and lowered Escondida cost guidance, with Antamina raised and Spence lowered. Iron ore business remains on track
NST ($34B) - Northern Star sold 381koz gold at AISC of $2.7k/oz in the March Q, closed with $1.2B cash and bullion (+$7m QoQ), and lifted FY26 KCGM Mill Expansion capex to $680-700m
S32 ($19.8B) - South32 generated US$121m net cash in the quarter, and cut FY26 Aus manganese guidance 6% amid wet weather impacts
RMS ($7.6B) - Ramelius is studying a potential Gilbeys underground mine to replace FY29–30 low‑grade feed, reporting 3.9m at 21.2 g/t gold
PDN ($6.1B) - Paladin produced 1.29Mlb U₃O₈ in the quarter, cash US$220m (-US$59m QoQ), raised FY26 to 4.5–4.8Mlb; PLS EIS faces judicial review
RRL ($5.8B) - Regis lifted group reserves to 2Moz, driven by Garden Well underground +257koz to 474koz
VAU ($4.9B) - Vault produced 79koz gold at AISC $3k/oz, generated +$229m FCF, and maintained FY26 guidance at 332-360koz
ILU ($3.3B) - Iluka produced 47.6kt Z/R/SR in Q1, with Cataby and SR kilns idled, and net debt of $417m (plus $693m non‑recourse RE)
SX2 ($3.1B) - Southern Cross reported 1.6m at 55.3 g/t Au and 1.9% Sb from 314m at Golden Dyke
PNR ($1.5B) - Pantoro approved additional levels at Scotia after drilling extended mineralisation 50m below Indicated MRE, with 16.1m at 10.6 g/t gold
MMI ($412m) - Metro updated Bauxite Hills reserves to 69.6Mt (wet) at 49.7% Al₂O₃, with a resource of 107Mt (dry), both down 8.1Mt and 7Mt on 2024 from mining
TBR ($281m) - Tribune reported EKJV Q3 drilling with 1.1m at 18.9 g/t gold at Golden Hind; Startrek assays pending
BGD ($242m) - Barton reported 3m at 20.6 g/t gold from 13m in the Challenger West pit floor, informing the Challenger DFS
GML ($172m) - Gateway said a research note drove trading that ASX flagged, while it shared drilling that hit 32m at 1.1g/t from 20m
KAU ($157m) - Kaiser Reef will start Union Hill refurbishment in May to enable underground drilling
ENR ($151m) - Encounter lifted the MRE at Aileron to 120Mt at 0.77% Nb₂O₅ niobium (0.25% cut-off), up 54% | ▲ 13%
HGO ($150m) - Hillgrove produced 3.1kt copper and closed with $25m cash (+$4.6m QoQ), with FY26 guidance maintained at 12.8 -14.0kt
GBM ($147m) - GBM reported 115m at 1.7 g/t gold from 73m at Lone Sister
RND ($135m) - Rand reported EKJV Q3 drilling with 1m at 18.9 g/t gold at Golden Hind
SRZ ($87m) - Stellar reports >70% tin recovery pathway at Heemskirk Tin (vs ~62.7% prior); PFS delivery pushed to early Q3 2026
WCE ($63m) - West Coast Silver reported an inaugural resource of 141kt at 617 g/t silver (2.8Moz) at Elizabeth Hill
BCM ($63m) - Brazilian Critical Minerals lifted the Ema MRE to 1.1Bt at 732 ppm TREO, as indicated, rose 58% to 392Mt | ▲ 13%
CLA ($52m) - Celsius in trading halt pending governance/dispute announcement
WAU ($44m) - WA Gold's Abercromby scoping study outlines a Stage 1 plan for 114koz gold with pre-tax NPV₇ $229m and $8m pre-production capex
CPN ($34m) - Caspin hit 13m at 1.16% Sn at Kelpie, extending beyond the 3.94Mt at 0.50% Sn resource
High Grade It
BHP strikes China iron ore deal, concluding a months-long standoff (AFR)
Rio reaps iron ore windfall as Middle East conflict offsets diesel pain (Australian)
Gold struggles to stay a safe haven amid central bank and ETF sell-offs (AFR)
The WA gov’t has waived $30m in fees for the Tianqi & Covalent lithium refineries (BN)
Premier Coal to cut 120 jobs as Collie mine scales back operations (The West)
Goldman maintains 2026 copper price forecast at US$12,650/t, predicting a 490kt surplus (Reuters)
Kazakh miner ENRC is suing for more than US$168m over botched UK fraud investigation (FT)
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Wheelin’ n Dealin’
Rio Tinto nears $2.8B sale of borates business to US buyer (Australian) WE Soda, Magris Resources and US Silica Holdings as well as PE firms named
Stanmore plans deferred payments for Anglo American's QLD coal mines to avoid $1.5B equity raising (Australian) No more cap raise!
Denarius increased its bid for Emerita to C$133.5m after CEO and chairman resign (Mining.com)
Rio evaluates exit options for Richards Bay titanium business (MiningMX)
GL1 ($158m) - Global Lithium agreed a 10-year 40% Manna offtake with Lopal featuring a US$1,000/t floor for 3 years and a US$75m prepayment (5% cost), plus a $7.3m placement and $14.9m sale of Marble Bar tenements
Rattlin’ the Tin
Argentina Lithium secures US$100m from China's Lanshen for Rincon West lithium project (ST)
Spanish Mountain secures $55m royalty deal with Wheaton for project funding (Mining.com)
LIN ($1.8B) - Lindian secured a US$12m NBS Bank equipment and working capital facility
MEI ($450m) - Meteoric raised $40m at 17c to fund Caldeira DFS and pre-development | ▲ 18%
SYR ($215m) - Syrah completed its entitlement offer, raising $104m at 10.5c, with sub-underwriting lifting AustralianSuper to 49.6%
VHM ($95m) - VHM raised $5m at 26c for Goschen early works ahead of an FID targeted mid-2026
Word on the Decline
Global Lithium’s US$75m pre-payment revealed this morning reminds us that Bald Hill is still up for grabs. The payment is subject to FID at Manna, we assume FID comes a lot sooner if Bald Hill makes its way into the mix for Global Lithium
It’s been a while since we’ve had excitement about the WA spodumene deal activity that could play out. Lets not forget Develop’s Pioneer Dome and Liontown’s Buldania in the neighbourhood. Further south, Mt Cattlin is still up for grabs too.
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In the Weeds
High-grade gold! (Strictly Boardroom) What is the investment value proposition for Australian gold exploration?
Monthly Fund Performance Update – March 2026 (Ausyield)
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Ownership & Oversight
SX2 ($3.1B) - Southern Cross Gold directors exercised 7.8m options and sold 890k shares on-market at ~$10.20/share
ENX ($81m) - Enegex directors Paul Roberts and Eric Kondo subscribed for $114k of placement shares
AAM ($65m) - B2Gold subscribed for 66m AuMEGA shares via a placement, taking its holding to 9.9%
EPM ($59m) - Harry Vui Khiun Lee sold $403k of Eclipse Metals shares on-market, cutting his stake to 6.3%
POD ($54m) - Podium director Neal Froneman bought 4m shares for $219k
LAT ($33m) - Precision increased its stake in Latitude 66 to 8.8%
Devil’s in the Detail
This is too good.