The Pre-Start
Emerald’s annual report showed net profit of $88m, up 9% year on year, on EBITDA of $204m (EMR)
Sayona updated its R&R statement over NAL, with reserves up 125% to 49Mt at 1.11% Li2O (SYA)
Fenix delivered record production of 2.4mt Fe, up 64%, with improved C1 cash costs of $76/wmt and released FY26 guidance of 4-4.4Mt at a cash cost of $70-80/wmt. It’ll pay a final franked dividend of 1cps (FEX)
Foran surpassed the 50% completion milestone at McIlvenna Bay, with the project remaining on its aligned budget and schedule to complete in mid-2026 (FOM.TO)
Black Canyon announced further drill results from Wandanya, including 3m at 48% Mn from 12m with 7m at 63% Fe from 7m (BCA)
Solstice shared results from a 5-hole RC program at the Edjudina Range prospect, intersecting 8m at 3.4g/t from 72m (SLS)
Goliath intercepted 10.6g/t over 22.8m from 113m at its Surebet prospect in British Columbia (GOT.TO)
Altair updated on Olympic Domain, as BHP expressed intentions to use Altair’s project area for purposes of infrastructure & development of Oak dam. The issue with move to the Warden’s Court for an adjudication (ALR)
Yancoal announced Sharif Burra as new CEO effective 8 September (YAL)
Horizon Minerals provided an update on the PFS to refurbish Black Swan, suggesting it will be finalised next quarter and will be sufficient for FID (HRZ)
Champion Iron’s CFO Donald Tremblay has departed, with a replacement search underway (CIA)
Presentations were shared by Marimaca & Champion Iron
High Grade It
MinRes is prepared to forgive $160m of debt as part of a deal to acquire the companies and assets of Chris Ellison's brother’s collapsed RDG (BN)
Peabody has hit out at Queensland’s coal royalty burden, days after terminating a $5.7B deal to buy five mines in the state’s Bowen Basin (Australian)
Germany and Canada agreed to deepen cooperation on critical minerals amid Berlin's push to reduce dependence on single sources (Reuters)
China has more than quadrupled its exports of steel in semi-finished form so far this year, adding to an unprecedented flood of the metal (Bloomberg)
Northern Dynasty hasn’t submitted a revised proposal for its proposed Pebble mine, according to the US EPA, despite encouragement from the Trump administration (Bloomberg)
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Wheelin’ n Dealin’
Blackstone Minerals announced a JV with Xuan Loc Tho to develop the Ta Khoa Nickel project and refinery. The agreement involves a 4-stage transaction to restructure and fund the project (BSX)
Basin Energy announced a binding agreement to acquire 100% NeoDys, while raising $1.25m, with its share price up 172% (BSN)
Rattlin’ the Tin
Word on the Decline
Yesterday Street Talk was spruiking Latimore and GEAR’s participation in Terra Metals’ capital raise, which is proving up the Dante Reefs deposit in the West Musgraves - remote even by Australian standards..
We suspect the angle here for the coal baron and Indonesian partner is an option on the ability to tie Dante Reefs together with Neo-Babel, if the latter can shake out from BHP at a reasonable price
And earlier this week it was confirmed that BHP is putting the nickel business for sale - including the stalled West Musgrave project construction
If you found it funny that BHP acquired West Musgrave back (via Oz Minerals acquisition) only ~8yrs after selling the project, then you’ll find it even funnier when they sell the same project twice in just over a decade…
We reckon Latimore and GEAR will be hoping to get a similar bargain that Cassini got in 2014
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In the Weeds
Twiggy Forrest whitewashes his own green emissions (AFR’s Rear Window)
Fortescue CEO Dino Otranto admits it mistimed green hydrogen rollout (ABC Interview)
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Devil’s in the Detail
There’s a lot of wisdom in this once slide, from Evolution’s Diggers 2014 deck (EVN). 11 years later, and we hope management teams across the sector are as cogniscent of the probability of bad deals.
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