The Pre-Start
New Hope reported group ROM production of 4.1Mt and coal sales of 2.9Mt for the quarter, underlying EBITDA of $107m, available cash of $617m, and Bengalla sustaining capital guidance cut to $100–$130m (NHC)
Minerals 260 reported assays from 36 holes (9.2km) with a 30,000m program underway to support an MRE update mid-2026 (MI6)
Coronado said Mammoth underground resumed from 11 Feb after a fatality-related suspension, Logan Complex is curtailing production and may be idled if no offtake secured, Curragh must pay a US$15m ERC pool contribution (CRN)
Toubani's RC drilling at Kobada has delineated oxide mineralisation over 1.6km, returning near-surface hits ahead of an MRE update (TRE)
Aurum’s step-out diamond drilling at Boundiali extended BDT3 strike by 600m and confirmed BST1 extends about 130m deeper, with intercepts including 9m at 8.15 g/t Au (AUE)
Hot Chili reported further near-surface higher-grade drill results at La Verde, hitting 150m at 0.52% CuEq from 30m (HCH)
AVL’s subsidiary VSUN Energy signed a pre-bid exclusive agreement with Sumitomo Electric to supply flow batteries for the 50 MW/10‑hour (500 MWh) Kalgoorlie VBESS project (AVL)
Galan’s Phase 1 construction at HMW is ~85% complete with first lithium chloride concentrate targeted H1 2026 (GLN)
Centaurus’ pilot plant testwork at the Jambreiro iron ore project produced over half a tonne of DRPF concentrate averaging 67.8% Fe, with 40.3% mass and 89.3% metallurgical recovery (CTM)
Kaiser Reef raised the Henty run-rate target to 35kozpa from late FY27, while it’ll self-fund near-mine & regional exploration, and advance Maldon (KAU)
Sunshine’s Liontown scoping study targets ~75koz Au and 654koz Ag, delivering net cashflow ~$163m, a $4.6m max drawdown and AISC of $2,741/oz (SHN)
Falcon Metals extended the Blue Moon gold project Lotus Zone 80m along strike as drilling returned 0.8m at 86.2g/t Au, defined over 280m & still open (FAL)
Godolphin’s scoping study for the Lewis Ponds project shows a 12-year life, $481m pre-tax NPV7.5, 24% IRR, and $268m pre-production capital (GRL)
High-Tech Metals' infill RC drilling at the Wagtail gold deposit returned 1m at 220.8 g/t Au within 5m at 44.41 g/t, from a 65-hole program (HTM)
TG Metals reported results from 19 RC holes at the Van Uden gold project, including 30m at 1.6 g/t Au from 43m and 15m at 2.22 g/t from 86m (TG6)
Odessa appointed Steve Parsons & Michael Naylor as consultants & Sam Brooks as chief technical consultant, issuing them 280m performance rights (ODE)
Ian Wells will resign as a Liontown non-exec director to become CFO of Aurizon (LTR)
Sachem Cove’s interest in Aura Energy fell to 5.9% from 7% (AEE)
New presentations were shared by Genesis, Kalamazoo, Silver Mines, & Lotus
High Grade It
Roger Cook urged Albemarle’s CEO to at least keep the Kemerton lithium refinery open to a restart, days before it axed 250 jobs, blaming WA’s high business costs (West)
Gold slipped, as traders took profits after mild US inflation data pushed the metal back above $5,000/oz (Bloomberg)
NSW’s mining industry has leveraged its economic contribution to demand faster project approvals ahead of the 2027 state election (Australian)
Mali's government approved a draft decree renewing Barrick’s Loulo mining permit for an additional 10 years (Reuters)
X-Energy Reactor, a nuclear company backed by Amazon, received federal approval to make uranium fuel for advanced reactors (Bloomberg)
Romania's planned 460 MW small modular nuclear reactor plant would cost up to US$7B, its PM stated (Reuters)
Get expert data analysis & decision support you can trust - let Model Answer turn your numbers into clarity and impact. See their latest CFO Labs industry dashboards & plenty more.
Wheelin’ n Dealin’
Genesis will acquire 100% of Magnetic via a recommended scheme, offering MAU shareholders $1.40 cash plus 0.0873 GMD shares (implying $2 per MAU share and ~$639m value); completion expected June 2026 (MAU) 25% premium to closing price
Agnico’s CEO Ammar Al-Joundi said the miner is “very well-positioned” to pursue acquisitions should opportunities emerge, signalling a renewed openness to deal-making (Bloomberg)
Westgold completed the divestment of the Mt Henry-Selene gold project to Alicanto (WGX)
St George will acquire 166ha, less than 2km from its Araxá, for ~$3.8m (SGQ)
Beacon will sell 100% of MacPhersons Reward gold project to Forrestania for $5m cash and 36m Forrestania shares at a deemed issue price of $0.38 (FRS) Forrestania is on track to break a dealmaking world record here
Rattlin’ the Tin
Word on the Decline
From Genesis’ Magnetic acquisition deck this morning.
We put a line through the projects already in the hands of mid-tier miners. The remaining are prime acquisition targets this cycle.
Take Antipa as an example. There are clear parallels to the Magnetic-Genesis deal today:
In both cases, the target materially underperformed the logical acquirer from 2025, creating a clear relative value
Each target effectively has one natural buyer
Both acquirers publicly signal no urgency, backed by organic growth pipelines, which strengthens negotiating leverage
All to say, don’t be surprised if Antipa goes now too
GMD outperforms MAU 2025 onwards
GGP outperforms AZY 2025 onwards
Got Word on the Decline? Simply reply or email [email protected]. We will always take your privacy seriously.
In the Weeds
Tungsten Mania with Tiger Kim! (YWR)
Fergs Finds (Trader Ferg) Good insight on Chinese power build out, AI consequences & our Chinese dependence
Was a Glencore legend betting on the Rio Tinto deal failing? (AFR)
Ray Dalio: It’s Official: The World Order Has Broken Down (LinkedIn article) a sobering read
Were you forwarded this email from someone else?
Today’s Top Tweet
Devil’s in the Detail
Here’s one we missed last week. Evolution gave us a bit to chew through with 6 ASX releases in a single day, including one on their growth project studies.
The investments all got the go-ahead with IRR’s between 23% at "base case” commodity prices up to 48% at “upside case” prices. Happy days..
Except we had to scroll to the footnotes of the last page to know what those prices were.
