The Pre-Start
Robex produced 13koz at C$2,342/oz in Q1. It’ll net A$120m from its ASX IPO this week (RXR)
Turaco announced results along strike from the Jonction, confirming shoots 2km to the north, with intercepts including 25m @ 1.75g/t from 126m (TCG)
Northern Dynasty reported receiving payment of US$12m, representing the 3rd tranche payment from its 2022 royalty agreement (NAK.NY) Up 33% after-hours… could Pebble happen?
Strickland released more Gradina drill results, with a headline hit of 63m @ 3.5g/t Au from 386m (STK)
Horizon Gold shared assays from several prospects, with numerous returning hits from the previously mined area (HRN)
Kingston announced its Mineral Hill underground drilling assays, with numerous copper-gold hits providing mine plan extension potential (KSN)
Maronan updated the MRE over the Maronan project, with the Starter Zone indicated resource containing 5.3Mt at 5.2% Pb and 116g/t Ag (MMA)
Lefroy published near-surface assays from grade control drilling at Lucky Strike, while the clearing permit progresses (LEF)
Sunshine hit 10m @ 31.9g/t from 41m at its Liontown prospect (SHN) Up 40%
Luke Bortoli, CFO at Pilbara Minerals, has resigned, with a search process underway (PLS)
Presentations were shared by Regis (hosting a Duketon visit), Magnetic, Whitehaven (hosting a QLD visit) & Lindian
High Grade It
Iron ore fell to its lowest level since early May at $95/t after Trump said he would double tariffs on steel and aluminium (Bloomberg)
A collapse in Chinese steel demand to its lowest levels in 8 years is an “ominous” sign for the ASX’s mining giants (AFR)
The traditional owners of Juukan Gorge will have a definitive say over Rio’s future mining activities on their land under a landmark agreement (Australian)
Bullion was near US$3,390/oz after surging 2.8% on Monday as relations between Washington & Beijing deteriorated (Bloomberg) GMD & CYL both up 8%, leading the goldies higher
Shares in Eramet fell over 5% after Gabon announced an export ban on unrefined manganese from 2029 (Reuters)
Environmentalists will use the argument of human rights in a legal bid to block the expansion of the Lake Vermont coal mine in QLD (Australian)
India's key iron ore producer NMDC is testing a new pricing formula to shield its profits from the volatilities reflected in global benchmarks (Reuters)
Barrenjoey has appointed former Fortescue and Woodside Energy exec Fiona Hick to its board (AFR)
Wheelin’ n Dealin’
Patagonia Gold has invested US$40m into its Calcatreu project in Rio Negro, Argentina which has a 746koz AuEq mineral resource (PGDC.V)
Rattlin’ the Tin
Australian Pacific Coal extends senior debt facility with Vitol Asia (Australian) owing over US$100m at a time that its market value is just US$41m
Caprice is raising $6.5m at 5.2c (CRS)
UCore has been awarded an additional US$18.4m from the US Department of Defence for rare earth processing (UCU.V)
Sun Summit has raised C$10m to advance its JD and Theory projects in BC (SNM.V)
Word on the Decline
We believe Albemarle has been very eager to shut down Wodgina for some time. Unfortunately for them, the joint venture requires a joint decision from both them and MinRes. We believe MIN has been resistant to cease mining, given the substantial volumes for CSI out of the operation.
And with Albemarle boss Kent Masters rumoured to be stepping down in the next ~12 months, there’s a reluctance for the Charlotte-based chemicals company to publicly ‘rock the boat’ too much with its JV partner…
Do you have some Word on the Decline? Reply to this email or shoot a message to [email protected] directly. We will always take your privacy seriously.
In the Weeds
China is waking up from its property nightmare (Economist) Property now contributes <15% to GDP, whilst wealth tied up in property has fallen to 70%
Inside Perth’s booming broker scene (just don’t call them cowboys) (AFR)
Why China banned rare earths… But not all of them (Sustainabledude Substack)
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Devil’s in the Detail
A weekend thought: the current vintage of gold miner management teams would likely be sitting on life-changing paper wealth from this bull market. What happens when / if they all decide to retire? Should we expect a generational exodus at the same time? Will there be a skilled management vacuum afterwards?
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