The Pre-Start
Greatland completed a Havieron feasibility study showing a $2.9b post-tax NPV5 and 22% IRR, updated Ore Reserve of 38.5Mt for 3.3Moz Au and $1.06B pre-production capex (GGP) Up 10%
Black Cat made the final $25m payment for Lakewood, satisfying outstanding obligations, and an engineering study is underway to assess expansion to 1.5Mtpa (BC8)
Strickland reported Kotlovi assays, including 34.9m at 2.2g/t gold from 324m, defining ~300m strike, with seven rigs drilling turning (STK)
Brazilian Critical shared extensional drilling from Ema, hitting elevated grades of Nd, Pr, Dy & Tb to enhance the known extents of mineralisation (BCM)
Mont Royal has recommenced flotation test work on the Ashram REE & fluorspar project, with a ~700kg bulk sample received and programs to produce concentrates for hydromet and fluorspar evaluation (MRZ)
Rimfire has drilled 54 AC holes (1,562m) at Murga with first results expected mid‑Jan, and anticipates an MRE in the March 2026 quarter (RIM)
Emmerson's RC drilling at Hermitage extended Cu-Au mineralisation, with notable intersections of 9m at 13.0 g/t gold from 140m & 17m at 1.23% CuEq from 101m (ERM)
Deterra confirmed Jason Neal commenced as Interim MD & CEO effective 29 Nov, with an executive search underway for a permanent replacement (DRR)
High Grade It
LME Copper set a new high over US$11.2k, spurred by a weaker dollar, lower Chilean output and planned production cuts by Chinese smelters (Reuters)
Kostas Bintas, Mercuria’s head of metals, renewed his bullish copper forecast, warning a rush to ship metal to the US risks draining the rest of the world’s inventories (Bloomberg)
More than 140 people were arrested as activists blocked coal ships from entering the Port of Newcastle (Australian)
The Albanese govt’s gas price cap has backfired spectacularly, freezing projects & conditioning buyers to expect further political intervention, Beach’s Brett Woods said (Australian)
Several Barrick employees, who had been detained in Mali for over a year, were released this week as part of a deal with the government (Bloomberg)
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Capricorn is in the spotlight for potential corporate activity after it was believed to have made approaches to Genesis about a merger four weeks ago (Australian) article also puts forward a potential CMM tie-up with Oceana Gold. The Sunday special reads like a false trail to us…
SolGold received a preliminary and conditional non-binding proposal from Jiangxi Copper in relation to a cash offer for the company, which the board rejected (SOLG.L) Up 13%
Montage is acquiring African Gold via a scheme at an exchange ratio of 0.0628 based on an A1G share price of 50c. The offer represents a 54% premium to A1G’s 10-day VWAP (MAU.TO)
Larvotto secured an exclusive option to buy Blockade mine near Mt Isa, will undertake a six‑hole ~1,500m RC due diligence program with results expected Q1 2026, with payments of $400k, $1m and capped deferred $10m (LRV)
DevEx is raising $16m at 14.5c, while entering a deal to acquire Alligator Energy’s exploration tenure (DEV)
Word on the Decline

While we’re looking at Glencore’s DRC mines, we think Mutanda (MUMI) is up for grabs too.
Got Word on the Decline? Simply reply or email [email protected]. We will always take your privacy seriously.
In the Weeds
Gold may have doubled, but ASX miners remain a gamble (AFR)
The Pain Trade (Le Shrub) Discusses S32
How this little-known fund is beating Australia’s top investors (AFR Monday Fundie) Emanuel Datt
The Six Ages Of China (Multipolarity)
Were you forwarded this email from someone else?
Today’s Top Tweet
Devil’s in the Detail
Nasdaq and the NYSE are the same, right?…

Source: Chilwa Minerals AGM deck
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