The Pre-Start
SQM posted EBITDA of US$404m (8% above consensus), while lithium volumes increased 43% year-on-year, with realised prices down marginally on the prior quarter (SQM.NY) Up 6%
Liontown’s inaugural Metalshub auction of 10kwt of SC6-equivalent spod for Jan 2026 loading attracted over 50 buyers from 9 countries and sold at US$1,254/dmt (LTR) Up 7%
NexGen’s first of two CNSC hearings for the approval of Rook 1 occurred overnight. The second hearing will happen in Feb 26 (NXG)
DPM claimed discovery of new high-grade mineralisation at the Chelopech mine, hitting 68m at 7.4g/t AuEq from 590m (DPM)
AIC Mines advanced Eloise regional exploration, drilling 8 prospects, intersecting 1.0m at 3.5g/t Au and 2.0m at 3.8% Cu at Eloise South (A1M)
Emmerson updated the White Devil MRE to 4.7Mt at 4.1g/t for 616koz (4.0Mt indicated for 549koz), with feasibility studies underway (ERM)
Arizona Sonoran’s PFS for its Cactus project outlined 103kt of Cu output over the first 10 years, delivering an NPV8 of US$2.3B, IRR of 23% and 5.3 year payback on US$977m of capex, assuming US$4.25/lb copper (ASCU.TO)
Meeka reported surface RC drilling at Andy Well returned shallow hits, including 4m at 27.8g/t Au, extending the Wilber lode ~450m south (MEK)
West Wits received US$12.5m under the Nebari facility, delivered first underground ore, and completed the first blast on the main decline, with first gold on track for March (WWI)
Cyprium’s board approved the restart of cathode operations at Nifty, authorising long‑lead purchases and early works for expected first copper in mid‑2026 (CYM)
Strickland reported results from 2 diamond holes at Shanac, including 224m at 1.9g/t AuEq & 174m at 1.8g/t, with the copper-gold zone remaining open (STK)
High Grade It
Lithium prices in China climbed for a 3rd day, with carbonate futures surging past US$14k/t (Bloomberg) Barrenjoey forecast spod @ US$3,250/t in 2026
Barrick shakes up management with the departure of two senior leaders and a top executive as break-up speculation swirls (Bloomberg)
Coal baron Chris Wallin’s private company said QLD is facing a perfect storm after it slumped to a loss under an “oppressive royalty regime” (Australian)
Paradice has joined forces with Soul Patts and another major shareholder to put pressure on Deep Yellow to bring back John Borshoff (AFR)
IGO & Tianqi’s Kwinana refinery won’t make money even if it starts running smoothly & prices keep rising, Ivan Vella declared as JV tensions flare (West)
The governor of the Japanese prefecture that’s home to the world's largest nuclear plant is set to approve its restart as early as this week (Reuters)
The WPIC sees a balanced platinum market for 2026, partly on the back of investors taking profits (WPIC)
Vulcan Elements, a North Carolina-based rare earth magnet producer, said it will build a US$1B manufacturing facility in its home state (Reuters)
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Wheelin’ n Dealin’
Street Talk has talked up the likelihood of Perseus interloping in the Robex-Predictive merger by bidding for PDI (AFR)
Rattlin’ the Tin
Elementos is in a trading halt to raise capital (ELT)
Orion said Glencore’s technical and financial due diligence is nearing completion on a US$200–250m financing and concentrate offtake for the Prieska project, with binding documentation expected by mid‑December 2025 (ORN)
Troilus upsized its debt financing mandate to US$1B (TLG.TO)
Tiger Gold closed an upsized RTO financing of C$16.3m to advance its 2.6Moz Quinchia gold project (YVR.V) the Colombian project previously of ASX-listed LCL
Word on the Decline
MinRes holds its AGM at 9.30am this morning with media scrutiny ramping up again in recent weeks. We don’t have much to add to those articles and we continue to pay more attention to Onslow. For what it’s worth, our mail is that two “C-Tiers” are set to finish up in the next week or two. Joe Aston’s column yesterday suggested Ellison “will undoubtedly be preparing to throw CFO Mark Wilson overboard” - so we assume Mark Wilson is one of the two. And if our mail is right, Josh Thurlow could be the second.
We think this anecdote is worth sharing, from an anonymous source:
Some very good, very capable and committed people who never get mentioned keep pulling off the impossible and keeping that place going. None of that is actually Chris Ellison, as much as someone might want to get his tattoo. It’s the people two levels and more below him delivering.
Got Word on the Decline? Simply reply or email [email protected]. We will always take your privacy seriously.
In the Weeds
MinRes’ flight to hubris (Rampart) By Joe Aston
World’s top 20 gold projects (Mining.com) Ranked by ounces in the ground
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Today’s Top Tweet
Devil’s in the Detail
How’s this quote from David Paradice:
Friendly reminder that anybody can attend today’s Deep Yellow AGM as a visitor. You don’t need to be a shareholder.
It’s at 12pm today at The Celtic Club, 48 Ord Street, West Perth. 🍿
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Stocks mentioned: MLX, MGX, ELT, 1SN.L, NC1, NST, TAM, A1M, MMA, TNC, FEX, AFM.V, CUSN.L, RMR.L, SRZ