The Pre-Start
LYC ($21.3B) - Lynas signed an LOI with the US DoW for US$96m of rare earth oxides over 4 years with a US$110/kg NdPr floor, after modifying the Seadrift HRE facility agreement due to construction uncertainty; separately it signed an MoU with JARE for exploration
S32 ($19.5B) - South32 placed its 63.7%-owned Mozal Aluminium smelter on care and maintenance after failing to secure affordable power
OBM ($2.8B) - Ora Banda executed a binding ore sale agreement with Paddington Gold to process 120kt of surplus Davyhurst ore in Mar–Apr 2026, with FY26 guidance maintained at 140–155koz gold at $3,300/oz AISC
SX2 ($2.5B) - Southern Cross reported 17.3m at 15.3 g/t gold and 3.2% Sb from 251m at Apollo, with 46 holes pending
EQR ($1.7B) - EQ Resources produced 67k mtu WO₃ in H1, posted $44m revenue and a $7m net loss and targets first access to the Iolanthe vein in Q3 as Mt Carbine stripping advances
PNR ($1.5B) - Pantoro is evaluating Butterfly as a second Mainfield mine area at Norseman
FRS ($582m) - Forrestania delivered first ore to Westgold’s Higginsville, commencing mining and haulage while refurbishing Lake Johnston; separately, British Hill drilling returned 11m at 1.93 g/t from 196m
JMS ($550m) - Jupiter declared a $0.0055/share interim dividend, following Tshipi’s R200m dividen
MTM ($512m) - Metallium reported a $24m net loss for H1, while progressing commissioning at Gator Point
NVA ($360m) - Nova started winter-road freight to the Estelle project, with 95% of major equipment received and ~70% dispatched from Willow
TRE ($347m) - Toubani has commenced construction at Kobada, with bulk earthworks underway across the plant, targeting first gold in Q3 CY27
SYR ($315m) - Syrah extended to 1 June 2026 the cure date for Tesla’s alleged Vidalia AAM offtake default and, subject to US DOE consent
TBR ($313m) - Tribune reported 10koz gold attributable from EKJV (36.75%) Mungari tolling in H1, $97m revenue, $30m NPAT, and paid a 20c dividend
CTM ($308m) - Centaurus signed a 5-year binding offtake with Glencore for 20ktpa of 32% nickel concentrate from Jaguar from 2029
STN ($271m) - Saturn reported 15m at 5.53 g/t gold from 10m at the Titan zone, with infill drilling continuing and results to feed a Q2 MRE update | ▼ 11%
HAV ($219m) - Havilah's 11-hole RC program at Birksgate returned 26m at 0.14% copper from 120m, confirming stratabound mineralisation 6km east of the original discovery
ARR ($198m) - American Rare Earths was selected to supply feedstock to the DOE METALLIC consortium, providing 5t of allanite from the Cowboy State mine
EGR ($178m) - EcoGraf entered a non-binding MoU with Long Time Technology (major shareholder Foxconn) to evaluate offtake & investment
RNU ($173m) - Renascor has completed construction of its PSG demonstration facility in Adelaide, with full plant commissioning to start later this month
GHM ($151m) - Golden Horse confirmed free-milling gold at Hopes Hill from petrography and will start metallurgical studies in Q2
CNB ($121m) - Carnaby released a PFS and maiden reserve for Greater Duchess, outlining 8.4Mt at 1.9% CuEq within a 12‑year production target, post‑tax NPV₇ $322m, pre‑prod capex $11m, IRR 281% and first production H2 CY2026 via Glencore tolling
GBR ($115m) - Great Boulder hit 1.9m at 574 g/t gold from 502m at Mulga Bill in Side Well, below the resource
PTR ($73m) - PTR reported initial Rosewood met testwork recovering 91.3% HM to a 90.8% HMC and producing TiO₂ products at 55.4–84.2%
IMA ($61m) - Image will recognise a $53m non-cash impairment on Atlas and residual Boonanarring assets
LEL ($41m) - Lithium Energy returned to trading with $67m net cash and a $36m 2‑year work program outlined, and a surplus‑funds review by Oct 2026 | ▲ 19% the only stock up today! And still well below net cash
GA8 ($35m) - GoldArc reported 5.6m at 8.7 g/t gold from 106m at Mt Stirling
ABX ($27m) - ABx says ANSTO has produced a second MREC from the Deep Leads in Tasmania via column leach, with Dy+Tb 5.4% of REO and Fe₂O₃ below detection
PRX ($21m) - Prodigy Gold updated the Hyperion MRE to 9.8Mt at 1.4 g/t gold for 454koz (0.5 g/t cut-off), with indicated 4.1Mt at 1.6 g/t for 212koz
High Grade It
Trump threatened further strikes on Iran's Kharg Island export hub and urged allies to deploy warships, as Tehran vowed to intensify its response (Reuters)
China eases ban on BHP iron ore as steel mills rush to buy, having sent futures up 6% last week (AFR)
BHP has been accused of being ‘dramatic’ as it stares down the barrel of strike action (Australian)
Australia should brace for a Chinese slowdown as the Iran crisis continues, says Resources Minister Madeleine King (AFR)
Honda scrapped its EV plans, with the Japanese carmaker recording its first annual loss since going public in 1957 (NYT)
Bahrain started output cuts at the world’s top aluminium smelter (Bloomberg)
HotCopper deleted posts after ex-uranium boss Duncan Craib sued, claiming defamation (AFR)
Model Answer’s team are behind many of the industry’s best feasibility / financing / corporate models. They are mining & resources sector natives as well as Excel wizards. Get in touch.
Glencore CEO Gary Nagle is hoping a recent surge in coal prices will help bring Rio back to the table, three investors said (Reuters)
Northern Star feeling 'more vulnerable' to takeover as share price gets smashed (MN)
PRU ($7.3B) - Perseus will sell its 70% interest in the Meyas Sand gold project, in Sudan, to Matrix Group (subsidiary of Zhejoang Lygend) for US$260m cash | flagging potential capital returns
Word on the Decline
No one does deals when the market pukes like this…

Got Word on the Decline? Simply reply or email [email protected]. We will always take your privacy seriously.
In the Weeds
Trump’s Gamble (Myrmikan) “…Failure in Iran risks becoming an American Suez crisis, precipitating the final demise of the U.S. dollar”
Forecasting Follies — and Gold Prices (Strictly Boardroom)
When the Strait Closed (GoRozen) The commod bull market may not have yet truly begun. Of 42 commods, only gold trades at a real ATH
Gold powerhouse Northern Star struggles to shed junior explorer past (AFR) Runs through the history of NST
Were you forwarded this email from someone else?
Today’s Top Tweet

Ownership & Oversight
Our Latest Show
Mark Connelly on Why Every Miner is for Sale
Mark has sold more mining companies than we can remember. He candidly shares his philosophy of getting deals done, why mining needs more M&A + why boards should be happy to put themselves out of a job.


