The Pre-Start
PDN ($5B) - Paladin said the Métis Nation–Saskatchewan has filed for judicial review to overturn the minister’s approval of the PLS EIS and is seeking an interim injunction, which the company will contest
LRV ($523m) - Larvotto’s drilling at the Metz mining centre, Hillgrove, returned 31.5m at 4.4 g/t AuEq from 295m at Blacklode | ▲ 8%
GLN ($428m) - Galan finished Phase 1 construction at the HMW lithium project and moved into commissioning, targeting first production in H1 2026 at 4ktpa LCE (5.2ktpa planned) with 10kt LCE brine inventory
EUR ($365m) - European Lithium closed its on‑market buy‑back after purchasing 24m shares for $4.4m and will commence a new buy‑back in April | ▲ 10%
LOT ($331m) - Lotus secured acceptance of Kayelekera U₃O₈ by Orano CE's Malvesi converter, enabling first shipments in Q2 subject to testing, permits and logistics | ▲ 5%
BM1 ($280m) - Ballard reported 5m at 10 g/t gold from 83m at West Knell, with drilling potentially linking West Knell and Europa over 1.1km | ▲ 7%
PSC ($240m) - Prospect reported final assays at West Mwombezhi, with 8.9m at 0.78% Cu from 55m | ▲ 10%
NTU ($229m) - Northern Minerals said the Treasurer issued interim directions barring voting or transfer of Hong Kong Ying Tak’s shares until the next AGM as FIRB reviews suspected breaches of a 2024 disposal order
ETM ($204m) - ETM said Greenland authorities indicated the lapsed Kvanefjeld exploration licence may not be extended, rendering its 2026 field program unviable | ▼ 19%
VTM ($184m) - Victory Metals achieved 70.9% Dy, 70.2% Tb and 75.1% Y extraction from a 5.9% TREO flotation concentrate from North Stanmore
AS1 ($169m) - Asara reported 62m at 1.5 g/t gold from surface at Massan, with Phase 2 step-outs indicating the NE-trending corridor extends
ARL ($114m) - Ardea said the Sumitomo–Mitsubishi consortium has lifted its stake in JV vehicle KNPL to 35% as Goongarrie Hub DFS continues
EM3 ($102m) - EMC Gold reported the High Court of Asturias upheld the local council’s refusal to consider its urban plan amendment for the Salave gold project
GBE ($84m) - Globe’s BFS for the Kanyika niobium project outlined post‑tax NPV₈ of US$1B and 48% IRR with initial capex of US$139m and a 24‑year LOM, targeting first production in 2028 and FID in Q3 2026 | ▲ 22%
ASN ($81m) - Anson said POSCO rescheduled its investment approval for the DLE demonstration plant at Green River due to global uncertainty
LM8 ($78m) - Lunnon said Gold Fields has collected first ore from Lady Herial, with 38.3kt at 1.6 g/t gold signed off (1.8koz), while RC drilling northwest defined a new structure (8m at 2 g/t)
PL3 ($45m) - Patagonia pumped an avg of 3.2k L/h from the Formentera well, with drawdown observed in adjacent wells
PXX ($44m) - PolarX and JV partner Northern Star approved a ~US$7m 2026 program for the Alaska Range centred on 10.5km diamond drilling at Caribou Dome, while extending NST’s deadlines | ▲ 14%
POD ($44m) - Podium reported met testwork on Parks Reef hanging-wall ore producing 115 g/t 3E concentrate with 73% PGE and 76% copper recoveries
EMC ($32m) - Everest lodged the MDCP for the Mt Edon rubidium project and reported flotation testwork delivering >90% mica recoveries
OZM ($23m) - OzAurum reported 90% gold recovery at Mulgabbie North
High Grade It
Donald Trump said US to end war in Iran within ‘2 to 3 weeks’ (FT) S&P 500 +3%, Japan +3.3%, South Korea +5%, ASX +1.6%, oil down to US$104
Japan and France plan rare earths supply roadmap to reduce China dependency (Reuters)
Chile posted its lowest monthly copper output in ~9 years, highlighting grade decline and mine challenges (Bloomberg)
Resources industry chief Aaron Morey urged Australia to leverage iron ore to secure fuel from China (Australian)
War pushes fragile aluminium markets to the brink of disaster (AFR)
Wheelin’ n Dealin’
Vale Base Metals execs emphasised a focus on developing existing assets instead of chasing acquisitions (Bloomberg)
A1G ($507m) - African Gold said independent expert BDO reaffirmed that the share and option schemes with Montage are fair and reasonable | ▲ 6%
SGQ ($445m) - St George signed an MoU with Boston Metal for ferroniobium production at Araxa | ▲ 9%
DRE ($107m) - Kingfisher completed the sale of 12 Gascoyne REE tenements to Dreadnought for $2m in shares + up to $1.5m in milestones
Rattlin’ the Tin
DTR ($1.7B) - Dateline raised $50m to fund enabling works and procurement at Colosseum, lifting cash to $96m
LIN ($1.5B) - Lindian raised $100m at 75c to fully fund Kangankunde Stage 1 and the SARECO MREC facility without drawing the ~$32m Iluka debt | Famous last words “fully funded”!
ARU ($1.2B) - Arafura secured binding cornerstone equity commitments totalling ~$230m from KfW and EFA at $0.2447 to fund Nolans rare earths
TVN ($680m) - Tivan said Japan Fluorite Corp completed a $5m T2 equity investment into the Speewah JV, lifting its stake to 15% | ▲ 7%
AMI ($415m) - Aurelia received a $150m senior secured financing commitment from Citi, Credeq and HSBC | ▲ 6%
SLS ($149m) - Solstice is raising $32.6m at $1
LSA ($46m) - Lachlan Star raised $7.5m at 12c to fund maiden drilling at the New Waverley gold project, WA
Word on the Decline
Diesel gets the airtime, but watch how the upstream inputs start escalating quickly for in particular, Aussie miners.
~40% of global ammonium nitrate supply has been disrupted out of Russia.
Flows through the Strait of Hormuz account for about 30% of ammonia feedstock and over 40% of traded urea
And locally, Yarra is out for two months (~10% of local ammonia nitrate supply)
Then look at the local gas market… it’s under the most pressure in a long time, (44% of production knocked out with Cyclone Narelle, some coming back online today)
Then comes cyanide, produced from methane and ammonia, the double whammy
“But diesel is only 20% of a miner’s costs”
Yeah right…
Got Word on the Decline? Simply reply or email [email protected]. We will always take your privacy seriously.
In the Weeds
"Welcome to the Aya-Toll California" (Le Shrub)
You're Not Long Copper (Massif Capital) The exposure is not what you thought
Were you forwarded this email from someone else?
Today’s Top Tweet
Ownership & Oversight
WAF ($3.5B) - Helikon bought $164m of shares on-market to become a 5.5% holder in West African | ▲ 6%
PRN ($1.8B) - Perenti appointed Vanessa Torres as MD & CEO
EQR ($1.6B) - EQ Resources appointed Michael Nossal as a director
VUL ($1.6B) - Vulcan appointed Roberto Gallardo as a NED (under HOCHTIEF's nomination right)
C79 ($800m) - ECP AM sold ~$20m of Chrysos shares on-market
MCM ($244m) - Kinetic lifted its stake in MC Mining to 49.3%
AEE ($117m) - Aura Energy director Philip Mitchell bought $115k of shares
AA2 ($96m) - Ariana appointed Simon Acomb as CFO effective immediately, with former CFO William Payne continuing as NED
AON ($90m) - Tribeca became a substantial holder in Apollo with 5.6%
MTH ($59m) - Hendo Family bought $1.4m of Mithril shares on-market, becoming a 5.8% holder
SNM ($55m) - Perennial bought $557k of Sentinel shares on-market, lifting its stake to 7.9%
Devil’s in the Detail
Just a hopeful explorer, praying for a “not loss”!
