The Pre-Start
Agnico Eagle reported adjusted EBITDA of US$2.1B on gold production of 876koz at cash cost of US$994/oz (AEM.NY)
MinRes shipped 8.6Mt from Onslow and 143kt of SC6 across its lithium operations. Guidance has been maintained across the board. Lithium realised prices were up 31% US$849/t. Net debt was steady at $5.4B, receiving a $41m purchase price adjustment for Lockyer-6 (MIN) Up 9%. “deleveraging” story now webcast live
Lynas reported Q1 FY26 sales revenue of $200m, closing cash $1.06B after a $915m equity raise, produced 3,993t REO (2,003t NdPr), and approved expanded HRE separation capacity in Malaysia (LYC)
Emerald reported Okvau production of 22koz at US$1,186/oz. Cash & bullion lifted $53m over the quarter (EMR)
Coronado reported its Sept quarter delivered highest saleable production since Q1 2021 (up 21%), lower unit costs (below $80/t), and a proposed $265m Stanwell ABL to bolster liquidity (CRN) Up 15%
Champion Iron reported Q2 FY26 production of 3.6Mwmt, record sales of 3.9M dmt, revenue of C$493m, EBITDA of C$175M, declared a C$0.10 semi-annual dividend and said DRPF commissioning is expected in December 2025 (CIA) Up 7%
Zimplats reported 6E final product fell 24% to 142koz, while cash costs per 6E ounce rose 30% to US$1,068/oz and major projects progressed on budget (ZIM)
Lotus achieved first yellowcake at Kayelekera, ramping to steady-state production in Q1 CY2026, while Letlhakane infill drilling (~180 holes) commenced (LOT)
Turaco updated the Afema MRE to 103Mt at 1.2g/t for 4.06Moz, adding over 500koz since May 2025 with maiden Begnopan and Toilesso estimates and five rigs now drilling (TCG)
Meeka reported Andy Well underground development is producing high grades, with multiple face samples exceeding 100 g/t Au, three levels in ore and ~3.8koz produced in October (MEK)
St Barbara said the Simberi Expansion Feasibility Study remains on track for Q2 FY26; Q1 production was 11koz at A$4,487/oz AISC, $16m growth spend, and drilling returned multiple significant gold intercepts (SBM)
Ausgold reached an agreement in principle with the Shire of Katanning for a 12‑year lease of an 8‑hectare site for a 250‑bed workforce accommodation village, subject to council approval and public notice (AUC)
Toubani appointed Ausenco as EPCM contractor for the Kobada Gold Project as the company advances towards a FID (TRE)
Cygnus reported exploration results at Chibougamau, with Cedar Bay’s first hole returning 10.6m @ 4.1g/t AuEq and Corner Bay returning 3.1m @ 4.9% CuEq outside the resource (CYG)
Sunshine reported shallow, high-grade gold from Sybil diamond drilling, with significant assays in each hole to date (SHN)
Caravel appointed Primero as preferred EPCM, received a preliminary 90MW Western Power access offer, advanced environmental and water approvals towards a mid-2026 DFS this quarter (CVV)
Felix Gold reported two new massive stibnite surface discoveries at Treasure Creek and high-grade antimony drill results (best 6.1m @ 7.86% Sb) (FXG)
Ian Macpherson will step down from the Vault board (VAU)
High Grade It
Rio boss Simon Trott has unveiled a new corporate structure that will shift power closer to the mines at the expense of centralised global teams, which is expected to trigger the exit of many senior managers (AFR)
WA has been warned of big job losses unless it subsidises soaring power bills (Australian)
Chinese lithium prices are rising due to growing confidence in demand for large-scale battery storage, driven by policy support in China (Bloomberg)
Investors piled into uranium stocks after the US government unveiled a bold US$80B plan to build nuclear reactors, delivering a near-killer blow to hedge funds betting against the sector (AFR)
Chinese carmakers posted their best month ever in Europe, capturing a record 7.4% of all passenger-car sales across Europe (Bloomberg)
Copper prices hit a record high of US$11,137/t as disruptions and disappointing forecasts from big producers deepened fears of a shortage (FT)
Malaysia will maintain a ban on the export of raw rare earths to protect its domestic resources, despite signing a critical minerals deal with the US (Reuters)
Mining & metals companies across North America have raised US$2.9B across 185 deals, marking the largest monthly volume for sales of new shares by public companies in the sector since Nov 2013 (Bloomberg)
Intralinks’ drinks for the bankers / lawyers / corp dev teams / advisors of Perth is tonight at 6:00PM. Come and join us, details in the link 🍻
Wheelin’ n Dealin’
Dataroom reported that Rio is preparing to offload non-core assets, including borates, titanium and potentially lithium operations to reduce debt and fund capital spending (Australian)
Stake in a 186kg gold cube may be sold by administrators of an insolvent Austrian investor Klemens Hallmann (Bloomberg)
The Castello Cube
Rattlin’ the Tin
Rare earths firm REalloys has received a letter of interest from the U.S. EXIM for a loan worth up to US$200m to fund processing and magnet facilities (Reuters)
Manuka restructured A$18m owed to Tennant Metals: ~$6m to convert to shares at 7.5c (subject to shareholder approval), US$3m and US$4m as subordinated debt, remainder cancelled; Tennant gets a fee & warrants (MKR)
Cleveland-Cliffs is seeking to raise as much as US$982m in a share sale, as looks to pay down debt (Bloomberg)
Elevate Uranium is in halt to raise capital (EL8)
Osisko Development announced a C$82m placement (ODV.V)
NexMetals announced a C$65m placement (NEXM.V)
Word on the Decline
We have heard that Wesfarmers is running a process to sell the Mt Holland portfolio it inherrited via the Kidman acquisition
We think the assets up for grabs include the deposits detailed in this 2015 release (excl. Van Uden now TG Metals). Bounty was the star gold mine in the Forrestania region, producing ~1.3 Moz historically. It stopped in 2001 when mining got to 900m depth due to geotechnical concerns at the time. Excluding the “inaccessible” Bounty resource, there’s 900koz gold at good grade up for grabs here. Where could it be processed?
Medallion is converting the Cosmic Boy plant to process gold (~50 km as the crow flies), which could make a fair bit of sense.
Horizon Minerals is the other party with a plausible infrastructure pathway in the region: could their Lake Johnston mill, which has been in C&M for some time, also be repurposed for gold?
The most active dealmaker in the region is undoubtedly Forrestania Resources since David Geraghty took the reins. We genuinely can’t keep up with their deals. And we spend all day reading deals…
Got Word on the Decline? Simply reply or email [email protected]. We will always take your privacy seriously.
In the Weeds
Nuclear Mafs (Paulo Macro) Workings on the uranium thesis
China’s five-year plan to accelerate new energy industries; China’s car exports; and Beijing’s battery rebrand (Volt Rush)
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Today’s Top Tweet
At risk of repeating myself, I believe many are underestimating how sticky coal demand is (and will continue to be). No, I'm not predicting forever growth, but I don't buy the cliff-like global demand collapse that some pencil post 2025.
#CoalTwitter
— #Javier Blas (#@JavierBlas)
4:40 PM • Oct 29, 2025
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