The Pre-Start
NST ($29.1B) - Northern Star will launch an on‑market buy‑back of up to $500m over 12 months (max ~1.6% of shares), while preliminary March‑quarter gold sales were 381koz with FY26 output tracking to above 1.5Moz
PMT ($845m) - PMET lodged the ESIA with federal & Quebec authorities for Shaakichiuwaanaan CV5, commencing parallel impact assessment reviews
SBM ($744m) - St Barbara approved FID for the US$333m New Simberi gold project, with construction starting immediately and fully funded after completing the Lingbao deal that lifted cash to $504m
SVM ($433m) - Sovereign said rehab trials at Kasiya that’ll inform the DFS closure plan and ESIA are nearing successful completion
AZY ($371m) - Antipa updated the Minyari project resource to 69Mt at 1.3 g/t gold for 2.9Moz (3.6Moz AuEq), with 2.2Moz (76%) Indicated underpinning the ongoing PFS | ▲ 6%
TM1 ($277m) - Terra reported multiple visually logged massive sulphide zones at Southwest SW6 within Dante, with assays expected in 8–12 weeks
TOR ($255m) - Torque set a 29 Apr GM to approve installing Simon Lawson as chair and Craig Jones as MD, plus the placement and performance rights
GRR ($214m) - Grange posted a Savage River MRE of 464Mt at 44.2% DTR iron ore and reserves of 96Mt at 44.7% DTR, down due to depletion
ETM ($204m) - Energy Transition Minerals is in a trading halt pending Penouta and regulatory updates
DLI ($143m) - Delta is in a trading halt pending an announcement responding to ASX queries regarding a media article | Vintage stuff…
FXG ($125m) - Felix reported new assays from NW Array at the Treasure Creek project, including 37.7m at 2 g/t gold from 49m | ▲ 7%
MPK ($104m) - Many Peaks reported 105m at 2.28 g/t gold from 28m at Ferk, with the new assays to be included in a maiden MRE due early Q2
WGR ($44m) - Western Gold started production bore drilling and early site establishment at Gold Duke with a groundwater extraction licence secured, targeting first gold production in Q2 2026 | ▲ 6%
PL9 ($36m) - Prairie signed a binding offtake with Hydro Lithium for 100% of Phase 1 output from the Prairie Lithium project (150 tpa LCE), targeting first production in Q4 2026 | ▲ 17%
VSR ($24m) - Voltaic extended Stage 1 of its Ti Tree earn-in JV with Delta on existing terms to Sept 2026, with heritage agreements progressing
SVG ($24m) - Savannah restarted milling at the Georgetown plant on 27 Mar after maintenance, with March mint outturn 242oz gold (cumulative 1,465oz since 7 Nov), processing 1.4 g/t Big Ben stockpiles now
LAT ($23m) - Latitude 66 entered a trading halt pending a permitting update for the KSB project in Finland
High Grade It
PM Albanese has said the free market has left us exposed, flagging more industry support (AFR)
This evening Trump will update the public on the war, where he’s expected to reiterate a 2-3 week timeline (WSJ)
Gold extended a 4-day gain as Trump appeared to set the stage for the US to end the war in Iran, lifting to US$4,790 (Bloomberg) Risk down, gold up?
Ivanhoe stuns market with deep Kamoa-Kakula output cut, revised down by ~90kt and ~120kt over 2026 and 2027 respectively (Mining.com)
Under pressure, Northern Star has unveiled a $500m buyback in the wake of a series of downgrades that have led to takeover speculation (Australian)
LNG powerhouse Australia leans on export strength to weather energy shock (FT) Our big opportunity
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Wheelin’ n Dealin’
REalloys, U.S. Critical Materials signed an MoU to build a domestic rare earth supply chain in the US (Reuters)
Hall Chadwick Acquisition Corp signed a LOI to merge with REEcycle in a de-SPAC, valuing REEcycle at ~US$600m, with a US$50m PIPE, 100% equity rollover, and 60-day exclusivity (HCAC)
NIC ($3.8B) - Nickel Industries completed the final 2% acquisition in the ENC HPAL project from Decent, paying US$46m to lift its stake to 46%
IMD ($2B) - Imdex bought the remaining equity in Krux Analytics for $23m, funded from existing debt facilities
FRS ($566m) - Forrestania issued 1.6m shares to settle drilling services with VM Drilling and in lieu of executive salaries, and said it is in talks on multiple acquisitions around existing projects in the cleansing statement | Normally this is interesting but for FRS it’s just business as usual… Wessies Mt Holland comes to mind though
ORN ($230m) - Orion said IDC will convert its loan into a 23.8% stake in PCZM HoldCo, streamlining Prieska financing with Glencore and Triple Flag
KGL ($150m) - KGL signed a US$300m silver & gold by‑product stream with Wheaton (US$275m upfront + optional US$25m overrun facility) to help fund Jervois | ▲ 47%
Rattlin’ the Tin
Word on the Decline
Gold’s pullback is unclogging the deal pipeline, bringing previously stalled sales processes back into motion. Bid-ask spreads that were preventing deal execution have started to compress.
Victoria Gold, for example, remains in receivership following the June 2024 Eagle heap leach failure and Yukon has committed up to ~C$220m to stabilise and remediate site conditions.
We hear the sale process has come back to life again.
Got Word on the Decline? Simply reply or email [email protected]. We will always take your privacy seriously.
In the Weeds
Adam Smith on Mining... kind of (Strictly Boardroom)
Mining stifled by capital crunch - Sir Mick Davis interview (Fastmarkets)
The $93B secret in the Australian dust (AFR) When something sounds too good to be true…
China Is Taking On Mining Giants to Reorder a $190B Market (Bloomberg) On China’s CMRG
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Ownership & Oversight
Devil’s in the Detail
First of the goldies to talk about diesel, with a wave of quarterlies to follow…
