The Pre-Start
AII ($7.8B) - Almonty completed Phase 1 commissioning at the Sangdong tungsten mine (~2.3ktpa concentrate) | Yes, Almonty is an ~$8B company…
NHC ($4.5B) - New Hope produced 5.5Mt saleable coal in H1, recorded $215m underlying EBITDA and $54m NPAT, maintained FY26 guidance (10.2–11.5Mt sales), & declared a 10cps interim dividend | ▼ 10%
WAF ($3.2B) - West African produced 300koz gold at AISC of US$1,488/oz in 2025, delivering revenue $1.5B, NPAT $567m and operating cash flow $790m
EQR ($1.8B) - EQ Resources shareholders approved ratification of prior share issues, with all board-backed resolutions carried; a non‑board‑endorsed candidate failed
BNZ ($958m) - Benz reported 7m at 223 g/t gold from 270m beneath the Hibernian mine at the new Kilkenny zone within the Mt Egerton project
RXL ($694m) - Rox approved FID for Youanmi following MDCP approval, underpinned by $350m debt commitments + $218m in equity, with first pour mid‑2027
MEK ($486m) - Meeka has begun installing ore sorting at Murchison to add ~200ktpa, funded by $6m from cash, initially applied to Andy Well, with commissioning targeted for the Sept 2026 | ▲ 6%
USL ($479m) - Unico Silver updated the MRE for Joaquin to 45.3Mt at 115 g/t AgEq for 167Moz AgEq (78% Indicated), including 123Moz silver and 521koz gold, to underpin a PFS targeted for Q3 2026 | ▲ 6%
BCN ($389m) - Beacon cut March gold production guidance to ~5koz after lower grades and downtime, while starting processing of Iguana laterite and reporting 9m at 25.9 g/t gold from 132m at Iguana
PC2 ($282m) - PC Gold extended the Macau Zone at Spring Hill by 140m down dip and reported 13.4m at 2.86 g/t gold from 188m
FEX ($253m) - Fenix said subsidiary Newhaul has hauled 10m dmt of iron ore, triggering issuance of 20m shares under the earn-out, while founder Craig Mitchell resigned as director and employee effective immediately
SLS ($106m) - Solstice's Phase 1 RC drilling at Nanadie returned 44m at 0.52% copper, 0.23 g/t gold from 146m in step-out hole beyond the MRE | ▲ 10%
MAT ($92m) - Matsa sold 2koz gold for $12m revenue and posted a $26m net loss in H1
PGO ($54m) - Pacgold reported 21m at 1.4 g/t gold and 0.32% copper from 44m at White Dam, but will pause drilling ~1 month due to diesel supply uncertainty
FEG ($50m) - Far East Gold received UKL-UPL environmental approval covering 8,950ha at the Idenburg gold project in Indonesia
BCA ($48m) - Black Canyon reported crush-and-size met results from Wandanya indicating DSO potential, with composites grading 45% manganese and 59.1% iron
CAE ($46m) - Cannindah reported 54m at 1.61% CuEq from 204m
AGR ($42m) - Aguia launched its Pampafos natural phosphate product in Brazil, signed MOUs for 44kt covering over 70% of projected CY26 output, and targets first mining/processing at Tres Estradas in late April
VRC ($31m) - Volt completed an HPG graphite campaign at Zavalievsky Graphite, producing 19.1t at 99.6–99.8% LOI from African feed, all sold to a European battery customer at US$3k/t (50% prepayment)
ARI ($29m) - Arika’s first 2026 RC hole at Pennyweight Point returned 33m at 1.28 g/t gold from 149m, extending Main Lode continuity
AHK ($27m) - Ark Mines secured a mining licence over ~406ha at the Sandy Mitchell rare earths project in North Queensland, with an updated Scoping Study due shortly
SNG ($27m) - Siren Gold confirmed mineralisation 500m west of Main Zone at the Sams Creek via 19m at 1.3 g/t gold from 78m at Doyles
KNB ($24m) - Koonenberry Gold reported 31m at 1.11 g/t gold from 41m (incl. 0.5m at 62.3 g/t) at Sunnyside | ▲ 9%
High Grade It
Trading was halted in all contracts on the LME for more than 2 hours due to an issue with its electronic matching engine (Bloomberg)
The Trump administration is pushing ahead with a contentious land transfer that will allow Rio and BHP to progress the proposed Resolution mine (AFR)
Gold was little changed, after the US dollar slipped and traders weighed attempts to contain an oil-supply shock (Bloomberg)
Guinea is considering introducing bauxite export quotas as global prices for the aluminium feedstock retreat and shipping costs climb (Reuters)
Recycling tech developer Nth Cycle signed a binding 10-year critical minerals offtake with Trafigura valued at ~US$1.1B (Mining.com)
Join hundreds of Australian investors accessing commercial property development opportunities with Natgen, one of Australia’s leading fund managers, targeting returns on equity (ROE) of 25%+*
Wheelin’ n Dealin’
SUM.V (C$113m) - Summit Royalties will acquire Star Royalties via share exchange, valuing Star at ~C$51m and creating a pro-forma ~C$184m RoyaltyCo
NMR ($77m) - Native Mineral Resources signed a binding term sheet with Haoma for 12‑month mining rights at the Podosky gold deposit for $4m, targeting April mining
AAU ($47m) - Antilles signed two gold royalty deals for Nueva Sabana: Astrovest and Lucerne Investment to fund US$5m of payments for 1.1% and 4.4% royalties on gold concentrate
Rattlin’ the Tin
Word on the Declin
12 months ago the playbook for a North American miner looking for new investors was: fly to Australia, charm a few fund managers, and bolt an ASX code onto the side of the company. The copper names led the charge, Capstone and Marimaca both turning up in search of the ASX’s copper-hungry investor base.
That enthusiasm has cooled a touch as money has poured back into the TSX and TSXV in spades. Funny how that works.
London, meanwhile, remains a tough postcode for a miner. Greatland sensibly packed its bags and relocated its primary listing. Ariana popped up on the ASX last year. Pan African will soon join the board as well once its Emmerson acquisition closes.
The pipeline is not empty either. We still hear of a few companies en route. San Lorenzo Gold has already found a fan club among Australian investors, while Rio2 has plenty of growth ahead of them at Fenix. And ASX loves a growth story.
Got Word on the Decline? Simply reply or email [email protected]. We will always take your privacy seriously.
In the Weeds
Northern Star not shining brightly (MN)
The comeback king (Australian) Tim Goyder’s journey
What 150+ Large Mining projects Reveal About CAPEX Overruns, Part III (Kenfucian)
The biggest oil risk is at the bottom of the barrel (AFR oped) Written by The World for Sales’ Javier Blas
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Today’s Top Tweet
Also, Grant Isaac at a conference call 10 months ago:
Looking ahead, we believe a move upstream, to focus on security of uranium supply, is inevitable and unavoidable.
We take his recent interview commentary with a grain of salt. Market share is enormously important for the incumbent in a small market.
Just as it was for Inco in the nickel market in 1996, when they “had to” overpay for Voisey’s Bay to defend it.
Ownership & Oversight
NEM ($168B) - Director David Fry filed a form to sell US$2.1m on-market
MAH ($1.4B) - Macmahon appointed Tom Quinn as director
PRN ($1.9B) - Perenti director Gregory Walker bought $139k on-market
WA1 ($990m) - Regal sold $19m of WA1 shares, cutting its stake to 7.5%
PNN ($37m) - Power Minerals appointed Alistair Stephens as CEO
DYM ($30m) - Fei Wang sold $772k of Dynamic Metals shares on-market
Devil’s in the Detail
There are many funds within L1 Capital, yet the most intriguing to us is the Global Opportunities Fund led by David Feldman out of the US. It has astonishingly never reported a single down month in its 10+ yrs while returning an average of ~27% pa.
And if like us, you wonder how that is even possible, here’s one of the trades they likely structure explained via clues you from Jindalee Lithium’s accounts.
In simple terms, the structure likely works like this. L1 agrees to provide capital to the new US-listed company when it needs it. Each time the company draws money, L1 receives shares at a small discount to the market price. Because the shares are listed and liquid, the fund can usually sell them immediately into the market.
The spread between the discounted purchase price and the market price becomes the profit.
On top of that, the fund often receives fees and warrants, which give it additional upside if the company performs well. Downside is contractually protected. Upside comes from equity optionality.
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