The Pre-Start
Iluka announced an interim dividend of 2cps, despite seeing a free cash flow per share loss of 67c, with underlying mineral sands EBITDA of $218m (ILU) Down 6%
Emeco reported revenue of $785m, operating free cash flow of $114m, up 32% (EHL)
Orezone released new assays, with a headline intercept of 1.59g/t Au over 48m from 137m, beneath the current life of mine pit (ORE)
Mount Gibson earned operating cash flow of $29m with cash up to $485m. FY26 iron ore sales range to be between 3-3.2Mwmt at $80-85/wmt (MGX)
Viridis updated the reserve at Colossus to 201Mt at 2,640ppm TREO and 740ppm MREO, with ore for a 40-year mine life (VMM) Down 9%
AIC published assays from resource definition and extension drilling at Jericho, confirming the continuity of Matilda and Jolly (A1M)
Brightstar published 87 assay results from extensional and infill work at Sandstone, building confidence across numerous deposits and prospects (BTR)
Benz intercepted 55m at 1.1g/t Au from 447m at Central Lens, amongst step out drilling at Icon (BNZ) Up 7%
High Grade It
Kerry Stokes warned the nation’s biggest miners are not “battle ready” to deal with a looming industrial war in the Pilbara, and believes WA’s massive mining sector could never have been built under current regulatory conditions (AFR)
BHP shifts focus from Australian iron ore to global copper projects. With the easy wins made, the major is looking at ex-Australian growth (Australian)
Sandfire CEO Brendan Harris said parts of Africa & Europe are nipping at the heels of Australia as the world’s premier mining jurisdiction (West)
Trump criticised an appeals court’s decision to temporarily block federal officials from completing a land transfer needed for Resolution Copper (Mining.com)
Australia’s biggest miners have banked almost $60B in diesel fuel tax subsidies in under 20 years, with calls on the Albanese govt to overhaul the scheme (AFR)
QLD’s LNP gov’t cut a secret royalty deal with Bravus to expand Carmichael coal mine, but won’t say when taxpayers get repaid (Australian)
Glencore head of recycling is stepping down after unwinding the firm’s unsuccessful investment partnership with Li-Cycle (Bloomberg)
Hindustan Zinc, India's top refined zinc producer, will aim to expand into uranium mining if the govt opens up the sector to private players (Reuters)
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Wheelin’ n Dealin’
Peabody and Anglo have terminated their agreement due to a material adverse change, following an ignition event at Moranbah North (BTU)
Anglo said in a statement: “…the unsolicited inbound interest expressed to us in recent months is testament to the strategic value of these assets… we are confident that we will successfully conclude an alternative sales process for value in due course.”
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Rattlin’ the Tin
Lindian received commitments for $91m at $0.21/sh and announced FID at Kangankunde rare earth project in Malawi (LIN) Up 11%
Unico Silver raised $25m for development of silver projects in Argentina at $0.35 per share (USL)
Arafura received $80m placement at $0.19 per share, whilst launching $5m share repurchase plan (ARU)
Soma Gold raised C$15m and converted C$10m of debt into shares on the same terms of the offering (SOMA.V)
Word on the Decline
So this morning Street Talk breaks news that Regis is eyeing a $2.5b deal for AngloGold’s 70% Tropicana stake
Regis puts out this response to the market. Pay attention to the wording: “advanced discussions”
We think the use of the word “advanced” implies that Regis IS in discussions and is continuing those discussions with an intention for them to become advanced
For what it’s worth, we reckon Regis’ 30% interest in Trop came with a pre-emptive right for the other 70%…
Think similar dynamics as Greatland with Haverion
Do you have some Word on the Decline? Reply to this email or shoot a message to [email protected] directly. We will always take your privacy seriously.
In the Weeds
Uranium in the 2020s = Silver in the 2000s (PauloMacro)
The Rebel Army Behind One of the World’s Major Rare Earth Supplies (Bloomberg) Podcast on Myanmar
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Today’s Top Tweet
The duality of man
#coaltwitter
— #Emanuel Ajay Datt (#@eadatt)
9:30 PM • Aug 19, 2025
Devil’s in the Detail
How’s this bouncer from Guy Young, CFO of C$10B gold producer Endeavour Mining
Catch up on our latest episode
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Lithium’s True Inflection Point (YJ Lee)
“Lithium demand is exploding – and consensus has it wrong”
YJ Lee, fund manager at Arcane Capital, joined us to explain why the market is underestimating the real driver of lithium prices: demand.