• Rio declared Australia the world's most expensive place to build, warning the nation must slash costs to remain competitive for global investment (Australian)

• The government is taking a $50m stake in Liontown to support the struggling lithium miner (AFR), while CEO Ottaviano apologised to major shareholder, Gina Rinehart, after implying she is more interested in American fossil fuels and rare earths than backing WA lithium (Australian)

• The Albanese gov’t told industry players it will consider investments or stakes in Australia’s ailing smelters but remains wary of hefty rehab bills (Australian)

• The People’s Bank of China increased its gold reserve in July, marking 9 straight months of purchases (Bloomberg)

• Vale & BHP made an offer of roughly $1.4B to settle a £36B class action lawsuit in the UK brought by hundreds of thousands of Mariana victims (FT)

• MP Materials posted a smaller-than-expected Q2 loss, as the rare earths miner benefited from higher production amid rising demand (Reuters) Stock up 8%

• China's rare earth exports tumbled 23% in July to 6kt after hitting a record high in June (AW)

• Dataroom reported Jake Klein’s Federation Mining has an eye on an ASX listing, while Santana is discussed as a potential M&A target (Australian)

• Fortescue secured an RMB14.2B (~US$2B) syndicated term loan facility from Chinese, Australian & international lenders. 5-year tenor, fixed 3.8% rate (FMG)

• It’s worth taking stock of the gold juniors who feature an existing producer with a significant strategic holding already:

  • Golden Horse Minerals (GHM) - Emerald took its 20% stake in the company when the company listed on the ASX. Emerald’s local focus remains on developing Dingo Range. But CMM’s acquisition of WA8 shows we shouldn’t discount a corporate move elsewhere

  • Medallion Metals (MM8) - Alkane’s stake is just 5% after tipping in last year. And their merger with Mandalay is now complete. “Index inclusion” was a heavy deal rationale, but they are unlikely to crack the ASX200 without another deal

  • New Murchison Gold (NMG) - Westgold’s foot is on the company with a ~16% stake and one interesting detail in WGX’s guidance yesterday, you’ll notice a difference between what WGX guides from tolling and NMG’s production schedule

• Fortescue’s maiden presentation, July 2003 (FMG) A teaser for our upcoming episode - the first prezzo Twiggy gave in charge of FMG

• Mum, we got a lithium mine! Taxpayers tip into Liontown, but Gina won’t (AFR’s Chanticleer)

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