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- Rio Wraps Up Arcadium & Powers on in the Pilbara
Rio Wraps Up Arcadium & Powers on in the Pilbara
Encore Energy's update does little to ease worries; Ora Banda locks in gold price
The Pre-Start
Rio Tinto will invest US$1.8bn to develop the Brockman Syncline 1 mine project, extending the life of the project’s Pilbara iron ore operations (RIO)
Endeavour shared its FY24 results, reporting free cash flow of US$268m on 363koz produced at US$1,141/oz AISC. Assafou DFS is on track for late 2025/early 26 (EDV.TSX)
Ora Banda signed up a $50m revolving credit facility while also purchasing put options at A$4,400/oz for 100koz in FY26, at a cost of $14.2m (OBM)
EnCore Energy produced a corporate update after its CEO unexpectedly resigned earlier in the week, with the steep decline curve at Alta Mesa necessitating an aggressive drilling and well completion schedule, requiring greater resources than previously anticipated (EU.TSX)
Magnetic shared a hit of 51m @ 3.5g/t gold from 444m, including 14m @ 8.8g/t, amongst other results, at Lady Julie North 4 (MAU)
Genesis shared a 32-page presentation on their Laverton operations (GMD)
Fortuna Mining posted Q4 free cash flow of US$96m, totalling $203m for the year. It produced 116koz of AuEq at an AISC per gold equivalent ounce of US$1,772 for the quarter (FVI.TSX)
Meeka shared drilling results from Turnberry South, intersecting a new gold zone on the western side with hits such as 21m @ 5.13g/t from 51m (MEK)
Hillgrove claimed record copper production at Kanmantoo in Feb, producing 1,105t of copper (HGO)
Metals X have extended their on-market share buyback for a further 12 months till March 2026 (MLX)
Titan Minerals reported assay results from resource definition drilling at its Dynasty gold project, including 2.9m at 21.9g/t Au, 10.4g/t Ag from 17m (TTM)
American Rare Earths shared a full scoping study on Halleck Hall, having previously released key info for the NPV10 US$558m project (ARR)
Principal Global Investors are now a ~5.1% shareholder of Sandfire (SFR)
Aussie Super emerged as a 5% shareholder of Alpha HPA (A4N)
Rio Non-Exec Chair Dominic Barton purchased ~$93k of shares on-market (RIO)
BCI Minerals Non-Exec Chair Brian O’Donnell purchased ~$50k of shares on-market (BCI)
High Grade It
De Grey and the native title body corporation that oversees the land where its Greater Hemi gold project sits are at odds as the developer presses go on its construction plans (AFR)
Rio will spend US$1.8b to expand its Brockman iron ore hub in the Pilbara region of WA, seeking to maintain adequate production levels (Bloomberg)
Chris Ellison & Andrew Ellison face penalties from mining regulators after it was discovered part of their struggling Lucky Bay garnet mine was built without government approval (AFR)
MinRes is building a water pipeline and seeking new water licences, stoking speculation that it is trying to improve the quality of ore shipped to its customers (Australian)
Germany’s historic plan to ramp up spending shook European markets and powered equities past their US peers (Bloomberg) We’re thinking about the commodity ramifications of an initial €500b infrastructure fund
Zijin Mining’s deputy president Shaoyong Shen says the company plans to continue its rapid growth as it executes its 5-year plan, speaking at PDAC (MNN)
China to boost coal supply capability and enhance fuel’s role as baseline power (Reuters)
A global aluminium producer has sought a premium of $260/t from Japanese buyers, reflecting concerns that tariffs could divert supply (Reuters)
West African Resources lead the gold rally as bullion prices extend gains (CB)
A fire that broke out at a nuclear power plant in southern Taiwan was put out and posed no safety concern, the Taiwan Power Company said (Reuters)
Trump rare earths speech adds $45m to Gina Rinehart’s net worth as MP Materials’ stock spikes (West)
Copper prices surged after the Trump administration delayed some of the 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods (MNN)
Wheelin’ n Dealin’
Fortescue pursued a $200m deal to buy West Virginia coal assets in 2022 because Andrew Forrest wanted to cultivate a relationship with a key Democratic senator (AFR)
Rio completed its acquisition of Arcadium Lithium (RIO)
Bluescope confirmed the administrators of Whyalla steelworks have appointed BlueScope as its steelmaking advisor (BSL) BSL hasn’t made a decision to participate in any sale process / purchase any assets at this stage
Aurum Resources completed the compulsory acquisition process as part of its off-market takeover offer for Mako Gold, with the deal now complete (AUE)
Solstice Minerals completed its acquisition of the Nanadie Cu-Au project from Cyprium Metals (SLS)
Talon Metals entered an exclusivity agreement with Lundin Mining as the companies negotiate an earn-in over the Boulderdash & Roland targets (TLO.TSX)
Canyon Resources has acquired a 9.1% stake in CAMRAIL SA in a move to firm up the logistics route for its Minim Martap bauxite project (CAY)
Rattlin’ the Tin
Glencore has stepped in to fund stage one development of the long-stalled Mabillo Cu-Au project in the Philippines, 40% owned by RTG Mining (MNN)
Lithium Americas announced that Orion made a US$250m investment, which it said leaves it ‘fully-funded’ for Thacker Pass Phase 1, with completion targeted for late 2027 (LAC.NYSE)
New World Resources completed a $14m placement to advance Antler (NWC)
Euro Manganese received firm commitments to raise C$5.9m via a conditional placement (EMN)
Bunker Hill Mining restructured its outstanding debt, while launching a non-brokered placement with Teck for US$40m as well as a brokered offering for up to US$20m (BNKR.TSXV)
Word on the Decline
Word on the Decline is that Twiggy has been spotted in Morocco within the last day or so. We reckon it’s got something to do with Fortescue’s partnership with OCP - one of the world’s largest phosphate miners. Of all the “green” projects Fortescue has evaluated, perhaps this one has the most legs…
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
Australia, with no auto industry to protect, is awash with Chinese EVs (Washington Post)
SQM has one of the best websites for a miner, showing how its iodine business works (SQM)
Green iron and the case for government picking winners (MNN)
Fat-finger trade jolts BHP (AFR)
ACCC’s latest guidance on new merger laws is a wakeup call for companies looking to make deals (CB)
Platinum is in a structural deficit despite stubborn prices according to WPIC (MNN)
Are we already past “peak Trump”? (Livewire)
Today’s Top Tweet
When you tell the koala there never will be another lithium cycle and it’ll be 2015 iron ore in perpetuity
— Yellow Lab Life Capital (@YellowLabLife)
12:11 AM • Mar 6, 2025
Devil’s in the Detail
Now how often do you see an “exclusive” regarding Traditional Owner concerns with Street Talk (and not the ABC)? 🤔
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