The Pre-Start
Westgold has restarted reef mining at the Great Fingall mine, firing the first stope averaging 3–4 g/t Au and targeting ramp-up to combined 40,000 tpm by late FY27 (WGX)
Emerald completed ~18km of close-spaced RC at Dingo Range, while commencing a ~16,000m infill at Memot gold project (EMR)
Fenix outlined a 3-year plan to ramp Weld Range iron ore project production to 6mtpa by FY28, upgraded FY26 guidance to 4.2–4.8m tonnes & forecast sustaining capex of ~$40m (FEX)
Lindian awarded all major non-process infrastructure contracts at the Kangankunde, targeting first production in late 2026 (LIN)
New Murchison Gold updated the Crown Prince MRE to 277koz at 3.8 g/t and a reserve of 136koz at 4.6 g/t, after 10koz at 1.9 g/t was mined (NMG)
Ghana's Parliament has temporarily withdrawn consideration of the mining lease for Atlantic’s Ewoyaa to allow consultation on the mining code & royalties (A11)
Drilling at the Andean’s Cerro Bayo silver-gold project extended mineralisation 50m beyond the resource, returning 2m at 692g/t Ag and 9.8g/t Au (ASL)
Aurum's step-back diamond drilling at the Napié gold project confirms gold mineralisation to over 400m vertical at Tchaga (AUE)
Brazilian Rare Earths scoping study for the Amargosa bauxite project outlines a 5mtpa DSB base case targeting first production in 2029, with after-tax NPV8 of US$630m and capex to first production of US$119m (BRE)
VRX signed 2 additional binding offtake contracts, adding 550ktpa for the Arrowsmith North silica sand project (VRX)
Neometals signed a non-binding LOI with BML for a production JV to develop the Ironclad gold deposit, which has an inferred MRE of 13koz at 1.6 g/t (NMT)
Lunnon reported RC results at the Lady Herial, including 13m at 3.3g/t Au and 17m at 4.7g/t Au (LM8)
Australia Gold & Copper shared an initial MRE for the Achilles deposit of 38.5Moz of AgEq at 116g/t AgEq (AGC)
Jindalee's EPO for the McDermitt lithium project has been approved by the US BLM, enabling a major infill drilling program planned for 2H 2026 (JLL)
Hillgrove updated a Kanmantoo Exploration Target of 27-42Mt at 0.8-1.4% Cu and 0.05-0.5 g/t Au, having drilled ~63km in 2025 (HGO)
Construction has commenced at Antilles’ Nueva Sabana Cu-Au mine, with Xinhai as EPC. Commissioning due by end-2026 (AAU)
Brightstar's Menzies gold project MRE rose 22% to 0.7Moz at 1.5g/t Au, with Yunndaga hosting 206koz at 2.1g/t and Lady Shenton 352koz at 1.4g/t (BTR)
Tembo ceased to be substantial in Greatland after selling 6.2m shares for $25m (GGP)
Winsome has been suspended after failing to respond to an ASX query (WR1)
Nick Cernotta has been appointed deputy chair of 29Metals, succeeding Owen Hegarty after the 2026 AGM, while shareholder BUMA, now >20%, intends to nominate a second NED (29M)
High Grade It
BHP’s Brandon Craig has warned Labor it needs to reconsider how policy settings are calibrated, or risk being left behind by governments hungrier for mining investment (Australian)
Victoria has approved exploration licences for two new gas projects, giving the green light for companies to develop new projects (Australian)
Iron ore risks becoming detached from physical market reality, as financial speculation drives strong prices more so than underlying supply and demand, according to state-backed CMRG (Bloomberg) Take this with a pinch of salt
Gina Rinehart said the burden of excessive regulation on the Australian mining industry had put its global competitiveness at risk (Reuters)
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Wheelin’ n Dealin’
Predictive’s board has backed a Robex re cut over the Persues deal: RXR shareholders will receive 7.862 PDI shares per Robex share, owning 46.5% of MergeCo, with the meeting is postponed to 30 Dec 2025 (RXR) more below
Rio has launched its multibillion-dollar sale of non-core assets, and PE firms are said to be circling its mineral sands operations worth up to $2.1B (Australian)
St Barbara is effectively selling 40% of Simberi (50% of a subsidiary owning 80%) to Lingbao Gold for $370m. Additionally, PNG’s Kumul will buy 20% for $100m (SBM Lingbao, Kumul)
A subsidiary of China’s CGN, has signed a JV deal with Namibia's water utility to construct the country's 2nd desalination plant close to Swakopmund (Reuters)
Rattlin’ the Tin
Tronox is poised to gain US$600m in conditional financing from both the Export-Import Bank of the US and EFA towards developing a proposed rare earths refinery in Kwinana (BN, Australian)
Almonty closed an upsized underwritten US$129.4m offering, selling 20.7m shares at US$6.25 to fund work at the Browns Lake tungsten project, Panasqueira mine expansion (AII)
Boab is in a trading halt pending a capital raising (BML)
Meeka issued 12.5m shares following the conversion of options at 6c strike, raising $750k (MEK)
Medallion is raising $60m at 33c (MM8)
Word on the Decline - The Battle for Bankan
Predictive’s board has finally embraced the spectacle, backing a re-cut Robex combination in the Battle for Bankan. The magic split lands at 46.5% RXR (Marnus would nod)
We think several major Predictive shareholders quietly signalled that a Perseus deal would be about as passable as England containing Travis Head this series
Helikon led the attack, supported by Franklin Templeton and Van Eck, telling Predictive they would vote down any Perseus deal if a Robex path was not entertained
Word is Helikon hinted they would need a Perseus counter north of 90c equivalent to change their mind
Perseus’ brass are reportedly in London, which feels apt
Will Perseus be back with another bite? We don’t have a good read on this. But we don’t think they’re done trying yet
Got Word on the Decline? Simply reply or email [email protected]. We will always take your privacy seriously.
In the Weeds
Is It a Bubble? (Howard Marks Memo)
Hedge fund resurgence as CBA short fuels bumper month (AFR) Resources & short banks
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Devil’s in the Detail
On the back of the Tronox refinery news, the biggest ‘indirect’ beneficiary was ASX-listed Lion Rock Minerals. Their stock soared 50% intraday yesterday before ASX put the brakes on.
The company entered into a partnership with Tronox two months ago and left some clues about their ultimate intentions.
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