The Pre-Start
LTR ($5.2B) - Liontown produced 193kt of spodumene concentrate at 5% Li₂O in H1, delivered a $184m loss, closed with $391m cash, and kept FY26 guidance unchanged
RSG ($3.1B) - Resolute approved FID for the Doropo gold project in Côte d’Ivoire, budgeting US$516m capex for a 13-year, mining 204kozpa for years 1–5 at US$1,360/oz AISC, with construction to start this half. Funding options are under review
OBM ($2.7B) - Ora Banda expanded Little Gem to 1.5km strike and 750m depth and discovered the parallel Sapphire trend 200m east, with new drilling including 10m at 6.9 g/t gold, targeting a maiden MRE in the next half
MC2 ($1.3B) - Marimaca reported 74m at 1.21% copper and 7.9g/t silver from 520m at Pampa Medina, 600m west of prior holes
BCI ($1.1B) - BCI Minerals commissioned the brine channel and first crystalliser, initiating salt pavement formation and remaining on schedule and budget for first salt on ship in the Dec 2026
MAU ($584m) - Magnetic released a scoping-level underground update for the Lady Julie project outlining ~13Mt at 2 g/t gold (14–19-year mine life), 41–52koz pa mined, 1.3 g/t cut-off, total underground mining costs $116–$122/t and CAPEX $181–$222m, with underground start ~2 years after open-pit commencement
USL ($580m) - Unico Silver reported 28m at 284 g/t AgEq from 61m at Breccia Puntudo, while deeper holes at La Negra SE extend mineralisation beyond the current resource footprint
SGQ ($534m) - St George entered a strategic alliance with Nanum Nanotecnologia to assess processing and potential cerium offtake
SVM ($518m) - Sovereign signed a non-binding MOU with Mitsui for up to 70ktpa natural rutile (TiO₂ >95%) from Kasiya over an initial 4-year term, subject to Rio rights
PNPN.V (C$285m) Power Metallic hit16.6m at 15.11% CuEq at Lion Zone
RND ($151m) - Rand produced 3.4koz gold in H1, delivered $27m revenue and $10m NPAT, closed with $3.3m cash and no debt, and paid a 10c fully franked dividend
5EA ($116m) - 5E Advanced Materials produced a meta boric acid (~80% B₂O₃) and filed a provisional USPTO patent on its process, with larger-scale trials and customer sampling/qualification underway
LM8 ($92m) - Lunnon reported an initial MRE for Hustler of 0.7Mt at 1.4 g/t gold (30koz), lifting group MRE to 1.5Mt at 1.8 g/t gold (84koz)
AWJ ($73m) - Auric received the final $2.2m distribution from the 50:50 Jeffreys Find JV, taking total receipts to $17m and lifting cash, bullion and listed investments to $43m
LKY ($66m) - Locksley produced 99.5% purity antimony trioxide (Sb₂O₃) at bench scale from Desert feedstock, measured by XRD, and will assess pilot‑scale U.S. refining/qualification pathways
AXN ($34m) - Alliance Nickel commenced a capital cost optimisation at NiWest, assessing vat leaching to reduce the DFS capex burden with potential local water sourcing
High Grade It
The IEA is recommending a large-scale release of oil from strategic reserves that would exceed 100m barrels over the first month and 400m in total (AFR)
Lynas’ stock spiked after it nailed down a long-term offtake deal with Japan, as tensions grow between Tokyo and Beijing over supply of materials (Australian)
The EU is considering a gas price cap as part of a broader effort to curb the fuel’s influence on regional power prices (Bloomberg)
Gold holds steady as volatile oil prices and inflation woes cap safe-haven demand (Reuters)
You can rely on forecasts from forecasters who never publish their track record. Or, you can analyse your own exposures against price combinations that have actually occurred, and scenarios that utilise statistical probabilities of price paths that might be expected from here.
Our GENESIS Risk Mapping tool has helped many junior and emerging miners to get a better handle on their potential exposures. It’s something that’s particularly wise to do before giving your model to potential lenders.
Contemplating going to the debt market? Get in touch with the team at Noah's Rule about a Risk Review.
Wheelin’ n Dealin’
Dataroom has reported that South32 has sharpened its focus on BHP’s $1B+ West Musgrave project (Australian)
CNL.TO (C$2.2B) - Collective Mining will pay US$44m over 5 yrs to secure all remaining surface rights required for a potential mine at the Guayabales project in Colombia
CIA ($2.6B) - Champion Iron received acceptances representing 90.1% for its NOK 79/share cash offer for Rana Gruber, with compulsory acquisition of the remaining shares intended post-close
LYM.NYSE (US$374m) - Lifezone signed a 14-month exclusivity agreement with the Government of Burundi to evaluate the development of the Musongati nickel laterite project
AE.V (C$218m) - South32 and Teck exercised participation rights to maintain 19.9% and 12.9% stakes respectively in American Eagle
DES ($47m) - DeSoto agreed with United Mining to acquire the Dalaban, Woussoubadou and Branama gold reconnaissance authorisations in Guinea
Rattlin’ the Tin
WHC ($7.2B) - Whitehaven received BB+ corporate ratings, with stable outlooks, while being assigned BBB- to their proposed senior secured debt to support refinancing of its US$1.1B acquisition facility. 6 or 7 handle en route
HRN ($262m) - Horizon Gold has opened a 1-for-20 entitlement offer at $1.20 to raise $10m, alongside a $20m placement, with Zeta Resources and directors intending to take up $7.7m - Zeta could get diluted from 71.1% to 65.7%
LRA.V (C$176m) - Lara Exploration is raising C$34m to advance the Planalto copper-gold project in Brazil
Word on the Decline
We found La Mancha’s top up in G Mining a couple of days ago particularly interesting.
US$313m for an additional 3.3% of the gold miner is no small cheque. It also looks far from accidental. In January, the resource fund of billionaire Naguib Sawiris sold roughly 3.5% of Endeavour Mining for gross proceeds of about US$437m.
After tax, it appears a large portion of that liquidity has been recycled straight into GMIN at C$45.89 per share, cementing La Mancha at 19.9%.
We remain convinced GMIN is one of the few gold developers large enough to move the needle for the majors. La Mancha’s blocking stake is formidable.
GMIN increasingly looks like Endeavour Mk II (only South America, not West Africa)… And Endeavour never sold.
Got Word on the Decline? Simply reply or email [email protected]. We will always take your privacy seriously.
In the Weeds
They Don't Want the Smoke (Geopolitical Cousins)
Ivan Bebek on Mining Alpha (Crashlabs)
Jeff Currie Warns Against Oil & Gas Hoarding (Bloomberg videos)
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Today’s Top Tweet
Ownership & Oversight
ORE ($1.5B) - Orezone director Patrick Downey exercised 175k options at C$0.30 (C$52k) and sold the resulting shares on-market for C$455k, leaving his shareholding unchanged. Appendix 3Y was lodged late due to an “administrative oversight”
Devil’s in the Detail
An unusual cash management strategy for a gold developer…
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