| The Sunday Wrap |
| Critical Minerals Diplomacy Surges but Few Deals Have Teeth |
| |
| More than 50 bilateral and multilateral critical minerals agreements have been announced across 18 months, involving the US, EU, Japan, and Australia, yet analysts warn that few have translated into binding supply commitments or project financing. The volume of deal announcements is masking a near-total absence of hard capital deployment. For developers waiting on offtake or financing to unlock projects, the diplomatic surge has so far delivered more press releases than funding. |
|
| |
Presented By
|
| |
|
Independent Critical Minerals Intelligence
Independent pricing, supply chain analytics and strategic forecasts across 67 minerals and 93 markets. Built in Perth for mining companies, fund managers and government agencies.
Start Free Trial
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
| China Coking Coal Hits Highest Price Since 2024 on Safety Shutdowns After Mine Disaster |
| |
| Dalian coking coal futures climbed to their highest level since October 2024, up approximately 14% month-to-date, as safety inspections following a deadly blast at the Liushenyu mine in Shanxi kept supply constrained. Around 60 million tonnes of annual production capacity remains halted, with mines that have resumed operating at 20% to 30% below pre-accident rates. |
| |
| Mining.com |
|
| South Africa Targets Key Mining Registry by End of March to Attract Investment |
| |
| South Africa is targeting completion of a mining cadastre system by end of March, which will be used to apply for mining and prospecting rights licences. The registry is considered especially important for boosting investment by junior and exploration mining firms, and represents a tangible step toward reducing the administrative friction that has long deterred early-stage capital. |
| |
| Bloomberg |
|
| Indonesia Fleshes Out Plan to Strengthen State Control Over Commodity Exports |
| |
| Indonesia's Trade Ministry has published technical regulations requiring exporters of coal, palm oil and ferroalloy to report all export activities to a government-appointed state firm, effective June 1. Existing export licences remain valid until December 31, 2026, after which only the appointed state firm will be permitted to export the affected commodities, including ferronickel ingots with 8% nickel content or higher. |
| |
| Reuters |
|
| Ghana's Booming Mining Sector Propels Faster Economic Growth |
| |
| Ghana's mining sector is driving faster national economic growth, with higher output contributing to improved macroeconomic performance. The expansion is underpinned by elevated gold prices and increased production across the country's key mining operations. |
| |
| Financial Post |
|
| Canada Risks Losing Critical Minerals Infrastructure Race, PwC Warns |
| |
| PwC has warned that Canada risks falling behind in the global critical minerals infrastructure race, noting the country invests 6.6% of GDP in infrastructure, 0.8% below leading nations. Closing the gap would require an additional $34 billion per year in investment by 2050, as competing nations accelerate spending to lock up critical minerals supply chains. |
| |
| Mining.com |
|
| Copper Deficit Could Unlock Smaller African Deposits |
| |
| The copper market is likely to remain in deficit for the medium term as electrification demand outpaces the industry's ability to bring new supply online, with new mines taking 10 to 18 years to develop, according to Absa Corporate and Investment Banking's Shirley Webber. As deficits deepen, deposits previously considered uneconomic will become viable, with African assets in Zambia, the DRC, Botswana and South Africa among the key beneficiaries. |
| |
| Mining Weekly |
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
THEME: HARD CAPITAL
Governments Talked Supply Security While Private Capital Wrote the Cheques
The week's loudest signal was a familiar one. More than 50 critical minerals agreements have been struck across 18 months, yet few carry binding supply or financing commitments. Governments stayed busy on the soft levers, Indonesia centralising commodity export control, South Africa rebuilding its mining cadastre, Ghana leaning on gold to lift growth, while the harder problems went unattended, from South Africa's 412 abandoned coal mines to a Canadian infrastructure gap PwC sizes at an extra $34 billion a year. State activity was everywhere. State capital was not.
The cheques came from elsewhere. Trafigura underwrote Develop's twin final investment decisions with a US$400 million facility and binding offtake, Almonty closed an US$800 million convertible note, and Alicanto and Edge Copper topped up for gold and copper growth. Consolidation moved with the same conviction, Forrestania's A$93.5 million scrip bid for Zenith, Larvotto's A$54 million scheme for Hammer's Mt Isa copper, and MGX's exit from Koolan Island to pivot toward gold. Where governments offered frameworks, private balance sheets offered funding.
The drill bit kept rewarding scale and grade regardless. Arras returned a near-kilometre copper intercept from surface at Elemes, Volta extended one of North America's longest rare earth holes at Springer, and White Cliff cut bonanza-grade copper at Danvers. The supply that diplomacy keeps promising is still being found and funded the slow way, by capital willing to wear exploration and development risk.
|
| |
| |
|
| |
| Almonty Industries (AII) closes an oversubscribed US$800M offering of 2.25% convertible senior notes due 2031, comprising a US$700M base and the full exercise of a US$100M over-allotment. |
| |
| Net proceeds were approximately US$772.7 million after fees, with an initial conversion price near US$27.40 per share. The capital strengthens Almonty's balance sheet as it advances its flagship Sangdong tungsten mine in South Korea, positioning the company as a leading non-China supplier of strategic tungsten for Western defence and technology supply chains. |
| |
| 9 June 2026 |
|
| Develop Global (DVP) secures a US$400M (~A$570M) financing package from Trafigura, comprising a US$350M senior secured loan facility and a US$50M warrant package, taking final investment decisions on two growth projects. |
| |
| The package funds development of the Sulphur Springs copper-silver-zinc project and the Pioneer Dome lithium project in Western Australia, and refinances the existing Woodlawn facility. Trafigura also signed binding offtake agreements covering output from both projects, with first Pioneer Dome DSO sales targeted for the December 2026 quarter and first Sulphur Springs concentrate in the June 2028 quarter. |
| |
| 10 June 2026 |
|
| Alicanto Minerals (AQI), to be renamed Sinclair Gold, raises A$30M via an institutional placement of 19.35 million shares at A$1.55, a 7.2% discount to the last close. |
| |
| The raise was oversubscribed, drawing existing holders and new global resource funds, and lifts pro forma cash to approximately A$41M. Proceeds fund an expanded multi-rig drilling campaign at the 915,000 ounce Mt Henry Gold Project in Western Australia, with a mineral resource update targeted for the December 2026 quarter. |
| |
| 10 June 2026 |
|
| Edge Copper (EDCU) closes a public offering and concurrent private placement for aggregate gross proceeds of C$23.0M. |
| |
| The company issued 32,747,414 shares at C$0.58 in a syndicated public offering raising C$19.0M, co-led by CIBC Capital Markets and Beacon Securities, alongside a C$4.0M non-brokered private placement at the same price. Proceeds primarily advance exploration and development of the wholly owned Zonia Copper Project in Arizona. |
| |
| 9 June 2026 |
|
| |
|
| |
| Forrestania Resources (FRS) agrees to acquire Zenith Minerals (ZNC) via a recommended off-market scrip takeover valuing Zenith at approximately A$93.5M, a 46.7% premium to its last close. |
| |
| Zenith shareholders receive 1 Forrestania share for every 4.3 held, implying A$0.132 per share. The deal folds in the Consolidated Dulcie Gold Project, a JORC inferred resource of 21.3Mt at 1.0 g/t for 675,000 ounces across a 6km corridor, building an enlarged Western Australian portfolio spanning the Southern Cross, Forrestania and Eastern Goldfields belts. Zenith directors holding about 4.5% intend to accept, subject to a 50.1% minimum acceptance condition. |
| |
| 8 June 2026 |
|
| Norfolk Metals (NFL) agrees to acquire 100% of the permitted, advanced Ciclón Copper Project in Chile for US$50M, comprising US$45M cash and US$5M in Norfolk shares. |
| |
| Ciclón sits in the Domeyko Cordillera near Codelco's El Salvador mine and hosts a foreign NI 43-101 estimate of 10.1Mt at 2.97% copper equivalent, with environmental approval for underground mining received in December 2025. Norfolk is also taking a proximal early-stage exploration portfolio for a further US$5M in shares, with the transaction conditional on a minimum A$100M public offer led by Petra Capital. Anthony McClure and Andrew Bray join the board as Executive Chairman and Non-Executive Director, targeting completion in August 2026. |
| |
| 11 June 2026 |
|
| Larvotto Resources (LRV) agrees to acquire Hammer Metals (HMX) via a scheme of arrangement valuing Hammer at approximately A$54M, with Hammer's WA gold assets demerged into a separate vehicle. |
| |
| Hammer shareholders receive 1 Larvotto share for every 22 held, implying A$0.06 per share and an 18% premium, plus in-specie shares in the unlisted Yandal Gold Co holding Hammer's Western Australian gold ground. The deal hands Larvotto a district-scale Mt Isa copper portfolio in Queensland alongside its near-term Hillgrove antimony-gold production in NSW. Glencore has committed A$15M to a concurrent Larvotto placement at a 15% premium, with the enlarged group carrying a pro forma market capitalisation of about A$871M. |
| |
| 11 June 2026 |
|
| |
| |
|
| |
|
Arras Minerals (ARK : TSXV)
|
| |
| 935.9m at 0.71% CuEq from surface incl. 214.9m at 1.42% CuEq and 55m at 4.41% CuEq |
| |
| Elemes (Kazakhstan) |
| |
| A near-kilometre porphyry hit from surface that ended in mineralisation, and the best result Arras has drilled. The stock ran roughly 38% on the print. |
|
|
Volta Metals (VLTA : CSE)
|
| |
| 688m at 0.81% TREO and 68.13 g/t Ga2O3 from 4.6m incl. 210m at 1.01% TREO |
| |
| Springer (Canada) |
| |
| One of the longest REE intervals ever reported in North America, carrying gallium alongside the rare earths. The hole pushes Springer's mineralisation well beyond the current pit shell, both laterally and at depth. |
|
|
Panoro Minerals (PML : TSXV)
|
| |
| 487.4m at 0.80% CuEq incl. 317.6m at 1.04% CuEq and 162m at 1.54% CuEq |
| |
| Cotabambas (Peru) |
| |
| Continuous copper-gold mineralisation traced from surface to 850m vertical depth, and the first hole of an expanded, fully funded 45,000m program. |
|
|
White Cliff Minerals (WCN : ASX)
|
| |
| 19.81m at 6.64% Cu from 152.4m incl. 7.62m at 11.38% Cu and 1.52m at 21.1% Cu |
| |
| Danvers (Canada) |
| |
| Shallow bonanza-grade copper from a new discovery zone, and the project's highest-grade interval on record. Mineralisation now spans 2.6km of strike and stays open in all directions. |
|
|
Orosur Mining (OMI : TSXV)
|
| |
| 229.7m at 0.88 g/t Au incl. 59.2m at 2.02 g/t Au and 7.65m at 7.07 g/t Au |
| |
| Anzá (Colombia) |
| |
| The first new hole into APTA, a large epithermal system carrying 39,000m of historical drilling and still no resource estimate. Three new follow-up areas were identified from this single hole. |
|
| |
| |
|
| |
| Week-on-Week |
Price |
% |
| Gold |
US$4,219/oz |
-2.54% |
| Silver |
US$68.00/oz |
0.00% |
| Platinum |
US$1,717/oz |
-3.38% |
| Palladium |
US$1,285/oz |
+4.90% |
| Copper |
US$14,378/t |
+3.31% |
| Nickel |
US$17,770/t |
-4.16% |
| Zinc |
US$3,575/t |
+1.22% |
| Lead |
US$1,956/t |
-1.87% |
| WTI Crude |
US$84.88/bbl |
-8.39% |
| |
| Month-on-Month |
Price |
% |
| Tin (LME)* |
US$52,279.00/t |
-4.35% |
| Lithium Carbonate (China)* |
US$14,431.84/t |
-1.37% |
| NdPr Oxide (FOB China)* |
US$91.90/kg |
+3.33% |
| Fluorspar (90%)* |
US$435.61/t |
-0.85% |
| Antimony* |
US$19.17/kg |
-5.03% |
| Niobium* |
US$31.77/kg |
+2.44% |
| Tungsten* |
US$162.66/kg |
-8.58% |
| Gallium* |
US$244.64/kg |
+1.04% |
| Germanium* |
US$3,065.58/kg |
+6.81% |
| Uranium (U3O8)* |
US$188.05/kg |
+0.06% |
*Sourced from Critical Minerals Platform (CMP). These prices are APAC volume-weighted averages from producers rather than traders, meaning they are heavily weighted towards Chinese prices for minerals where China dominates production. All other commodities show week-on-week change.
|
| |
| |
|
LinkedIn |
Instagram
This newsletter is for general information, education and entertainment. Kamoa Capital is not licensed and does not know your circumstances. Nothing here is financial, legal or tax advice. Seek professional advice and read any PDS before acting. We aim for accuracy but make no guarantees and accept no liability. Views are opinions only and may include forward-looking statements that may not occur.
|
|
