| The Sunday Wrap |
| America's Rare Earth Independence Is Still a Decade Away |
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| Three consultancies project China's grip on defence-critical heavy rare earths holds until at least the mid-2030s. This week, Perpetua Resources locks in a US$2.9Bn EXIM loan for the only US antimony reserve, India restricts silver imports after a US$12Bn fiscal year blowout, and Tsingshan diverts Indonesian nickel power to higher-margin aluminium. |
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THEME: SOVEREIGN CAPITAL
The State Is Now the Swing Factor in Where Mineral Supply Gets Built
Five governments acted on mineral supply this week through five different mechanisms: Washington committed US$2.9Bn in EXIM financing to Perpetua's Stibnite antimony reserve while the Pentagon questioned an US$80M rare earth loan to ReElement, Beijing pushed palladium imports to a record 8.6t through GFEX and cleared China Union's US$175M Argentine lithium acquisition, New Delhi restricted silver bar imports to contain a US$12Bn deficit, and Accra revoked mining leases to redirect them locally.
Anglo American exits steelmaking coal for up to US$4.9Bn to concentrate on copper ahead of its Teck merger, KGHM targets 100,000t/yr in copper acquisitions, and more than A$250M in equity was raised this week with Kinterra, Agnico Eagle, Waratah Capital, and Peter Marrone all taking concentrated positions near the 19.9% threshold in pre-development assets. Capital is converging where policy and fundamentals align.
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| Maronan Metals (MMA) raises A$22M from Kinterra Capital at 35.08c to fund expanded drilling and PFS. |
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| Kinterra takes a 19.99% strategic stake, backing the silver-lead and copper-gold project in NW Queensland beyond its Starter Zone PEA. Pro-forma cash rises to A$36.6M. |
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| 20 May 2026 |
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| Wia Gold (WIA) raises A$92M at A$0.46/share to advance Kokoseb gold development in Namibia ahead of H2 DFS. |
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| Strong offshore institutional demand at a 5.9% discount to 10-day VWAP signals growing conviction in Kokoseb as an emerging large-scale African gold mine. Resource stands at 2.93Moz. |
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| 20 May 2026 |
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| Challenger Gold (CEL) raises A$85M and appoints Allied Gold's Peter Marrone as Chairman-elect to accelerate Hualilan. |
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| Marrone and lead investors contribute A$10M toward the total raise, backed by four existing institutional holders and two new investors. Funds target Hualilan DFS completion and the first material extension drilling campaign in years. |
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| 18 May 2026 |
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| Wallbridge Mining (WM) secures C$56M from Agnico Eagle and Waratah Capital to advance Fenelon gold PFS in Quebec. |
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| Both investors take ~19.9% stakes with board nomination and participation rights. The deal pivots Wallbridge almost entirely toward Fenelon, its flagship Abitibi gold asset, with PFS targeted for late 2027. |
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| 20 May 2026 |
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| Anglo American sells its Australian steelmaking coal portfolio to Dhilmar for up to US$3.875Bn. |
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| US$2.3Bn upfront with a price-linked earnout of up to US$1.575Bn. The sale completes Anglo's exit from steelmaking coal, aggregating ~US$4.9Bn in proceeds including its prior Jellinbah divestment, and simplifies the portfolio ahead of its Teck merger completion. |
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| 18 May 2026 |
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| China Union Holdings wins 96% shareholder approval to acquire Lithium Chile's (LITH) Arizaro lithium project in Argentina for US$175M. |
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| The deal remains subject to Chinese outbound direct investment approval, with China Union targeting close by 30 June 2026. The US$175M price tag for a single brine asset in Salta underscores continued Chinese appetite for South American lithium supply. |
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| 19 May 2026 |
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| Westgold (WGX) divests the Chalice Gold Project in Western Australia to Corazon Mining (CZN) for A$25.7M. |
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| A$8M cash, A$6.7M in CZN scrip (~19.9%), and A$11M in deferred milestone payments. The divestment completes Westgold's portfolio clean-up, which has aggregated ~A$215M across multiple asset sales. |
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| 19 May 2026 |
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GR Silver (GRSL : TSXV)
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| 45.1m at 1,623 g/t Ag incl. 8.25m at 8,579 g/t Ag |
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| San Marcial (Mexico) |
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| Best hole the company has ever drilled. 73,197 gram-metres of silver in a single step-out intercept, extending a breccia-hosted system that keeps getting bigger. |
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Aldebaran Resources (ALDE : TSXV)
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| 1,339.3m at 0.45% CuEq incl. 500m at 0.71% CuEq |
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| Altar (Argentina) |
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| A kilometre-plus porphyry intercept with a 500m higher-grade core. Infill drilling upgrading Inferred to M&I ahead of a Q3 resource update in the Los Pelambres/El Pachon cluster. |
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Freegold Ventures (FVL : TSX)
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| 33.7 g/t Au over 19.5m and 19.2 g/t Au over 24.7m |
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| Golden Summit (Alaska) |
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| Two high-grade gold hits in one release. 657 and 474 gram-metres respectively, confirming continuity in the high-grade zone inside a 17.2Moz resource heading toward PFS. |
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Midas Minerals (MM1 : ASX)
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| 4.01% CuEq over 46.2m |
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| Otavi (Namibia) |
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| Highest copper grade on the board this week, over real width. 185 grade-metres of CuEq at a discovery-stage project acquired from Nexa Resources only months ago. |
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Aya Gold & Silver (AYA : TSX)
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| 890 g/t AgEq over 51.5m |
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| Boumadine (Morocco) |
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| Boumadine continues to deliver at scale for Aya's second asset. 45,835 gram-metres of AgEq, strongest intercept to date, 70m below the current pit shell along a 5.4km trend. |
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| Commodity |
Price |
Week % |
| Gold |
US$4,510 |
-0.74% |
| Silver |
US$76.00 |
-1.47% |
| Platinum |
US$1,929 |
-1.29% |
| Palladium |
US$1,341 |
-3.61% |
| Copper |
US$14,120 |
+0.58% |
| Nickel |
US$18,850 |
+0.68% |
| Zinc |
US$3,545 |
+0.65% |
| Lead |
US$2,003 |
+0.42% |
| Tin (LME)* |
US$54,656.00 |
+9.47% |
| Lithium Carbonate (China)* |
US$14,401.34 |
+3.60% |
| NdPr Oxide (FOB China)* |
US$92.39 |
-3.05% |
| Fluorspar (90%)* |
US$439.33 |
-3.62% |
| Antimony* |
US$19.29 |
-4.43% |
| Niobium* |
US$31.02 |
-6.19% |
| Tungsten* |
US$177.92 |
-2.94% |
| Gallium* |
US$246.50 |
+7.16% |
| Germanium* |
US$2,870.05 |
+20.62% |
| Uranium (U3O8)* |
US$187.94 |
-2.01% |
| WTI Crude |
US$96.60 |
+0.26% |
* Month-on-month price movement sourced from the Critical Minerals Platform (CMP). CMP 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.
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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.
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