| The Sunday Wrap |
| Chile Seeks Copper Buyers Beyond China With US$100 Billion Plan |
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| Chile plans to invest about US$100 billion in copper over the next decade to diversify its customer base beyond China and tap data-centre demand, its foreign affairs minister said. The plan includes moving from exporting concentrate toward shipping refined copper, and Chile has begun negotiating a free trade agreement with India. |
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| US Signs Landmark Nuclear Deal With Saudi Arabia |
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| The US and Saudi Arabia signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement that opens a pathway for the kingdom to enrich uranium on its own soil and commits it to using US firms, led by Westinghouse, to build its reactors. Framed as a decades-long, multibillion-dollar partnership, the deal stops short of the IAEA 'gold standard' safeguards the UAE accepted and now goes to Congress for review. Critics warn it could spur a regional nuclear race amid the Iran conflict. |
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| BBC News |
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| Lithium Sinks to Five-Month Low Amid 2027 Glut Fears |
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| The most active lithium carbonate contract on the Guangzhou Futures Exchange fell to RMB136,800 (~US$20,210) per tonne, its lowest since February 10. A wave of mine restarts convinced traders the battery metal is headed back into surplus in 2027. |
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| The Northern Miner |
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| Most Mines Face Water Risk, ICMM Says |
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| The ICMM found that most mines face water risk. Water scarcity can slow mineral processing because many extraction steps such as crushing, flotation, leaching and tailings management rely on steady supply. |
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| Mining.com |
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| US to Ease Aluminium Tariffs for Smelter Investment |
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| The US will ease aluminium tariffs for companies that invest in American smelters. Firms that commit to building, expanding or upgrading US smelters would receive relief equal to half the existing 50% levy. |
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| Miningmx |
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| Copper Price Pulls Back From Record Territory as War Jitters Trump Earnings Beats |
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| Copper retreated from record territory as escalating US-Iran tensions rattled metals markets, overriding strong miner earnings, Cobre Panama restart hopes and falling stockpiles. Freeport-McMoRan beat expectations as higher prices offset weaker Grasberg output, while Shanghai exchange inventories have collapsed 82% since early May and the Yangshan import premium sits near US$103 a tonne. |
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| Mining.com |
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| India and Myanmar Signal Closer Rare Earth Mining Ties |
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| India and Myanmar have signalled closer rare earth cooperation, exploring the collection and transportation of samples from mines under KIA control. The move reflects India's push to diversify critical mineral supply chains. |
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| Reuters |
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THEME: FINANCIAL HOLDERS OUT, STRATEGIC HOLDERS IN
The Register Changes Hands While the Tape Rolls Over
Andrew Forrest's Wonongarra took Oaktree's entire 16.8% of EQ Resources this week, with the board appointment right travelling with the stock and no price disclosed. Barrick paid C$20.9M for 9.9% of Kingfisher and wrote itself participation rights, top-up rights and a 24-month block on any sale of HWY 37. Eric Sprott lines up as the largest holder of the group Silver Hammer will rename Silver Frontier. John Paulson swapped a 40% interest in Donlin Gold for about 35% of a new listed vehicle with his vote capped at 19.99%. Four registers, four holders trading liquidity for position.
The tape gave them no encouragement. ASX mining went from the best performing sector of the past twelve months to the worst of the past month. Lithium hit a five-month low on the Guangzhou contract as restarts convinced traders 2027 turns to surplus. Copper pulled back from record territory on US-Iran tensions even with Shanghai inventories down 82% since early May and the Yangshan premium near US$103 a tonne. Tungsten fell 1.93% on the month, NdPr oxide 2.03% and antimony 5.01%. Forrest bought the tungsten producer anyway.
Policy moved the same way. Sweden declared mining a national security interest with EU and NATO defence capability in the framing, Washington offered relief on half its 50% aluminium levy to anyone who builds or upgrades a US smelter, and Chile put US$100B behind a decade of copper and a shift from concentrate to refined metal. The issuance window held with it, Lotus fully underwritten at A$60.0M and Alurion closing its IPO at the A$50.0M maximum with demand to spare. Set against a masthead reading of Australia's weakest decade of living-standards growth, blamed in part on thin business investment, the largest Australian transaction of the week moved ownership rather than built capacity. The money is there for operators who can put an asset in front of a holder who intends to stay.
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| Lotus Resources (LOT) launches a fully underwritten A$60.0M (~US$41.9M) accelerated non-renounceable entitlement offer. |
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| The pro-rata offer issues one new share for every share held at A$0.22, fully underwritten by Canaccord. The same prospectus carries a convertible note offer and a detachable warrant offer as secondary offers, lodged to clear trading restrictions on the securities issued under them. |
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| Alurion Resources, demerged from Brazilian Rare Earths (BRE), closes its IPO at the A$50.0M (~US$34.9M) maximum subscription. |
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| Alurion accepted applications for 47,619,048 shares at A$1.05 with demand exceeding the maximum, and directors and management subscribed for more than A$4.5M. The 243,726,649 shares on issue imply an undiluted equity value of about A$256M, with BRE retaining 39,025,413 shares, roughly 16%, worth about A$41M at the offer price. Admission is expected on 30 July 2026 under the ASX code ALU, with about A$35M of the maximum-subscription proceeds directed to project-facing activities at the Amargosa Bauxite-Gallium Project. |
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| Kingfisher Metals (KFR) secures a C$20.9M (~US$14.8M) strategic placement from Barrick Mining. |
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| Barrick takes 15,470,934 units at C$1.35, each carrying one share and half a warrant exercisable at C$1.70 for two years, taking it to about 9.9% undiluted and 14.1% partially diluted. At least 80% of proceeds go to the HWY 37 project in British Columbia, leaving Kingfisher with about C$47M in cash on closing, expected on or before 27 July 2026. An investor rights agreement gives Barrick participation and top-up rights, project information rights, technical committee appointments and a 24-month block on Kingfisher selling or encumbering any HWY 37 interest without consent. |
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| NOVAGOLD Resources (NG) enters definitive agreements to acquire Paulson's 40% of Donlin Gold in an all-share transaction, lifting it to 100%, with no deal value declared. |
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| Paulson takes about 35% of the new Delaware-domiciled NovaGold Corporation on a fully diluted basis and existing NOVAGOLD holders about 65%, with Paulson's economic interest at roughly 40% and its voting interest capped at 19.99%. The combined group carries an approximate US$4.2B pro forma equity value and adds more than 16 million ounces of measured and indicated resources, inclusive of 13 million ounces in proven and probable reserves. Closing is expected in the fourth quarter of 2026 subject to NOVAGOLD shareholder, court and regulatory approvals, with Thomas Kaplan and John Paulson to co-chair. |
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| Wonongarra, wholly owned by Dr Andrew Forrest AO, agrees to acquire Oaktree's entire 16.8% interest in EQ Resources (EQR), with no consideration disclosed. |
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| The parcel covers 862,131,779 fully paid ordinary shares and 35,555,556 options, worth about A$189.7M (~US$132.4M) against EQR's last close, though the price paid has not been released. The transfer sits at shareholder level and leaves strategy, operations, management and employees unchanged, but certain rights travel with the stock, including the right to appoint a director to the board. Oaktree has been a cornerstone holder since 2023, backing the Barruecopardo acquisition in Spain and the Mt Carbine expansion in North Queensland that EQR says have made it the largest western tungsten producer. |
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| Copper One Resources (CEXY) signs a definitive share exchange agreement to acquire 100% of Rooinek Mining for C$7.7M (~US$5.5M) in scrip. |
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| Consideration is 14,000,000 Copper One shares at a deemed C$0.55, escrowed until four months and one day after closing. Rooinek holds the Sport Project, 108 contiguous unpatented lode claims over about 770 hectares in the historic San Francisco district of Beaver County, western Utah, on trend with Hawk Resources' Cactus copper-gold project. Closing is conditional on CSE approval and on Rooinek delivering an independent NI 43-101 technical report recommending an exploration program of at least C$500,000, and the company separately updated pricing on its non-brokered special warrant offering. |
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Broken Hill Mines (BHM : ASX)
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| 25.8m at 11.7% ZnEq from 415.1m |
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| Rasp (New South Wales, Australia) |
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| The best grade-plus-width on the zinc screen this week, double-digit polymetallic grade held over real thickness. At an A$117.0M cap this carries re-rate leverage if the zone extends, though the 415m depth is the number to watch on any restart economics. Zinc-equivalent grade. |
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Element 29 Resources (ECU : TSXV)
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| 1,534.6m at 0.58% CuEq from 56.6m |
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| Elida (Peru) |
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| The widest hole of the week by a distance, a porphyry-scale copper envelope that defines a system rather than a resource. At a C$311.4M cap the story rides on continuity over grade, and more than a kilometre and a half of it underwrites a maiden number. Copper-equivalent grade. |
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Q2 Metals (QTWO : TSXV)
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| 185.7m at 1.54% Li2O from 416.2m |
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| Cisco (Québec, Canada) |
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| The standout lithium hit of the week, spodumene grade held over serious width rather than a thin pegmatite clip. At a C$618.1M cap the leverage is thinner than the juniors here, but width at this grade builds tonnes quickly against a softening lithium tape. |
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Western Mines Group (WMG : ASX)
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| 153m at 0.29% Ni from 104m |
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| Mulga Tank (Western Australia, Australia) |
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| The asymmetric bet of the week, wide disseminated nickel from a district-scale ultramafic body. At a A$21.1M cap this is the thinnest company against the biggest system on the screen, which is exactly where the re-rate lives if continuity holds. |
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Polymetals Resources (POL : ASX)
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| 96.6m at 390 g/t Ag from 7.3m |
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| Endeavor (New South Wales, Australia) |
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| Bonanza-grade silver over real width from just below surface, the cleanest single-metal hit of the week. At an A$241.4M cap this is producer-adjacent rather than pure discovery, but grade and thickness this shallow feed straight into restart ounces. |
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| Week-on-Week |
Price |
% |
| Gold |
US$4,053/oz |
+0.90% |
| Silver |
US$58.00/oz |
+3.57% |
| Platinum |
US$1,590/oz |
0.00% |
| Palladium |
US$1,245/oz |
-0.40% |
| Copper |
US$14,068/t |
+1.27% |
| Nickel |
US$17,288/t |
+1.66% |
| Zinc |
US$3,587/t |
+1.74% |
| Lead |
US$1,876/t |
-0.01% |
| WTI Crude |
US$85.88/bbl |
+2.23% |
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| Month-on-Month |
Price |
% |
| Tin (LME)* |
US$50,375.00/t |
-3.64% |
| Lithium Carbonate (China)* |
US$17,382.86/t |
— |
| NdPr Oxide (FOB China)* |
US$90.05/kg |
-2.03% |
| Fluorspar (90%)* |
US$436.49/t |
-0.44% |
| Antimony* |
US$16.60/kg |
-5.01% |
| Niobium* |
US$32.58/kg |
+5.01% |
| Tungsten* |
US$159.51/kg |
-1.93% |
| Gallium* |
US$242.55/kg |
-0.14% |
| Germanium* |
US$3,120.82/kg |
+4.20% |
| Uranium (U3O8)* |
US$189.71/kg |
-0.88% |
*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.
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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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