The Drill Down
Monday 15 June 2026 · Part 2
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Presented By
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ASX: KAO
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Namibia's Copper Belt.
Ready to Drill.
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69.6%
Peak Cu Grade
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40km
Mineralised Trend
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89%
Cu Recovery
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Two fully permitted copper projects in Namibia, an emerging exploration jurisdiction on the radar of global miners. The Chalkos Project carries peak surface grades of 69.6% Cu and 2,030 g/t Ag across a 40km mineralised trend. Drilling commences soon.
Discover Kaoko
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Lead Insight
From Bust to Boom: Is This Lithium Rally Any Different?
A renewed surge in lithium prices has prompted Australian producers to restart mothballed operations, with Core Lithium reopening Finniss in the Northern Territory and Mineral Resources restarting Bald Hill in WA. The rebound has been driven largely by Chinese supply discipline rather than a step change in EV demand. The open question is whether this upcycle proves more durable than the booms and busts that preceded it.
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Our Take
Restarts driven by supply cuts rather than demand tend to reverse the moment the cuts ease, which is the risk hanging over this rally. The producers reopening their highest-cost tonnes first are the ones most exposed if the price runs out of momentum.
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Commodity Prices
Precious Metals (USD/toz)
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Gold
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$4,316
+2.28%
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Silver
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$70
+3.08%
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Platinum
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$1,766
+2.86%
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Palladium
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$1,321
+2.84%
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Base Metals & Commodities
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Copper USD/t
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$14507.60
+0.90%
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Nickel USD/t
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$17770.00
+0.06%
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Zinc USD/t
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$3606.89
+0.89%
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Lead USD/t
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$1974.70
+0.94%
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WTI Crude USD/bbl
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$80.72
-4.90%
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Prices updated as of 15 June 2026, 3:48 pm AEST
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Market Movers
Winners & Losers - ASX Markets
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Desoto Resources Ltd.
No specific catalyst identified. Desoto rose on a notable lift in volume off recent share price lows, pointing to renewed buying interest rather than any company announcement.
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Kalamazoo Resources Ltd.
Kalamazoo released initial assay results from its 14,000m resource definition drilling program at the Ashburton Gold Project in WA. Nine intersections from the first 16 holes exceeded 50 gram-metres, including 21m at 6.5g/t gold from 12m, supporting resource growth beyond the current 1.44Moz base. An updated resource estimate is targeted for Q4 2026.
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Ora Banda Mining Ltd.
Ora Banda awarded a $233 million EPC contract to GR Engineering for a 3.0 Mtpa process plant at its Davyhurst Expansion Project. GR Engineering had been preferred contractor since mid-May, and the award locks in a key construction milestone for the expansion.
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Karoon Energy Ltd.
No specific catalyst identified. Karoon is an oil and gas producer, and the fall tracks the sharp drop in crude prices and broad selling across energy names today.
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Santos Limited
Santos eased on weakness in the oil price, with crude down sharply today. The move reflects energy sector flows rather than any company announcement.
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Whitehaven Coal Limited
Whitehaven Coal slipped alongside the broader coal sector on energy price weakness. The company is consistently buying back its shares as part of its capital management initiatives.
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Market data as of 15 June 2026, 4:10 PM AEST
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This Week's Poll
Does the Saudi Vision 2030 minerals push represent a genuine exploration opportunity for Australian juniors?
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○ Yes, strong sovereign mandate
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○ Possible but regulatory complexity is real
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Presented By
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Enabling fractional mining royalty investment
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Today's Stories
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Stockhead
Microsoft's AI Now Helping BHP Mine Copper Through Quantum Computing Partnership
Microsoft's quantum computing division has partnered with BHP to apply advanced AI and quantum-enabled tools to copper extraction at the world's largest miner. The collaboration aims to lift copper output to help power the global economy.
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Our Take
Applying quantum and AI to extraction is BHP betting that smarter processing can wring more copper from the orebodies it already holds. The prize is recovery gains at scale, where even a few percentage points across BHP's output shifts the global supply picture.
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Australian Financial Review
Gina Rinehart-Backed St George Mining Rattles the Tin for $60m
St George Mining is chasing a $60 million raise to keep the drills turning at its flagship Araxá rare earths and niobium project in Brazil, according to AFR Street Talk. The $435 million explorer is backed by Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting, which took $22.5 million of a $72.5 million placement late last year. Araxá hosts one of South America's largest carbonatite-hosted rare earths and niobium resources.
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Our Take
Another raise this soon after the October placement shows how capital-hungry the Araxá drill-out is, even with Hancock validating the asset.
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Nikkei Asia
Japan to Explore Rare-Earth Mining in Greenland to Cut China Reliance
Japan plans to begin studying rare earth and critical mineral mining opportunities in Greenland as early as this summer, sending geologists to assess deposit size and extraction costs. The aim is to help Japanese companies invest in projects in the Danish territory and reduce reliance on China, which dominates global rare earth processing. Greenland's south is known to host significant heavy rare earth deposits.
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Our Take
Tokyo is moving early to secure alternative supply, but the real test is processing. Greenland ore still has to reach a refinery outside China, which is where Beijing's leverage actually sits.
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Financial Times
China Slams Indonesia Investment Climate Over Nickel Curbs
China has publicly criticised Indonesia's investment climate after the China Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia wrote to President Prabowo Subianto over deteriorating conditions. The complaints centre on sharp nickel ore quota cuts, higher royalties and taxes, new foreign exchange retention rules and alleged extortion by officials. Tsingshan's Weda Bay quota was cut more than 70% for 2026, with investors warning over 400,000 sector jobs are at risk.
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Our Take
Indonesia is testing how far it can squeeze more value from the nickel chain before Chinese capital walks. For Australian nickel, any sustained tightening of Indonesian supply is the most plausible route back to workable prices.
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Kamoa Capital
kamoacap.com
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This newsletter is for general information, education & 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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