The Drill Down
Friday 17 April 2026 · Part 1
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Presented By
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ASX: TM1
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Australia's Next Major PGM Discovery
Terra Metals' Dante Project hosts large-scale Bushveld-style copper-PGE sulfide reefs just 15km from BHP's $1.7Bn Nebo-Babel development. With world-class polymetallic mineralisation from surface and strong metallurgical outcomes, Dante is rapidly emerging as Australia's next major PGM system.
Explore the Discovery
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Lead Insight
'Myopic' World Bank Must Shift to Critical Minerals From Climate Change, Bessent Says
Speaking at the IMF and World Bank spring meetings in Washington, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called on the World Bank to redirect its lending strategy toward critical minerals mining and processing, arguing that securing supply chains dominated by China is the real driver of economic growth and technological leadership. Bessent criticised the Bank's outgoing climate action plan as having a "myopic focus" on climate financing that chased arbitrary targets while doing little to lift people out of poverty. China controls over 90% of rare earths and a range of other critical minerals, giving Beijing significant leverage over Western nations on trade and supply chain matters.
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Our Take
The US effectively holds veto power at both the IMF and the World Bank. When the Treasury Secretary stands up at the spring meetings and tells the Bank to redirect capital toward critical minerals, that is not a suggestion. For junior explorers and developers in tier-one jurisdictions, the direction of multilateral capital is shifting in their favour.
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Commodity Prices
Precious Metals (USD/toz)
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Gold
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$4,789
-0.04%
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Silver
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$78
-0.70%
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Platinum
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$2,088
-1.41%
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Palladium
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$1,552
-0.83%
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Base Metals & Commodities
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Copper USD/lb
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$6.08
-0.71%
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Nickel USD/lb
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$8.28
+0.48%
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Zinc USD/lb
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$1.54
+0.79%
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Lead USD/lb
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$0.88
-0.91%
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WTI Crude USD/bbl
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$93.14
-0.04%
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Prices updated as of 17 Apr 2026, 8:03 am AEST
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Market Movers
Winners & Losers — TSX Markets
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Kirkland Lake Discoveries Corp.
First drill hole at the Mirado property returned 103 m of continuous gold mineralisation including 5.66 g/t Au over 18.2 m and a best interval of 23.03 g/t Au over 4.3 m, located 20 km southeast of Kirkland Lake in Ontario's Abitibi Greenstone Belt. Mineralisation remains open in multiple directions with additional holes underway.
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EnviroGold Global Limited
EnviroGold announced a centralized critical minerals processing hub strategy, using its proprietary NVRO Process to recover precious and critical metals from mine tailings across the US, Canada, and Australia. The capital-light model allows multiple projects to feed through shared, partner-operated infrastructure, reducing standalone plant requirements and accelerating revenue timelines.
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Lighthouse Gold Inc.
No specific catalyst identified. Stock is up approximately 60% over the past week, most likely driven by speculative momentum in the junior gold space amid elevated gold prices.
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Fitzroy Minerals Inc.
Fitzroy released solid definition drill results from the Buen Retiro Copper Project in Chile, including 92.5 m at 0.53% Cu from 3.5 m and 83.0 m at 0.57% Cu from 95.0 m, with metallurgical test work now underway at SGS Laboratories. Despite the positive operational update, the stock sold off — likely profit-taking after a strong recent run ahead of the maiden resource estimate.
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GMV Minerals Inc.
GMV confirmed drilling has commenced at the Mexican Hat Gold Deposit in southeastern Arizona, targeting approximately 30 holes across 7,000 metres to confirm and upgrade the existing 688,000-ounce inferred resource. Despite the positive drilling news, the stock sold off — most likely profit-taking after prior gains on the drill mobilisation announcement.
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Q-Gold Resources Ltd.
No specific catalyst identified. Most likely driver is profit-taking and mean reversion following a sharp recent run-up in the stock.
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Market data as of 17 Apr 2026, 8:03 am AEST
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This Week's Poll
Where is copper heading in Q2 2026?
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○ Pulling back below $5.50
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This Week's Research
China's Sulfuric Acid Export Ban: A Compound Commodity Crisis With No Modern Precedent
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China's sulfuric acid export ban creates a cascade most copper market models haven't priced in. Our 17-page memo traces the full transmission chain: supply-demand modelling, exposure analysis across eight major producers, substitution timelines, and scenario frameworks, with clear investment implications on both sides of the structural divide.
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Today's Stories
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Mining Forum Live
Major Gold Miners Should Be Investing More in Juniors: Adshead
Speaking at Mining Forum Europe in Zurich, Cupel Advisory's Neil Adshead argued that major gold miners should be deploying their excess cash into junior explorers rather than dividends or buybacks, citing Canaccord Genuity figures suggesting the North American gold sector will generate US$35 billion in free cashflow this year with US$42 billion on balance sheets by year end. Adshead noted that 12 of 17 notable gold discoveries made in the past decade were by juniors, many of which were subsequently acquired by majors. He argued juniors consistently deliver better exploration outcomes per dollar spent than the majors themselves.
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Our Take
The numbers make the case hard to dismiss. If majors are sitting on US$42 billion in cash and juniors are making the discoveries, the logical trade is obvious. The real question is whether major management teams have the appetite to hold illiquid junior positions through volatility, and the track record there is not encouraging.
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Reuters
Congo Creates Strategic Cobalt Reserve to Influence Supply and Prices
The Democratic Republic of Congo has formalised a strategic reserve for cobalt and other critical minerals under a cabinet decree adopted on 10 April, handing management authority to national markets regulator ARECOMS to acquire, hold, and market strategic minerals. The DRC, which accounted for roughly 70% of global cobalt supply last year, has reserved 10% of national cobalt export volumes for state strategic use, equating to 9,600 metric tonnes for 2026. The move follows a months-long export ban last year and subsequent quota regime, with Q1 2026 shipments of around 48,800 tonnes compared to approximately 123,000 tonnes in Q1 2025 when exports were frontloaded ahead of the freeze.
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Our Take
Congo is building the institutional architecture of a cartel. A strategic reserve with a state marketing arm, sitting on top of a quota regime, gives Kinshasa far more control over cobalt pricing than a simple export ban ever did. For battery supply chains still heavily exposed to DRC material, this is a structural risk that does not go away.
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Mining.com
USCM, Columbia University Eye Defence-Critical Metals in Red Mud
US Critical Materials Corp and Columbia University have signed a two-year sponsored research agreement to develop recovery pathways for gallium, scandium, titanium, and rare earth elements from red mud, a byproduct of aluminium refining. Dubbed "Mud To Metal," the programme will be led by Columbia's Professor Greeshma Gadikota and includes mineralogical characterisation, oxidative leaching, selective separations, and techno-economic modelling, with red mud samples to be sourced from Alcoa-operated locations. The US is fully import-dependent for both gallium and scandium, materials identified as critical to defence applications including advanced semiconductors, directed-energy systems, and hypersonics.
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Our Take
Red mud is one of the most abundant industrial waste streams on the planet and has historically been a disposal problem. Recovering defence-critical metals from it is the kind of circular supply chain logic that aligns commercial, environmental, and national security interests simultaneously. Early stage, but the strategic framing is exactly right for the current policy environment.
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Reuters
India-Zambia Critical Minerals Talks Stall Over Mining Rights Concerns
Negotiations between India and Zambia over critical minerals have stalled due to concerns over mining rights, despite India having dispatched geologists to Zambia as part of a three-year exploration programme that returned cobalt and copper samples. Sources familiar with the matter say the talks have hit an impasse.
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Our Take
India's critical minerals ambitions keep running into the same obstacle: resource-holding nations want equity and processing rights, not just offtake arrangements. Until New Delhi offers a more compelling value-share model, these partnerships will keep stalling.
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Upcoming Events
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Resourcing Tomorrow Hong Kong
16-17 Apr 2026 · Four Seasons Hotel, Hong Kong (ongoing)
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Sydney Resources Round-up
5-7 May 2026 · Hyatt Regency, Sydney
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Sydney Mining Club
6 May 2026 · Leading Edge · Hinchcliff House, Sydney
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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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