The Drill Down
Friday 17 April 2026 · Part 2
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Presented By
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The right shareholders don't find you. You find them.
Cashu Group delivers independent equity research and targeted investor marketing for ASX-listed resource companies. The coverage that builds conviction, and the reach to make it count.
Find Your Shareholders
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Lead Insight
AuKing to Acquire High-Grade Tundulu Rare Earths Project in Malawi and Strategic Placement
AuKing Mining (ASX: AKN) has announced the acquisition of 100% of the Tundulu Rare Earths Project in south-eastern Malawi, a 5km diameter carbonatite complex ranked among the largest and most under-explored rare earth systems in the country, alongside a $3M strategic placement. Historical drilling has returned high-grade intercepts including 41m at 3.7% TREO and 30m at 4.03% TREO from surface, with 8 of 24 historical holes ending in greater than 2% TREO. The project sits in proximity to Lindian Resources' Kangankunde Project (261Mt at 2.61% TREO) and the Songwe Hill Project (21Mt at 1.41% TREO) in an emerging rare earths district in southern Malawi.
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Our Take
The grades are credible and the district context is strong. Sitting alongside Kangankunde gives Tundulu a meaningful geological reference point. The real question for carbonatite REE projects is always mineralogy: whether the rare earths are in recoverable minerals matters as much as the grade. That said, acquiring a 5km carbonatite complex with historical drilling already in hand, in a district attracting serious capital, is a sensible entry point for a junior.
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Commodity Prices
Precious Metals (USD/toz)
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Gold
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$4,797
+0.16%
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Silver
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$79
+0.82%
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Platinum
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$2,094
-0.46%
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Palladium
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$1,559
+0.49%
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Base Metals & Commodities
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Copper USD/lb
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$6.10
+0.34%
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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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$1.56
+1.02%
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Lead USD/lb
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$0.89
+0.88%
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WTI Crude USD/bbl
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$93.20
-1.57%
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Prices updated as of 17 Apr 2026, 3:47 pm AEST
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Market Movers
Winners & Losers — ASX Markets
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AuKing Mining Limited
AuKing announced the acquisition of 100% of the Tundulu Rare Earths Project in south-eastern Malawi alongside a $3M placement. The 5km carbonatite complex has returned historical intercepts up to 41m at 3.7% TREO and sits in the same district as Lindian Resources' Kangankunde Project, currently under construction.
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Highfield Resources Limited
ASX queried Highfield after its stock surged from $0.026 to an intraday high of $0.065. The company confirmed it has no undisclosed information and cited the current global geopolitical focus on raw materials for fertilisers as the likely driver. Highfield is developing the Muga potash project in Spain.
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Core Lithium Ltd
No specific catalyst identified. Most likely driver is broader lithium market sentiment, with the sector seeing renewed interest following positive global demand signals.
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5E Advanced Materials Inc.
5E Advanced Materials announced it will voluntarily delist from the ASX effective 28 May 2026, citing reduced CDI trading volumes and the concentration of its leadership, assets and institutional investors in the United States. The company will retain its Nasdaq listing and CDI holders have until 26 May 2026 to sell or convert their holdings.
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Dateline Resources Limited
Dateline responded to media coverage of US legal proceedings at its Colosseum Gold and Rare Earths Project in California, filed by the National Parks Conservation Association against federal agencies. The company was not named in the proceedings and confirmed operations continue as planned under its valid existing rights and Plan of Operations.
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Whitehaven Coal Limited
No specific catalyst identified. Most likely driver is broader weakness in the thermal and metallurgical coal market, with sector sentiment weighing on the stock.
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Market data as of 17 Apr 2026, 4:05 pm 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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EY Canada
BC Exploration Spending Surges as Copper Takes the Lead — A Record Year Driven by Junior Explorers
British Columbia's mineral exploration sector posted a record C$751 million in investment in 2025, a 36% year-on-year increase, with copper exploration outpacing gold for the first time ever and capturing more than half of total spend. Junior explorers led the charge, lifting their spending 47% from 2024, with activity concentrated in the Northwest region. BC also advanced permitting reforms including fixed approval timelines and a new Mineral Claims Consultation Framework, with 17 projects awaiting approval in the Northwest Critical Minerals Corridor entering 2026.
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Our Take
Copper flipping gold as BC's dominant exploration commodity is a structural signal, not a cyclical one. The fact that juniors drove most of the increase matters too: they move faster and take more geological risk per dollar than majors. BC's permitting reforms are the right policy response, but execution against those 17 pipeline projects will determine whether the record spending translates into mines.
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Reuters
First New Planned US Nuclear Reactors Likely to Get Government Loans, Energy Chief Says
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told lawmakers on 16 April that the first five to ten new planned nuclear reactors in the US will almost certainly receive loans from the Department of Energy's lending office. The announcement follows President Trump's executive order calling for ten new large reactors to be under construction by 2030, alongside a directive for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to accelerate reactor approvals.
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Our Take
Federal loan guarantees are the mechanism that makes nuclear economics work at the project level. Ten reactors by 2030 is an aggressive target, and the US has not commissioned a new reactor in decades, but committed DOE financing materially de-risks the first movers. For uranium producers and developers, this is the clearest demand signal yet from Washington.
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Mining.com
Canada's Antimony Gap Exposed as Iran War Sharpens Focus on Defence Metals
Canada has only a handful of meaningful antimony projects, most tied to gold systems, and no clear domestic pathway from mine to refined metal. The conflict with Iran is sharpening global focus on defence-critical metals, exposing gaps in Western critical minerals supply chains that Canada has yet to address.
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Our Take
Canada's antimony shortfall is not a future problem, it is a present one, and any junior with a credible antimony asset in a stable jurisdiction is sitting on a re-rating catalyst. The geopolitical clock is accelerating this conversation faster than permitting timelines can keep up.
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Mining.com
USCM and Columbia University Eye Defence-Critical Metals in Red Mud
USCM and Columbia University have partnered to extract defence-critical metals from red mud, the byproduct of aluminium refining, targeting domestic US supply chains and reduced import reliance. The collaboration adds to growing industry interest in recovering strategic metals from industrial waste streams rather than primary mining.
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Our Take
Extracting strategic metals from waste streams carries lower permitting risk and existing infrastructure advantages, making this an underappreciated commercial pathway. If the metallurgy proves out, the partnership could attract defence procurement interest well ahead of any conventional mine timeline.
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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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