The Drill Down
Tuesday 19 May 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
A Glance of China Copper Market
Copper prices in China rose then fell during May 11-15. The US President's visit to China and bilateral trade talks boosted sentiment early in the week, while Peru's energy decree raised copper supply disruption concerns, driving strong gains. A higher-than-expected US April inflation reading and unresolved Middle East tensions then pushed the USD index higher, weighing on prices into the close.
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Our Take
Trade optimism lit the fuse, but inflation and the Middle East snuffed it out. Copper is caught between a demand story and a macro ceiling.
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Commodity Prices
Precious Metals (USD/toz)
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Gold
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$4,540
-0.59%
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Silver
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$76
-2.18%
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Platinum
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$1,969
-0.05%
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Palladium
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$1,398
-1.39%
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Base Metals & Commodities
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Copper USD/lb
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$6.28
-1.12%
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Nickel USD/lb
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$8.41
+0.10%
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Zinc USD/lb
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$1.59
+0.70%
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Lead USD/lb
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$0.89
+0.09%
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WTI Crude USD/bbl
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$103.34
-1.00%
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Prices updated as of 19 May 2026, 3:49 pm AEST
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Market Movers
Winners & Losers — ASX Markets
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Castle Minerals Limited
Announced the acquisition of a 90% interest in the high-grade Nielle Gold Project in Côte d'Ivoire, a 212km² tenement located approximately 50km north of the 5Moz Tongon mine. Historical drilling returned intercepts including 5m @ 15.42g/t Au from 7m.
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Northern Minerals Limited
The Australian Treasurer issued new disposal orders requiring six Chinese-linked shareholders to divest approximately 17.6% of Northern Minerals' issued capital by 2 July 2026 under the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act.
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Leeuwin Metals Ltd
Commenced a 5,000m RC drilling programme at the Marda Gold Project near Southern Cross, targeting extensions of the existing 342,300oz mineral resource. The programme will also test new DHEM anomalies at Evanston and Golden Orb.
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WA Kaolin Limited
Shares collapsed on the first day of trading following completion of a $16.1 million entitlement offer at $0.01 per share, part of a broader $34.9 million recapitalisation plan to address debt and fund plant improvements at its Wickepin kaolin operation.
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Corazon Mining Limited
Announced the acquisition of Westgold Resources' Chalice Gold Project in the Southern Goldfields for $25.7 million in cash, scrip and milestone payments. Westgold will take a 19.9% interest in Corazon post-completion.
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New Murchison Gold Limited
No specific catalyst identified. The stock has continued to sell off over recent sessions.
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Market data as of 19 May 2026, 4:10 pm AEST
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This Week's Poll
What best describes you?
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This Week's Research
Q3 FY26 ASX Producer Recap
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Twelve mid-tier ASX gold producers, one commodity environment and the spread between best and worst AISC is now wider than the gold price was 18 months ago. That dispersion is the story. Inside: the five Tier-1 calls, the bond market re-opening for lithium, the US$110/kg policy floor decoupling Lynas from China spot, and the Q4 catalyst calendar.
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Today's Stories
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Mysteel
Australian and Brazilian Iron Ore Shipments Jump 12% Week on Week
Combined iron ore shipments from 20 ports across Australia and Brazil rose 2.7 million tonnes, or 12%, week on week to 24.9 million tonnes during May 11-17. Brazilian volumes surged 50.2% to 7 million tonnes, with Vale accounting for 5 million tonnes after a 28.7% weekly increase.
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Our Take
A sharp rebound after the prior week's 15% slump. Brazil did the heavy lifting. Watch whether Australian volumes followed suit or if this is a one-sided recovery.
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Reuters
Tsingshan Asks Indonesian Nickel Producers to Cut Output to Free Power for Aluminium
Tsingshan has asked nickel pig iron producers at Indonesia's Weda Bay industrial park to curb output in June to redirect electricity to its aluminium smelter, co-owned with Xinfa. LME aluminium has risen more than 12% since the start of the Iran war, widening margins well above NPI operations running at less than 10% margin. Power remains the bottleneck: building captive plants takes 2 to 2.5 years compared with less than a year for an aluminium smelter.
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Our Take
When one commodity pays better than another and both compete for the same power, supply discipline is just resource allocation by another name.
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Reuters
Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting Adds Defence Stocks to US Portfolio
Hancock Prospecting has added CrowdStrike, L3Harris, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and RTX to its $3.3 billion US portfolio as part of a $133 million shift towards defence and gold. The company also took a position in Newmont and acquired a 6.3% stake in Rare Earths Americas, while selling its entire holding in Chilean lithium producer SQM.
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Our Take
Defence, gold and rare earths in one quarter. Rinehart is building a geopolitical hedge, not just a portfolio. The SQM exit says as much as the new positions.
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Mining News
Gold Miners Making Sure Investors Know of Their Growth Potential
Ora Banda Mining has unveiled its "DRIVE to 300" strategy targeting 300,000 ounces per annum by FY29, approving a new 3.0Mtpa processing plant at Davyhurst with A$375 million in capex. Catalyst Metals has also sketched a potential plant expansion from 2Mtpa to 2.5-3Mtpa, signalling a broader push among mid-tier ASX gold producers to lock in growth while margins remain elevated.
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Our Take
Mid-tier producers are not waiting for permission. At $4,550 gold, the playbook is simple: build now, fund internally, and make scale the moat before costs catch up.
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AFR
WA Miners Are Already Decarbonising, but Not in the Way Critics Assume
A new analysis argues that Western Australian miners are making meaningful progress on decarbonisation through operational changes on mine sites, from diesel substitution to process efficiency improvements, challenging assumptions held by external critics. The piece examines the practical reality of emissions reduction across WA's mining operations. The findings are relevant to investors assessing the long-term ESG positioning of major Australian miners.
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Our Take
The gap between what WA miners are actually doing on emissions and how they are being scored by external ESG frameworks is a real valuation issue, and analysis that narrows that gap has direct implications for cost of capital. Investors using third-party ESG ratings as a proxy for operational reality may be mispricing the sector.
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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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