The Drill Down
Thursday 2 July 2026
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Presented By
ASX: TM1
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Building a world leading PGM asset - MST Access $1.05 valuation
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.
Download Full Report
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Lead Insight
Cameco Halts Cigar Lake Uranium Mining as Mill Acid Plant Fails
Cameco has temporarily suspended mining at Cigar Lake, its flagship high-grade uranium operation in northern Saskatchewan, after a sulphuric acid plant failure shut down Orano's McClean Lake mill where the ore is processed. With limited ore storage on site, Cameco paused mining until enough acid is available to restart milling, and it expects the mill back within about two weeks. The company does not yet see an impact on its 2026 production guidance of 19.5 to 21.5 million pounds, though a longer repair or acid-sourcing difficulty could change that.
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Our Take
Sulphuric acid is quietly becoming the choke point across mining, from copper leaching to uranium milling. A two-week fix is noise, but any slippage tightens an already thin uranium market.
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Commodity Prices
Precious Metals (USD/toz)
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Gold
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$4,031
+0.60%
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Silver
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$59
+0.92%
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Platinum
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$1,577
+1.72%
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Palladium
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$1,211
+0.25%
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Base Metals & Commodities
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Copper USD/t
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$13580.38
-1.44%
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Nickel USD/t
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$16331.00
+0.21%
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Zinc USD/t
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$3472.79
-1.77%
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Lead USD/t
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$1862.10
-0.08%
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WTI Crude USD/bbl
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$68.04
-0.06%
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Prices updated as of 2 July 2026, 8:03 am AEST
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Market Movers
Winners & Losers
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Market Closed
No Winners & Losers in today's edition.
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This Week's Poll
Six Months From Now, Which Commodity Will Have Surprised the Most to the Upside?
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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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Kitco
China Restricts Some Fortescue Iron Ore Cargoes as Talks Sour
China's centralised iron ore buyer CMRG has restricted some Fortescue cargoes as negotiations deteriorate. CMRG was established in 2022 to centralise iron ore procurement and secure better terms from major mining suppliers.
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Our Take
CMRG flexing its single-buyer power against Fortescue is the clearest signal yet that the 2022 procurement consolidation was built to extract concessions from the majors. Iron ore investors should now price a structural shift in negotiating leverage, not a one-off spat.
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Mining.com
GreenMet Plans $150 Million Rare Earth Processing Hub in West Virginia
A new $150 million venture will build a rare earth processing hub in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, bringing together Greenbrier Smokeless Coal, Flash Metals USA and AmForge in a partnership registered through the state. The project uses a patented thermal process to extract rare earths from coal tailings and slurry left at mine sites, running a hub-and-spoke model that can also process imported critical minerals. Officials expect nearly 250 jobs and frame it as a domestic answer to US reliance on China for these materials.
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Our Take
A $150 million midstream processing bet targets the real US bottleneck, which is separation capacity rather than mined ore. Funding certainty and offtake, likely government-backed, will determine whether this is a genuine project or a policy talking point.
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Bloomberg
US Aluminium Smelter Idled Since 2024 to Restart as Trump Looks to Revive Industry
An idled aluminium smelter in Missouri, Magnitude 7 Metals' New Madrid plant, will restart part of its capacity before year end, adding about 75,000 tonnes of annual output. Together with Century Aluminium's Mt Holly restart in South Carolina, the American Primary Aluminum Association says US primary aluminium production will rise more than 20%, crediting President Trump's Section 232 tariffs, lifted to 50% in June. The US has just four operating primary smelters, and advocates caution that access to cheap power, not tariffs, remains the sector's real constraint.
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Our Take
Washington is adding aluminium capacity just as the global price rolls over. Tariffs can reshore tonnes, but without cheap power US smelters restart straight into a shrinking margin.
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Mysteel
China Iron Ore Prices to Slip Further in July
Mysteel expects China's iron ore prices to slip further in July, with the benchmark already trading below US$100 a tonne after falling more than 6% over the past month. The consultancy points to weak Chinese steel demand, elevated portside inventories and cautious mill buying, set against rising global supply as Guinea's Simandou mine ramps up. With roughly 70% of seaborne iron ore going to Chinese mills, there is little other demand to cushion the slide.
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Our Take
Sub-$100 iron ore with Simandou only starting to ramp is the squeeze the majors have long feared. Margins stay fat for now, but the direction of travel is one way.
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AFR
$160 Million Government Lifeline for Queensland Plant Owned by Matt Canavan's Brother
The Queensland government will take ownership of the Mayfair plant and protect workers, according to Natural Resources and Mines Minister Dale Last. The $160 million lifeline supports a plant owned by Matt Canavan's brother.
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Our Take
A $160 million state takeover with a political ownership angle sets a precedent for public bailouts of distressed processing assets in Queensland. Investors in similar strugglers may now factor in a government backstop, but the optics invite scrutiny that could constrain future deals.
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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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