The Drill Down
Tuesday 21 April 2026 · Part 2
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Partner Spotlight
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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
Chile Targets Faster Mining Approvals to Unlock $100 Billion Pipeline
Chile's Economy and Mining Minister Daniel Mas has flagged an urgent push to accelerate mining permit approvals and unlock an investment pipeline of more than $100 billion. A new sectoral permitting framework is expected to simplify around 200 procedures and cut processing times by 30% without lowering environmental standards. More than $17 billion in mining projects have entered environmental review in recent weeks, which Mas described as an early sign of improving investor confidence. The government is also preparing additional legal and management reforms beyond the new framework, and is prioritising mineral exploration, project continuity and tailings reprocessing.
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Our Take
A 30% cut in processing times across 200 procedures is meaningful if it holds. Chile has talked about permitting reform before and delivered slowly. The $17 billion entering environmental review is the more actionable signal: it suggests capital is already repositioning ahead of the policy change rather than waiting for proof. For copper developers with assets in Chile, the tailings and secondary mineral focus is particularly worth watching as a lower-cost entry point to new production.
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Commodity Prices
Precious Metals (USD/toz)
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Gold
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$4,796
-0.50%
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Silver
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$79
-0.50%
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Platinum
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$2,087
+0.73%
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Palladium
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$1,561
-0.09%
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Base Metals & Commodities
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Copper USD/lb
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$6.09
-0.17%
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Nickel USD/lb
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$8.27
+1.56%
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Zinc USD/lb
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$1.54
+0.33%
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Lead USD/lb
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$0.90
+0.85%
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WTI Crude USD/bbl
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$86.23
-1.36%
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Prices updated as of 21 Apr 2026, 3:47 pm AEST
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Market Movers
Winners & Losers — ASX Markets
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Viridis Mining and Minerals Limited
No specific ASX announcement. VMM rallied sharply on read-across from USA Rare Earth's $2.8 billion acquisition of Serra Verde, which operates Latin America's only producing rare earths mine. As an ASX-listed Brazilian REE developer, VMM re-rated on the visible M&A premium now attached to the sector and the strategic value assigned to non-Chinese ionic clay rare earth assets.
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Energy Resources of Australia Ltd.
No specific catalyst. ERA is an 86%-owned RIO subsidiary. Price move reflects stock illiquidity and significant shares on issue.
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Foresta Group Holdings Limited
No specific catalyst . Foresta produces pine chemicals and torrefied biomass pellets. Price move reflects stock illiquidity.
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Legacy Iron Ore Ltd.
No specific catalyst. Legacy is developing the Mt Bevan magnetite project in WA. Price move reflects stock illiquidity.
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Invictus Energy Limited
Recently completed placement at 6cps. Stock trading well above placement price despite fall.
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Apollo Minerals Limited
No specific catalyst. Apollo is advancing the high-grade Couflens tungsten-gold project in France. AON raised A$9.3 million in early 2026 and has been active on tungsten supply chain interest. The sell-down likely reflects profit taking.
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Market data as of 21 Apr 2026, 4;10 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
The Processing Gap: China's Chokehold on Global Mineral Refining
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China controls refining and processing of 19 of the 20 strategic minerals tracked by the IEA, with average share above 70% across the battery complex. Concentration is intensifying, not easing. The 2026 copper TC/RC benchmark settled at US$0/t, the lowest on record, a mechanism quietly destroying non-Chinese smelting capacity. The supply deficits arrive from 2029. The processing facilities needed to address them take 10 to 17 years to build. This report quantifies the gap, maps where capital is already moving, and identifies where it isn't.
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Today's Stories
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Reuters
Agnico Eagle Lines Up Multi-Deal to Consolidate Finland Gold Hube
Agnico Eagle is executing a trio of transactions to consolidate a Finnish gold hub centred on its Kittila mine. The deals add an advanced gold mining project and substantial exploration potential to the existing operation, with the company flagging significant synergies as the rationale. The move marks a deliberate geographic strategic shift for the major.
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Our Take
Kittila was already Europe's largest gold mine. Agnico is building a moat around it. Smart operators don't just run mines, they control districts.
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Mining.com
Peru Reauthorizes Southern Copper's $1.8 Billion Project Amid Election Chaos
Peru's Ministry of Energy and Mines has reauthorized Southern Copper's Tia Maria copper project after forcing a fresh permit review earlier in April. The ministry confirmed the project has now met all regulatory requirements including environmental certification and safety obligations. Tia Maria, a project more than a decade in the making, is expected to produce 120,000 tonnes of copper annually over a 20-year mine life, with first production targeted for late 2026 or early 2027. The reauthorization comes amid a contested presidential election with no clear first-round winner and a run-off scheduled for 7 June.
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Our Take
Getting Tia Maria across the line after nearly 20 years of community opposition and regulatory back-and-forth is a genuine milestone for Southern Copper. The timing is almost certainly political given the election cycle, which raises the question of how durable the approval is under a new government. The June run-off will determine whether left-leaning Sanchez or one of the right-wing candidates wins, and only the latter two are likely to maintain the current permitting stance.
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Newswire
Silvercorp Secures RMB 1.5 Billion Syndicated Term Loan Facilities With 2x Oversubscription
Silvercorp Metals (TSX/NYSE: SVM) has closed a RMB 1.5 billion (approximately US$220 million) 3-year syndicated term loan, arranged by Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) as sole mandated lead arranger. Total bank commitments reached RMB 2 billion, representing a 2x oversubscription against the original RMB 1 billion target. The facility comprises a floating tranche priced at CNH HIBOR plus 1.92% and a fixed tranche at 3.67%, with proceeds directed at general corporate purposes and global working capital to support growth in Kyrgyzstan and Ecuador.
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Our Take
A 2x oversubscribed syndicated loan arranged through Standard Chartered in Hong Kong is a strong signal of institutional confidence in Silvercorp's China operations and its ability to repatriate RMB dividends. The pricing is competitive and the structure gives the company meaningful flexibility to fund its Ecuador and Kyrgyzstan growth pipeline without near-term equity dilution.
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AFR
Latimore and Indonesian Partners Bid for Gupta's Tahmoor Coal Mine
Coal entrepreneur Matt Latimore and Indonesia's Widjaja family have submitted a joint non-binding indicative bid for Sanjeev Gupta's Tahmoor mine in NSW, with the offer lodged through GM3, their metallurgical coal joint venture. The bid was submitted to Tahmoor's liquidator McGrathNicol ahead of last week's deadline. The move comes as a bounce in coking coal prices has revived M&A activity in the sector.
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Our Take
Latimore and the Widjajas through GM3 is the logical buyer. They already run Appin and Dendrobium in the same basin, know the geology, and have the operational infrastructure to restart a longwall. A distressed asset sale through liquidation typically benefits a well-capitalised incumbent over new entrants. The coking coal price recovery gives the deal economic logic that was harder to find six months ago.
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Upcoming Events
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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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121 Mining Investment
11-12 May 2026 · London
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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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