The Drill Down
Friday 22 May 2026 · Part 1
|
| |
Presented By
ASX: TM1
|
| |
|
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
|
|
| |
Lead Insight
Pentagon Doubts Over Rare Earths Deal Provoke White House Clash
The Pentagon is weighing whether to scrap an $80 million conditional loan to rare earths refiner ReElement Technologies, touching off a clash with the White House over a deal announced in November. Officials vetting the company have raised doubts about its ability to scale its chromatography-based processing technology and its long-term revenue forecasts. The loan was part of a broader $750 million package through the Pentagon's Office of Strategic Capital designed to kick-start domestic rare earth magnet production.
|
Our Take
Washington announced $750 million to break China's rare earths grip eight months ago. Now the Pentagon wants to claw back $80 million because the technology might not scale. The gap between political announcements and actual capital deployment is the real bottleneck in the Western critical minerals strategy.
|
|
| |
Commodity Prices
Precious Metals (USD/toz)
|
Gold
|
$4,543
-0.03%
|
|
Silver
|
$77
+1.06%
|
|
Platinum
|
$1,955
-0.01%
|
|
Palladium
|
$1,391
+1.72%
|
|
Base Metals & Commodities
|
Copper USD/lb
|
$6.37
+0.17%
|
|
Nickel USD/lb
|
$8.49
-0.66%
|
|
Zinc USD/lb
|
$1.60
-0.60%
|
|
Lead USD/lb
|
$0.90
+1.38%
|
|
WTI Crude USD/bbl
|
$97.76
-0.24%
|
|
Prices updated as of 22 May 2026, 8:03 am AEST
|
| |
Market Movers
Winners & Losers — Canadian Markets
|
Gladiator Metals Corp
Reported further high-grade copper and gold drill results from its Cowley Park prospect within the Whitehorse Copper Belt in Yukon. Gladiator has been delivering consistently strong intercepts including 92m @ 1.03% Cu from 2m, with a 50,000m resource definition programme underway for 2026.
|
|
Max Power Mining Corp
Announced a $25 million strategic placement with Eric Sprott at $2.00 per unit with $2.75 warrants. Proceeds will fund follow-up drilling at the Lawson natural hydrogen discovery in Saskatchewan, seismic acquisition, and well completion at Bracken.
|
|
First Atlantic Nickel & Cobalt Corp
Electron microprobe analysis confirmed awaruite at the RPM Zone of its Pipestone XL Project averages 77.62% nickel and 1.69% cobalt, with peak grades of 86.68% nickel. The naturally magnetic alloy could bypass conventional smelting constraints in North America.
|
|
|
|
Daura Gold Corp
No specific catalyst identified. The stock has pulled back sharply after running from approximately $0.21 to $0.46 over recent months. Daura is a gold-silver explorer advancing the Antonella-Libelulas Project in Peru's Ancash region with first drill results pending.
|
|
Roscan Gold Corporation
No specific catalyst identified. The stock has been in a sustained downtrend and today marked the largest single-day decline since April. Roscan is a gold explorer active in Mali's Kangaba permit area.
|
|
TriStar Gold Inc
Announced an upsized private placement to C$9 million for its Castelo de Sonhos gold project in Brazil. The dilution weighed on shares.
|
|
Market data as of 22 May 2026, 9:02 am AEST
|
| |
|
This Week's Poll
How much would you pay per month if The Drill Down wasn't free?
|
| |
This Week's Research
Q3 FY26 ASX Producer Recap
|
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.
|
|
| |
|
Partner Spotlight
|
|
|
|
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
|
|
| |
|
Today's Stories
|
Mining.com
KGHM Eyes Acquisitions as Global Energy Shift Drives Copper Demand
Polish copper miner KGHM is considering acquisitions as demand from the global energy transition strengthens the case for expanding its production base. The company aims to add approximately 100,000 tonnes of its own annual copper production through expansion efforts closer to home. The move comes as copper prices remain near record highs.
|
Our Take
Adding 100,000 tonnes through organic expansion rather than headline-grabbing offshore acquisitions is a measured strategy, but the market will want clarity on timeline and capital cost before pricing in that growth. KGHM telegraphing acquisition appetite at record copper prices means it will be competing against well-capitalised rivals for any quality assets that come to market.
|
|
Bloomberg
China's Hormuz Workaround Is Making India Jealous
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has sent Asia's chemicals industry into a tailspin as plants lose access to Qatari gas and Saudi oil feedstock. China is the exception: its parallel coal-to-chemicals capacity, built over decades using abundant domestic coal, has kept fertiliser and plastics output running while competitors slow or shut down. India and other regional powers are now racing to replicate the model, with Hengyi Petrochemical planning a $3.78 billion coal gasification investment.
|
Our Take
China spent 20 years building coal-to-chemicals capacity that looked uneconomic in a cheap gas world. Hormuz just made it a strategic moat. India wanting to copy the playbook now underscores how far behind the rest of Asia actually is.
|
|
Nikkei Asia
Speculators Rush Into Copper as Sulfur Supply Risk, AI Drive Up Prices
Speculative positioning in copper has surged as two forces converge: the Hormuz-driven sulfuric acid shortage that has fractured a critical input for copper smelting, and accelerating demand from AI data centre buildouts. China has restricted sulfuric acid exports from May to protect domestic supply, further tightening the bottleneck. LME copper hit $14,153 per tonne on May 13, within 2.5% of its all-time high, while COMEX copper touched a record near $6.64 per pound.
|
Our Take
Sulfuric acid is the invisible bottleneck most copper models ignore. When half the world's seaborne supply disappears through Hormuz and China restricts exports of its own, the squeeze hits production before it shows up in mine output data. AI demand adds the structural bid underneath.
|
|
Bloomberg
Indonesia's Audacious Commodities Shakeup Puts Traders On Edge
President Prabowo Subianto is centralising control over Indonesia's commodity exports through state fund Danantara, which will begin handling contracts, shipping and export payments for coal, palm oil and nickel from September. Exporters must report sales to Danantara from June 1. The policy has left international traders including Glencore, Trafigura and Wilmar scrambling to understand the implications for existing contracts and long-term supply arrangements.
|
Our Take
Routing coal, palm oil and nickel exports through a state fund is resource nationalism with an administrative wrapper. For commodity traders who have spent decades building Indonesian supply chains, the September deadline creates a binary risk: either Danantara operates as a light-touch clearing house, or it becomes a gatekeeper that reprices access.
|
|
| |
|
Kamoa Capital
kamoacap.com
|
|
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.
|
