The Drill Down
Tuesday 24 March 2026 · Part 2 Edition
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Commodity Prices
| Precious Metals |
Price (USD/toz) |
| Gold |
$4,334.53
-72.14 (-1.64%)
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| Silver |
$66.32
-2.83 (-4.08%)
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| Platinum |
$1,835.33
-45.17 (-2.4%)
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| Palladium |
$1,399.57
-29.19 (-2.04%)
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| Base Metals (LME) |
Price (USD/lb) |
| Copper |
$5.39
-0.1145 (-2.08%)
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| Nickel |
$7.78
+0.1447 (+1.89%)
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| Zinc |
$1.39
-0.0123 (-0.87%)
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| Aluminium |
$1.45
-0.0127 (-0.87%)
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| Lead |
$0.86
-0.0016 (-0.19%)
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Prices updated as of 24 Mar 2026, 4:37 pm AEST
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Today's Stories
Source: BHP
Speaking at Minerals Week in Canberra on 24 March, BHP President Australia Geraldine Slattery warned that Australia ranked 21st out of 42 countries on investment competitiveness in 2025, down from 17th in 2019, per a Business Council of Australia study. Slattery cited business taxation, regulatory complexity, and energy costs as the key headwinds, and argued that sitting in the middle of the table is where investment decisions start to drift elsewhere.
Source: Alcircle
Gulf aluminium smelters have declared force majeure on deliveries, disrupting roughly 10% of global supply as the Iran war restricts Strait of Hormuz shipping. Toyota, Honda, and Nissan have begun cutting production schedules, with Toyota flagging that around 70% of its aluminium supply comes from the Middle East. European and US buyers are facing sharply higher premiums, with the US Midwest premium hitting record levels.
Source: MINING.COM (Reuters)
The Iran war is rapidly depleting Western tungsten stocks, with the metal consumed on detonation and irreplaceable at scale. Prices for ammonium paratungstate have surged from under $400 to over $2,200 per tonne in a year, reaching their highest level in at least 90 years per Project Blue. China controls around 80% of global mined supply and has cut exports by nearly 40% since tightening controls in February 2025, leaving defence and civilian sectors competing for a shrinking pool of available metal.
Source: NGEx Minerals
NGEx Minerals has reported three new drill holes from its Phase 4 program at the 100%-owned Lunahuasi copper-gold-silver project in San Juan, Argentina, including hole DPDH059 which intersected 335.15m at 4.08% CuEq, with a high-grade core of 19.50m at 18.96% CuEq. With nearly 23,000m drilled to date and eight holes still underway, the company has lifted its Phase 4 target from 25,000m to 30,000m, with the program expected to conclude around the first week of May.
Source: The Australian
The Coalition has accused the Albanese government of hypocrisy after Diatreme Resources, a silica miner chaired by Labor powerbroker Wayne Swan that was granted Major Project Status, signed export agreements with foreign companies including a major Chinese solar panel manufacturer. Industry Minister Tim Ayres had publicly stated the Northern Silica Project would supply materials for domestic solar panel and electronics manufacturing. Nationals leader Matt Canavan said the revelation exposed the failure of the government's net zero agenda to deliver the domestic industries it promised.
Source: MINING.COM
Chinese copper inventories recorded their largest weekly decline of 2026, falling 78,700 tonnes to 486,200 tonnes in the week through Monday, according to Mysteel Global. The drawdown was driven by a surge in fabricator orders as the Iran war-driven price slump pushed copper below key buying thresholds, with major producer Zhejiang Hailiang tripling its daily purchases after domestic prices fell below 100,000 yuan per tonne.
Source: Mariana Minerals
Mariana Minerals has launched Copper One, an operating open-pit copper mine and heap-leach refinery in southeastern Utah acquired in late 2025, positioning it as the world's first autonomy-first copper operation. The company is deploying its MarianaOS platform across mining, refining, and logistics to replace human-in-the-loop decision-making with AI-driven optimisation, targeting 50,000 metric tonnes of annual refined copper output from both geologic and scrap feedstocks.
Source: AFR
BHP's leadership has warned against pushing too quickly to decarbonise the mining industry given the realities of the international oil shock. The company emphasizes the need to balance environmental goals with energy security requirements.
Source: AFR
Anthony Albanese says Labor and miners need to set aside their differences to help Australia emerge stronger from the oil shock and Middle East unrest. The Prime Minister is seeking closer cooperation with the mining sector amid global tensions.
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