The Drill Down
Wednesday 3 June 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
Rare Earths Need a Scaffold, Not a Crutch: Industry Leaders Defend Government Intervention
Industry leaders at a recent summit defended government support for rare earth supply chains, drawing a sharp distinction between intervention that corrects structural market failures and subsidies that become permanent crutches. Outgoing Lynas CEO Amanda Lacaze argued Western intervention is about correcting distortions built over decades, while Arafura CEO Darryl Cuzzubbo pointed to rare earth floor prices as catalysts accelerating investment outside China. The central caution raised: if every project receives protection, markets lose their ability to separate viable operations from those that cannot stand on their own.
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Our Take
The companies that survive after the support is gone will be the ones worth owning. That filter does not yet exist in Western rare earths, and building it is the whole point.
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Commodity Prices
Precious Metals (USD/toz)
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Gold
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$4,463
-0.59%
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Silver
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$74
-0.88%
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Platinum
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$1,927
-0.46%
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Palladium
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$1,362
-0.41%
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Base Metals & Commodities
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Copper USD/t
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$14720.72
-0.51%
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Nickel USD/t
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$19193.00
-0.07%
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Zinc USD/t
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$3626.69
+0.61%
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Lead USD/t
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$2038.80
+0.63%
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WTI Crude USD/bbl
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$95.45
+1.80%
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Prices updated as of 3 June 2026, 3:49 pm AEST
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Market Movers
Winners & Losers - ASX Markets
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Pacgold Limited
No fresh catalyst today. Pacgold continues to attract interest as it progresses the strategic demerger of its North Queensland assets into newly formed Manda Resources Limited, a move designed to unlock value from the Alice River Gold Project by creating a separately listed vehicle focused on the North Queensland tenements.
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Cobre Limited
No fresh catalyst today. Cobre continues to benefit from sustained market re-rating since completing its A$60 million capital raise to acquire the Sierra Atacama Copper Mine in Chile's Antofagasta region, transitioning the company from explorer to copper producer. The project carries an installed SX-EW processing capacity of 25,000 tonnes per year and is targeting 1,000 tonnes per month of LME Grade A cathode, with Mitsui confirmed as offtake partner.
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Greentech Metals Ltd
No fresh catalyst today. Greentech holds a 70% interest in the Munni Munni PGE-Cu-Ni Project in Western Australia's West Pilbara, where Phase 1 drilling confirmed some of the highest individual platinum-palladium grades recorded at Ferguson Reef, including 12m at 3.13 g/t PGE3. A JORC 2012 Mineral Resource Estimate is targeted for June 2026, representing the next major near-term catalyst for the stock.
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Ardea Resources Limited
Ardea advised that completion of the Definitive Feasibility Study final report for the Kalgoorlie Nickel Project Goongarrie Hub will extend beyond the previously flagged 30 June 2026 deadline, with a market update on the path forward now expected before end of October 2026. Approximately A$84.5 million of the A$98.5 million DFS budget has been spent to date, with value engineering opportunities identified during Q1 requiring additional work before the study can be finalised.
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Investigator Silver Limited
No specific catalyst identified today. Today's pullback appears to be profit-taking following recent strength in silver prices, with no new company announcement to underpin the move.
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G50 Corp Limited
G50 released partial drilling results from its 2025-2026 program at the Golconda gold-silver project in northwest Arizona, confirming mineralisation over a 1.3km strike length from surface to 400m depth within a broader 3km structural corridor. Headline intercepts include 15.2m at 8.24 g/t Au and 16.8m at 4.34 g/t Au, with consistent gallium across nearly all holes. Today's pullback appears to be a sell-the-news reaction to results that were partially anticipated following prior releases.
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Market data as of 3 June 2026, 4:10 pm AEST
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This Week's Poll
Which emerging mining region will attract the most exploration capital over the next 3 years?
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○ Saudi Arabia / Middle East
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○ Scandinavia / Greenland
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Today's Stories
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AFR
Australia Records First Trade Deficit Since 2017 as Mining Exports Fall
Australia has recorded its first trade deficit since 2017, with the trade balance swinging to $2.4 billion in the red. The result was driven by a combination of strong data centre equipment imports and a notable fall in mining export revenues. The reversal ends a prolonged run of resources-led trade surpluses that underpinned Australian dollar strength and federal budget revenues.
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Our Take
A $2.4 billion trade deficit is a macro signal that Australian mining's contribution to the external account is under real pressure, whether from volume, price or both. For investors, this matters because it narrows the fiscal headroom that governments have historically used to keep mining royalty and tax settings relatively stable.
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Mining.com
Copper Price: Goldman, Citi Make Bullish Calls on Supply Woes
Goldman Sachs raised its year-end copper price target to $13,735 per tonne, up more than 10% from a prior forecast of $12,465, after cutting its global mine supply estimate by 350,000 tonnes following production disruptions at Grasberg in Indonesia and Kamoa-Kakula in the DRC, neither of which is expected to return to full capacity before 2028. The bank now estimates the copper deficit outside the US market at 640,000 tonnes in 2026, up sharply from a prior forecast of 60,000 tonnes, driven in part by stronger-than-expected US imports. Citigroup separately turned bullish on copper for the first time in 2026, targeting $14,500 per tonne within a month and $15,000 within a year.
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Our Take
When Goldman and Citi align on a supply squeeze of this magnitude, the market listens. A 640,000-tonne ex-US deficit is not a rounding error, and the Grasberg and Kamoa-Kakula delays push the resolution timeline well past what most copper equities have priced in.
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AFR
Lynas Rare Earths Transforms Remote WA Mine Into Strategic Global Player
Lynas Rare Earths has built a remote West Australian goldfields mine into a strategically significant node in the global critical minerals supply chain, with its position gaining importance as Western governments push to reduce reliance on Chinese rare earth processing. CEO Amanda Lacaze has simultaneously taken on the chairmanship of the Minerals Council of Australia. The profile reinforces Lynas's standing as the most important non-Chinese rare earths producer globally.
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Our Take
Lynas is the rare case of a critical minerals company that has converted geopolitical narrative into actual processing infrastructure and long-term offtake, which is why it commands a premium to peers. Lacaze taking the Minerals Council chair adds policy influence to an already formidable commercial position.
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Mining.com
China Tells Steelmakers Not to Talk With Fortescue About New Iron Ore Product
China's steel industry body has directed steelmakers not to engage with Fortescue regarding its new iron ore product, according to Reuters sources. Negotiations between the China Metallurgical Raw Materials Group and Fortescue over a new term contract are not progressing well. The move represents a deliberate escalation in tensions around Fortescue's efforts to introduce the new product to the Chinese market.
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Our Take
This is coordinated buyer-side pressure designed to limit Fortescue's pricing leverage, and it underscores how exposed single-customer-bloc revenue can be to political interference. Investors should monitor whether Fortescue can secure alternative offtake commitments to reduce that concentration risk.
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Rare Earth Exchanges
China's 25-Year Tungsten Scrap Strategy Raises Long-Term Supply Security Concerns for the West
A new analysis argues that China's pursuit of tungsten scrap reflects a deliberate 25-year strategy to maintain dominance over the critical mineral's supply chain, not a recent policy shift. The report warns that Western export restrictions alone are insufficient without complementary investment in domestic mining and processing capacity. The analysis draws on Financial Times reporting covering China's continued tightening of tungsten scrap procurement.
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Our Take
Export restrictions without domestic supply development is a half-measure. China has had 25 years to build this position; the West does not have 25 years to respond.
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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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