The Drill Down
Thursday 30 April 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
South32 Blames Trump Tariffs for Cost Blowout at $4.6 Billion US Mine
South32's Taylor zinc-lead-silver project in the US has blown out to US$3.3 billion in growth capital expenditure, 50% higher than prior estimates, with the company citing Trump tariffs, inflation, higher input costs, and contractor underperformance. The overrun lands at one of the miner's flagship development assets and puts a sharper spotlight on how US trade policy is reshaping project economics for foreign-listed miners building in America.
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Our Take
Taylor's capex blowout is 50% over budget. Tariffs get the headline. Contractor underperformance is buried in paragraph three.
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Commodity Prices
Precious Metals (USD/toz)
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Gold
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$4,563
+0.42%
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Silver
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$72
+1.13%
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Platinum
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$1,911
+1.10%
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Palladium
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$1,462
+0.31%
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Base Metals & Commodities
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Copper USD/lb
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$5.94
+0.27%
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Nickel USD/lb
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$8.73
-0.87%
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Zinc USD/lb
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$1.50
+0.44%
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Lead USD/lb
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$0.88
+0.26%
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WTI Crude USD/bbl
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$109.07
+2.05%
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Prices updated as of 30 Apr 2026, 3:49 pm AEST
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Market Movers
Winners & Losers | ASX Markets
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Ore Resources Limited
Continuation from yesterday's final Phase 4 RC drilling results at the Forrest gold prospect in WA's Eastern Goldfields. Best hole returned 20m at 1.88 g/t Au from 28m, including 4m at 7.61 g/t Au, extending the system 60m south and 50m up-dip into oxide zones. Diamond drilling results expected from early May.
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KGL Resources Limited
March quarterly confirmed a US$300 million silver and gold streaming agreement with Wheaton Precious Metals, comprising a US$32 million early draw facility and US$243 million construction facility. The Baseline Economic Model points to a post-tax NPV of A$839 million and IRR of 30%, with C1 costs of US$1.65/lb. Construction is targeted to commence in 2026 with first concentrate in H2 2028.
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Mineral Resources Limited
Q3 FY26 quarterly saw volume guidance upgraded across Mining Services, Onslow Iron, Wodgina, and Mt Marion. Net debt reduced to ~A$4.5B and liquidity improved to A$1.8B. Average realised spodumene price surged 92% quarter-on-quarter to US$2,105/dmt CIF SC6.
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Lotus Resources Limited
The March quarterly triggered a sharp sell-off, with production at Kayelekera Uranium Mine in Malawi impacted by fire damage to electrical control panels in the drying and packaging area, causing a ~3-week production halt. Sulphuric acid supply issues have been an ongoing constraint since restart. Steady-state production of 200,000 lbs per month remains a work in progress, with an investor call scheduled for tomorrow.
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Finder Energy Holdings Limited
FDR resumed trading today after a halt to announce a capital raising. Shares opened and traded below the placement price, a typical market response when new equity is issued at a discount to the prior traded price. No operational news accompanied the resumption.
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Boss Energy Limited
Q3 FY26 uranium production at Honeymoon came in at 203,000 lbs, well below the prior guidance range of 240,000-270,000 lbs, with rain-related road disruptions cited as a contributing factor. Full-year FY26 guidance was cut to 1.40-1.45M lbs from 1.6M lbs, requiring a significant step-up in Q4 to approximately 356,000-406,000 lbs to meet the revised target.
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Market data as of 30 Apr 2026, 4:10 pm AEST
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This Week's Poll
Which deep-dive would you most want to read next?
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○ Critical minerals policy
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○ Exploration Company Deep Dive
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○ Battery metals supply chain
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This Week's Research
The US Federal Framework: Capital, Permitting, and the Race to Supply Chain Sovereignty
The US Federal Framework: Capital, Permitting, and the Race to Supply Chain Sovereignty is a 17-page institutional-grade research memo produced by Kamoa Capital.
It is a structured analytical framework built for investors, mining executives, and government counterparts who need to understand how the US federal critical minerals architecture actually works and where the commercial opportunities and risks concentrate.
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China's Chokehold on Global Mineral Refining
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China controls refining of 19 of the 20 strategic minerals tracked by the IEA. This 17-page intelligence report quantifies the chokehold, maps the US$500B–$1.4T investment gap, and identifies where Western capital can still compete. Built on IEA, S&P Global, BloombergNEF and proprietary Kamoa Capital analysis of 2,419 processing facilities across 113 countries.
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Today's Stories
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AFR
Canada Launches Sovereign Wealth Fund for Major Projects
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the Canada Strong Fund on April 27, seeding it with an initial C$25 billion federal endowment to invest alongside the private sector in major domestic projects. Target sectors include energy, critical minerals, infrastructure, agriculture, and technology. The fund will operate as an arm's length Crown corporation, with a retail investment product also planned to allow individual Canadians to participate directly.
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Our Take
A sovereign wealth fund funded by deficit spending is a structural contradiction, but the critical minerals and energy focus is the part worth watching for the metals and mining industry.
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UPI
Ecuador Awards China Rights to Develop Country's Largest Gold Mine
Ecuador has awarded Chinese interests rights to develop its largest gold mine, following CMOC's earlier acquisition of Canadian mining company Lumina Gold. Odin Mining Ecuador will oversee construction of the project.
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Our Take
China securing Ecuador's largest gold mine via CMOC continues a pattern of locking up tier-one assets in jurisdictions that Western majors have been slower to pursue. The Lumina Gold acquisition now looks like a strategically timed entry point.
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Reuters
Australian State Offers First Gas Exploration Permits in a Decade
An Australian state government has opened its first gas exploration permit round in a decade, signalling a policy shift toward domestic energy supply security as industry faces elevated energy costs linked to the Middle East conflict. BlueScope Steel's CEO told the Melbourne Mining Club that energy-intensive industries need greater access to domestic gas, underscoring the commercial pressure driving the policy reversal.
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Our Take
A decade-long freeze on gas exploration permits ending is a material policy shift that creates near-term opportunity for explorers with acreage or the capital to bid. For mining and heavy industry operators facing elevated energy costs, this is a welcome signal, though permit rounds take years to translate into actual supply.
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Kazatomprom
Kazatomprom 1Q2026 Operations and Trading Update
The world's largest uranium producer reported Q1 production up 9% year-on-year to 6,144 tU on a 100% basis, while sales volumes fell 40% to 1,535 tU due to the timing of customer delivery requests. The average realised price rose 12% to $61.33/lb, a significant discount to the $88.49/lb average spot price, reflecting long-term contract exposure. On the demand side, the release flagged that 38 governments have now endorsed the Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy Capacity by 2050, the EU has committed €200 million to catalyse SMR investment, and the U.S. launched "Project Vault," a $12 billion critical minerals stockpile program that explicitly includes uranium.
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Our Take
The demand backdrop is as strong as it has ever been. The supply side remains tightly controlled, and Kazatomprom's contract discount to spot will eventually close.
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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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