The Drill Down
Friday 5 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
Indonesia Issues Regulation to Bring Strategic Commodity Exports Under Central State Control
Indonesia has formalised its regulation requiring exports of coal, crude palm oil and ferroalloys to be routed through PT Danantara Sumberdaya Indonesia, a newly created state-owned enterprise linked to sovereign wealth fund Danantara. Documentation requirements began on 1 June 2026, with full operational control over contracts, logistics and payments targeted by January 2027. The Indonesian Trade Ministry has finalised three separate ministerial regulations covering each commodity, with the transition period running through to end of 2026. The regulation also operates alongside new foreign exchange retention rules requiring exporters to hold 100% of earnings within Indonesian state banks.
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Our Take
Indonesia is building the institutional architecture for commodity nationalism in real time, and the entity responsible for executing it is still hiring staff. The near-term risk is not the policy itself but the gap between when paperwork requirements kicked in and when operational capacity actually exists to process them.
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Commodity Prices
Precious Metals (USD/toz)
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Gold
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$4,444
-0.69%
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Silver
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$72
-2.02%
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Platinum
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$1,881
-0.96%
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Palladium
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$1,300
-0.67%
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Base Metals & Commodities
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Copper USD/t
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$14259.42
-1.48%
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Nickel USD/t
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$18613.00
-1.06%
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Zinc USD/t
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$3555.39
-0.33%
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Lead USD/t
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$2011.70
+0.29%
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WTI Crude USD/bbl
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$93.08
+0.04%
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Prices updated as of 5 June 2026, 3:49 pm AEST
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Market Movers
Winners & Losers - ASX Markets
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Conrad Asia Energy Ltd
Conrad executed a binding contract with the PDSI-ADES Consortium for a jack-up drilling rig to develop the Mako Gas Field in the Natuna Sea offshore Indonesia, covering six development wells and installation of the Conductor Support Frame over a firm 180-day term commencing Q2 2027. Total capex to first gas is estimated at US$320 million on a 100% basis, with Conrad's 25% share approximately US$80 million in line with prior guidance.
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AusQuest Limited
AusQuest confirmed that maiden RC drilling is underway at its Playa Kali copper-gold project in Peru, targeting iron-oxide copper-gold and manto-style mineralisation across a programme of more than 4,000m. On completion, the rig will move directly to the Lantana project to test a large-scale high-grade porphyry copper target, with deep diamond drilling also advancing at the Cangallo discovery in parallel.
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Brazilian Critical Minerals Limited
BCM reported magnesium sulphate leach results from its 2025 extensional drilling campaign at the Ema Ionic Clay Rare Earth Project in Brazil, returning average recoveries of 48% TREO and 62% MREO across 58 intercepts from 56 holes, consistent with the assumptions underpinning the company's scoping study. The MREO:TREO ratio averaged 39%, and the bankable feasibility study is targeting release during June 2026.
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Comet Ridge Ltd
No specific catalyst identified today. Comet Ridge is advancing its Mahalo coal seam gas project in Queensland's Bowen Basin toward a final investment decision. Today's move appears to be broader sector profit-taking with no new company announcement.
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Meteoric Resources NL
No specific catalyst identified today. Meteoric is advancing the Caldeira ionic clay rare earth project in Brazil toward feasibility. Today's decline likely reflects sector-wide selling pressure on ASX-listed Brazilian rare earth developers, with both MEI and BRE moving lower together.
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Brazilian Rare Earths Limited
No specific catalyst identified today. Brazilian Rare Earths is advancing the Rocha da Rocha ionic clay rare earth project in Bahia state toward feasibility. Today's move reflects the same sector flows dragging MEI lower, with both ASX-listed Brazilian rare earth developers selling off in tandem.
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Market data as of 5 June 2026, 4:10 pm AEST
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This Week's Poll
Is the US critical minerals policy push creating real opportunities or just noise?
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○ Real, investable opportunities
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○ Some signal, mostly noise
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○ Irrelevant to my portfolio
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Presented By
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Enabling fractional mining royalty investment
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Today's Stories
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Reuters
Chinese Investors Behind Indonesia's Nickel Boom Scout Alternatives as Policy Changes Bite
Chinese investors who built Indonesia's nickel processing industry are exploring alternative jurisdictions as the country's policy environment becomes less predictable. Madagascar's mines ministry has confirmed it received interest from nickel investors seeking new locations. The shift points to a potential reshaping of the global nickel supply chain as Indonesia's dominance faces regulatory headwinds.
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Our Take
Capital flight from Indonesia's nickel sector opens a window for jurisdictions with stable regulatory frameworks, and junior miners with shovel-ready projects in frontier markets may find Chinese capital newly available. The opportunity is real, but so is the sovereign risk that comes with it.
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AFR
BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Consider Unified Iron Ore Pricing Strategy Against China
Australia's three iron ore majors are weighing a unified negotiating approach to counter China's central buying desk, the China Mineral Resources Group, which represents close to 80% of Chinese steel mills. The Federal Government is monitoring the situation as discussions between miners and CMRG intensify. A coordinated front would mark a fundamental shift in how BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue engage with their dominant customer.
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Our Take
China built a buying cartel. Australia is finally considering the obvious response. CMRG changed the rules. BHP, Rio and FMG have no good reason to keep playing by the old ones.
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Australian Mining
Australian Uranium Steps Back Into Focus as NSW Bill Seeks to Repeal 1986 Mining Ban
A bill before the New South Wales parliament seeks to repeal the Uranium Mining and Nuclear Facilities (Prohibition) Act 1986, which has blocked uranium mining and nuclear facilities in the state for four decades. The move coincides with rising global uranium demand driven by the nuclear power renaissance and Australia's sharpening critical minerals ambitions. A successful repeal would open new exploration and development opportunities across NSW.
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Our Take
Repealing a 40-year ban is a multi-year political and regulatory process, not a near-term catalyst, but the direction of travel matters for uranium explorers with NSW ground positions. Watch for exploration licence applications as a leading indicator of who has been quietly positioning for this moment.
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Australian Mining
South Australia Revives PACE Exploration Program to Drive New Mineral Discoveries
South Australia has revived its PACE exploration incentive program, which offers co-funding support to explorers targeting greenfield and underexplored terrains across the state. AMEC chief executive Warren Hogan welcomed the program's return as essential to sustaining exploration activity. The initiative is designed to identify new mineral deposits and grow the state's mining sector.
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Our Take
State-level co-funding programs like PACE have a proven history of unlocking exploration in underdrilled terrains, and the revival is a direct subsidy to discovery risk that juniors with South Australian ground should be factoring into their budgets now. In a tight capital environment for explorers, government co-funding can be the difference between a drill program happening or not.
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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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