• Commodities trader Gerald Group, involved in takeover attempts at Sierra Rutile, have blamed doctored photos showing the Sierra Leone president stepping off its company private jet (The West)

• Iron ore futures rebounded back over US$100/t in Singapore as mills slowly restart blast furnaces in China (Bloomberg)

• Rio is winning the mining major’s popularity contest, with investment banks Morgan Stanley, UBS & Citi all favouring it over peers (AFR)

• Copper hits 14-month high to US$9,484 a tonne as supply tightens (Mining.com)

• Chinese investment in Australia in 2023 hit its 2nd lowest level since 2006, down 34% year-on-year to a total of $1.34b (The Australian)

• India’s fuel demand hit a new record for the 2024 financial year, up 5%, primarily driven by auto fuel demand (Reuters)

• Gold hit a new record of US$2,350/oz led by heightened geopolitical risks, with the US set to share inflation data later this week (Bloomberg)

• Front runner to be Rio Tinto’s next CEO Bold Bataar has taken a further step in that direction, becoming Rio’s Chief Commercial Officer (FT)

• Energy trading group Vitol posted profits of US$13b, its 2nd best year on record, though down from its 2022 performance (FT)

• Santos and Woodside have been urged to deliver returns by either “divesting quickly” or “harvesting” (The West)

• BMO quietly dropped its policy restricting it from coal lending in late 2023, helping it avoid West Virginia’s ‘boycotter’ label (Mining.com)

• Four months have passed since Brookfield’s ‘best and final’ bid for Origin was voted down, opening up the potential for a return (AFR)

• FIRB is considering whether to let Tianqi gain a foothold in Andover via SQM’s joint bid in JV with Rinehart’s Hancock (AFR)

• Azure shareholders approved the Hancock & SQM JV takeover at a shareholder meeting on Monday (Bloomberg)

• Westgold and Karora seek to join forces to create a $2.2 billion Australian gold miner (Mining.com.au)

• Ramelius’ merger discussions with Karora apparently fell apart due to Karora insisting on dual-listing (The Australian)

• Bridget Carter doesn’t stop there with the gold rumour mill in overdrive - saying Ramelius thinks Spartan is overvalued, Northern Star might buy De Grey while its execs were seen at Telfer recently (The Australian)

• MinRes sold its 14% Develop stake via Bell Potter, in a block trade with a group of buyers (Tribeca is a name floating about). The shares traded at $2 a piece, totalling $70m (AFR)

• Is it time to turn our attention to the Cobar consolidation story? Two stories in the Pre-Start today come from that region. Plus, Talisman’s recent discovery, MAC’s successful entry to ASX boards and Aurelia’s recovery over the last six months make this region particularly intriguing for potential deal-makers.

• China’s commerce minister has said its EV firms do not rely on government subsidies to gain a competitive advantage, pushing back at accusations from US and European competitors (Globe & Mail)

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