• MINs’ iron ore boss said it shuttered its Yilgarn ops over approvals processes & cost inflation, not its commodity outlook (The Australian)

• Mineral Resources faces the prospect of having its rail fleet sitting idle at the same time it is hit with a hefty rehabilitation bill (AFR)

• China ramped up imports of copper scrap as smelters seek alternative raw materials to offset tight supply of mined ore (Bloomberg)

• AEMO published an update, an “East Coast Gas System Risk or Threat Notice”, highlighting gas supply concerns (The Australian)

• MinRes has discussed the potential of developing magnetite assets around its Yilgarn operations (BN)

• Much of the Senate crossbench is at least open to considering removal of the federal ban on nuclear power, reports The Australian

• Brent oil futures were steady, hovering slightly below seven-week highs as the market awaited U.S. inventory data (Reuters)

• Big American miner Alcoa has appointed a new boss for its Australian division amid a major restructuring program, poached from BHP (West)

• China's coal production slowed slightly, after rapid recent growth, as the energy supply situation has become more comfortable (Reuters)

• Vale plans to spend US$3.3 billion to boost its copper and nickel production (Mining.com)

• SQM entered an earn-in agreement with Talga over the Aero lithium project in Sweden. SQM can earn 70% for total US$19m spend (TLG)

• A contract arbitration panel that could block or green-light the US$53b sale of Hess to Chevron remains incomplete 3 months after being filed (Reuters)

• MinRes weights up rail fleet sale following the announcement of the closure of its Yilgarn assets (AFR)

• Strike Energy agreed terms for a 5-year, $153m financing package, including refinancing its drawn debt, to develop South & West Erregulla (STX)

• Bingo. Like clockwork… Yesterday’s “discovery” bolter, Terra Metals, is raising money the day after its stock shot up 135% (TM1)

• Australian Vanadium announced yesterday afternoon that it had received $14.7m via an Aussie govt grant (AVL)

• Austral and its debtors have entered an agreement to discharge all secured debt. It has $78m in debt, & is seeking c.~$30m in equity, while terminating its agreement with Thiess & issuing a $31m con note (AR1)

• Despite Rio Tinto’s public ambitions in the lithium sector for years now, their appetite to really enter the commodity by way of an acquisition has been absent. Yes, they acquired Rincon for $850 million, and yes their ambitions with Jadar are still alive. But they haven’t acquired an incumbent producer like many have anticipated.

• We are led to believe there has been a substantial amount of internal effort to pursue several lithium opportunities within the major but the block has been JS. Why? We don’t know. Our guess is that he still sees too much uncertainty in the long-term market dynamics to warrant pulling the trigger on a career-defining deal.

• The amount of info on Chinese automakers' supply chains the EU requested during an 8-month anti-subsidy probe was “unprecedented & undermined fair competition”, China has said (Reuters)

• In 2019, France & Germany agreed to pump billions of euros into a plan to boost Europe’s battery industry and try to catch up with China. That effort is running out of steam (Bloomberg)

• Nippon Steel's proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel risks raising decarbonisation costs for Japan's top steelmaker (Reuters)

• With copper demand soaring as the world moves toward EVs and clean energy, illegal mining has been booming in Peru (Reuters)

• A controversial hit-piece on WA1 has been doing the rounds, comparing the company to corporate failures Quintis and Syrah, igniting some passionate debate on social media (see top tweet below) (Substack)

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