• The fallout from BHP mothballing Nickel West will ripple through engineering & haulage contractors, miners, airlines & power suppliers (BN)

• Holdings of ETFs backed by physical platinum surged by about 444koz in the second quarter, equating to almost 6% of annual demand (FT)

• Premier Steven Miles defended QLD’s coal royalty regime saying it was allowing the state to roll out infrastructure projects (The Australian)

• FMG seized personal data from former employees connected with a rival, despite still supplying it with iron ore to test its tech, a court heard (The Australian)

• Glencore said the future of its Australian nickel & cobalt ops will hinge on keeping a lid on labour & energy costs + infrastructure access (AFR)

• Lunnon has expressed interest in chatting with BHP about the Kambalda nickel concentrator (MiningNews)

• While Liontown ramps up to deliver its lithium supply to off-taker Tesla, fellow supplier BHP is shutting down, despite a long-term contract (AFR) “[Liontown] is in regular contact with the Rinehart camp and her top brass have visited Kathleen Valley to check on progress.”

• Sky News reported that Rio Tinto is studying proposals for potential bids for groups including Teck Resources… Yes, Sky News?

• Canada's Lundin Mining and BHP are weighing a potential joint bid for Filo, people familiar with the matter told Reuters

• Citi has pitched that Rio Tinto should buy Arcadium Lithium, rather than pursue its own efforts (AFR) WotD: the merger of Allkem and Livent was in part motivated by Rio but Rio’s interest has since soured

• A bidding war has emerged for Sierra Rutile! Leonoil edges to 19.85% and has submitted a proposal at 18c, two weeks after the board recommended a bid from Gemcorp at 16c (SRX)

• Zeta Resources reported 95% shareholder GPLPF, who holds 95% of the stock, is considering a compulsory takeover (ZER)

• Paladin received approval from the Investment Canada Act and Competition Act in its deal with Fission Uranium (PDN)

• Proxy adviser Glass Lewis has recommended Westgold’s merger with Karora (WGX)

• Siren Gold has agreed to sell its Reefton project for A$20 million to RUA Gold ($18m shares and $2m cash) (SNG)

• GBM Resources is selling up to 70% of its Twin Hills project for $6 million upfront and $6 million in sole-funded exploration to Wise Walkers (GBZ)

• New Hope’s $300m worth of convertible notes settled last Friday (NHC)

• Western Mines has entered a $6 million ATM facility with Alpha Partners (WMG)

• We implore you to entertain a scenario for just a moment as it relates to the merger of Westgold and Karora

• Recall that we believe Gold Fields has tried its hand at agitating the deal already by submitting at least two bids for Karora post the Westgold deal being signed

• Now, should Gold Fields really want to be a pain in-the-ass and prevent the merger with Westgold, could they simply refrain from consenting to an amendment to the access agreement between Karora and Gold Fields that is already in place? Remember that Beta Hunt is actually on a sub-lease of Gold Fields’

• The merger is conditional on ‘key third party consents’ being obtained but unfortunately the information circular doesn’t explicitly say whether Gold Fields is one of those third parties. We think they would be. Is there another twist in this deal still to come?

• Given the news that Lundin has approached BHP for a joint bid on Filo, on Friday, we reckon it’s worth reading this Substack written by the Koala in Feb on how he predicts the Vicuna reunification happening

• A monumental day in China. Battery cell prices plummeted 51% in the last year, with EVs are cheaper than ICE vehicles (Bloomberg)

• “Make em’ laugh, make em’ think, make em’ money” - The words of Charlie Aitken, famed for his “Go Australia!” sign-off (Livewire)

• GFEX is planning on unveiling platinum and palladium futures, with no timeline provided (RA)

• After another boom and bust, where next for lithium? (Reuters)

• The demand for AI and renewable energy is creating unprecedented pressures and opportunities in the copper market (Livewire)

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All information in this newsletter is for education and entertainment purposes only and is of general nature only. The hosts of Money of Mine are not financial professionals. Money of Mine are not aware of your personal financial circumstances. Before making any investment decision, you should consult a licensed financial, legal or tax professional, along with considering any relevant Product Disclosure Statement. Money of Mine does not operate under an Australian financial services licence and relies on the exemption available under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) in respect of any information or advice given. Money of Mine strives to ensure the accuracy and currency of the information contained in this newsletter but we do not make any representation or warranty that it is accurate, reliable or up to date. Any views expressed by the hosts of Money of Mine are their opinion only and may contain forward looking statements that may not eventuate. Money of Mine will not accept any liability whatsoever for any direct, indirect, consequential or other loss arising from any use of information in this newsletter.