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Whitehaven Jumps on Blackwater Selldown
Patriot share Shaakichiuwaanaan PEA while Spartan reshuffle board
The Pre-Start
Whitehaven finished FY24 with net debt of A$1.3b while declaring a 13c final dividend after underlying NPAT of $740m (WHC) Cost guidance came in higher than expected at $140-155/t. Transaction details below.
Northern Star reported underlying FCF of A$462m on $4.9b in revenue. It declared a 25c final dividend (40c for FY24). Closed with net cash of $358m (NST)
Patriot released a PEA on Shaakichiuwaanaan, with a phased development. Stage 1 & 2 capex of C$761m & $504m, NPV8 of C$2.9b & IRR of 34% at US$1,500/t SC6 (FOB Bécancour), 24-year life (PMT)
St Barbara reported a FY24 $57m loss from operations. At June 30 it had $146m unrestricted cash + $36m in investments (SBM)
Regis finished FY24 with net debt of $5m, guided to ~365koz @ $2,590/oz. It reported a $192m impairment on McPhillamys (RRL)
Soon-to-be-acquired Sierra Rutile posted $8.7m in operating cash flow on $54m in revenue, with net cash advancing $3.3m over the half (SRX)
Black Cat reported that Myhree is tracking ahead of plan, with the first ore stockpile of 14kt being hauled to Paddington a month ahead (BC8)
Strickland announced a 308m @ 1.9g/t AuEq at Rogozna (STK) Gold equivalent reported, though a combo of 5 metals
Sun Silver reported further drill results from Maverick Springs, intersecting swallowing silver mineralisation (SS1)
Spartan added Mark Hine as a non-exec director while non-exec chair Rowan Johnston resigned, with Simon Lawson becoming interim chair (SPR)
BlackRock is up to 14.3% of Firefly Metals (FFM)
The ASX pulled up Hawthorn while querying Legacy Iron Ore, leading to a retraction of PFS production statements (HAW, LCY)
High Grade It
Consol Energy & Arch will merge to create a US$5.2b coal miner, targeting US$125m in annual savings (Reuters, Coal Trader)
Trilogy Metals, with an Alaskan base metals project, has become a barometer of Donald Trump’s election chances in the US (AFR)
Regis wrote down the value of McPhillamys by $192m and withdraw its DFS & reserves after Tanya Plibersek scuppered plans on cultural heritage grounds (AFR)
Santos says its NSW gas project, Narrabri, could be given the green light for a 2025 start (The Australian)
Iluka ramped up pressure on the Albanese government to chip in more taxpayer funding to complete the Eneabba rare earths refinery (AFR)
Rebecca Tomkinson and Paul Howes among those chosen for government green metals advisory panel (West)
Whitehaven will sell 30% of its newly acquired Blackwater coking coal mine to Japanese steelmakers for US$1.08b (AFR)
Iron ore rose for a 3rd day, recovering more of its 9% plunge last week, on signs China will try to revive its property market (Bloomberg)
Imdex sees gold and copper leading exploration pick-up after ‘flat’ 2025 (West)
The Australian dollar has clawed back nearly all its losses from a brutal sell-off that started last month as the risk of a US recession fades (AFR)
Spodumene concentrate prices plummet below $US800/t (West)
China's copper concentrate Imports from South American countries showed mixed trends in July (SMM)
MLG Oz boosts revenue, profit in latest full financial year (West)
Wheelin’ n Dealin’
American coal miners Arch Resources & CONSOL Energy will combine in an all-stock merger of equals with a pro format market cap of US$5.2b. Arch will own 45% of the combined entity (CONSOL)
Whitehaven announced the sale of 30% of Blackwater for US$1.08b in cash, paid upfront, to Nippon & JFE steel (20%, 10%). Separately, the new JV has entered offtakes using market-based pricing (WHC) This will see it return to net cash, with no dilution following the mine acquisitions
Energy Fuels received FIRB approval to complete its tie up with Base Resources, the ok from the Malagasy Competition Council is the last regulatory approval needed (BSE)
Perseus sold its entire holding in Montage Gold for US$45m (which it acquired when they bought Orca Gold in 2022) (PRU) Almost pays for their new Predictive stake which cost US$57.9m
AMIS’ holding in Dynamic was marginally reduced as DDB converted shares (DDB)
Leonoil up to 23% of Sierra Rutile as part of its takeover (SRX)
Rattlin’ the Tin
Cyprium & Metals X signed a binding term sheet to vary their con note terms, extending by 3 years, adding a $5m amendment fee, adjusting the rate to 6% & adjusting the conversion price (CYM)
Arrow raised $5m for its Niagara and Simandou North projects (AMD)
Unico Silver raised $8m via a placement (USL)
In the Weeds
The US-backed railway sparking a battle for African copper (FT) A great read for understanding the politics impacting African copper
Why Yancoal suspended its dividend - and what investors could do now (Emanuel Datt)
Australia / Oceania revealed as a hotbed of net zero skepticism among mining professionals (MiningNews)
Why now’s not the time to jump back into BHP (AFR)
Copper giant Codelco invests in EVs, cacti as part of green makeover (Reuters)
China’s US$70b property rescue plan limps off the starting line (FT)
How Phil King's Regal mastered the ASX index inclusion trade (CB)
Today’s Top Tweet
The plan so far
— The Bell Tower Times (@BellTowerTimes)
10:19 AM • Aug 19, 2024
Devil’s in the Detail
The Kal Miner recently reported Bellevue was subject to a section 10 application from one of the key native title holders, Colleen Berry, seeking federal protection of Lake Miranda.
From one gold miner, to the next…
This section 10 application was actually flagged by Bellevue as a risk on pg. 51 of their recent equity raising presentation in July.
In a nutshell, the company said the application was made by one individual Aboriginal person and not by, or with the support of the Tjiwarl Aboriginal Corporation (TAC), and that Bellevue intended to oppose the application on the grounds it considered the TAC as the appropriate body to speak for the cultural heritage of Lake Miranda.
About 100koz of inferred resources sit under Lake Miranda.
The devil truly is in the detail
In Bellevue’s ethno-botanical survey report from April 2021, one of the key conclusions was that the survey team “expressed some concern that dewatering and other mining activities may cause impacts to the lake and freshwater soak”.
One of the conclusions from the BGL survey group
The recommendations from this process (among other things) fed into the surface design and layout of the project, plans to protect sensitive areas and a co-designed cultural heritage management plan (of which the protection of Lake Miranda is apparently a key component), with a native title agreement ultimately signed in late 2022.
According to the article, Bellevue said it’s fully committed to protecting Aboriginal heritage at Lake Miranda through its agreement with the local native title holders.
Bellevue has already been operating for some time and received all final material permits to operate the project back in 2023.
In light of the recent Regis drama, we hope both parties can work together here without federal intervention for a mutually beneficial outcome. One to watch…
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