Preview - Australia's Paydirt Issue 347 (Apr 2026)

ISSN 1445-34369 771445 34300703 Australia’s Paydirt April 2026April 2026 VOLUME 1. ISSUE 347 $11.95PLUS...Critical Battery Minerals PreviewLatin America SpotlightBusiness critical:Lindian driven to succeedExploration Starts HereDepth with DetailLow-noise performance across a wide frequency range unlocks both shallow targets and deep structures, even in conductive terrains.Proven WorldwideFrom frontier regions to advanced exploration, MobileMT has consistently validated drilling decisions and delivered results for leading explorers.Fast and EfficientMobileMTSee More. Discover More.With MobileMT, you don’t just collect data — you gain the clarity, efficiency, and confidence to explore smarter and uncover what others can’t.Helicopter deployment provides rapid coverage of large areas, reducing survey time and cost compared to ground methods.Keeping Exploration Flow MovingMobileMT adds critical geological insight to the exploration workflow, helping teams move from survey data to interpretation and toward drilling decisions.MobileMT is an airborne AFMAG system that uses natural electromagnetic fields (25–21,000 Hz) to image the subsurface to depths exceeding 1 km with high resolution, even in rugged terrain. At the Drake Project (NSW), MobileMT identified deep conductors beneath cover, helping refine drill targets and reduce exploration risk.Why MobileMT?From surface to depth, MobileMT sees it all.Mobile MagnetoTellurics (MobileMT) is the next generation of airborne AFMAG technology. Deployed by helicopter, it delivers unmatched geoelectrical insight from the near surface down to more than 1 km depth — with the clarity and resolution needed to guide real discoveries.www.expertgeophysics.com Join The Explorers Redefining Tomorrow’s Discoveries.●●

BUILDING AUSTRALIA’S NEXT LITHIUM MINEHear how we’re leading the next generation of battery minerals projects. Presenting at Paydirt’s 2026 Critical Battery Minerals ConferenceGlobal Lithium Resources (ASX: GL1) is rapidly advancing its 100%-owned Manna Lithium Project – a globally significant hardrock lithium project on Kakarra Country near Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. We have systematically de-risked the Manna Project towards a Final Investment Decision (FID) to deliver a critical mineral that continues to be essential for the global energy transition.MOMENTUM TOWARD PRODUCTION• Approvals progress: Recent submission of Mining Development and Closure Proposal (MDCP) and Native Vegetation Clearing Permit (NVCP) • Responsible development: Mining Lease granted and Native Title Mining Agreement in place with Kakarra People • World-class team: Renewed and refocused Board and executive team, including strategic project development appointments• FID: Focus on continued de-risking of Manna Project in H2 2026, targeting a FID by end of Calendar Year 14.3-year mine life3.5-year payback25.7% IRRPost-tax NPV A$472MFind out more at globallithium.com.au ASX: GL1JOIN US AT THE CONFERENCEHear Managing Director Dr. Dianmin Chen’s presentation on the Manna Lithium Project’s pathway to production and visit our team at Paydirt’s Critical Battery Minerals Conference in Perth 21-22 April 2026.At SC6 CIF Price US$1,400/tSecure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!

Registered by Australia Post PP 643938/0071. No pages or articles in this publication may be reproduced in any form without the consent of the publisher. This includes photographs either taken by Paydirt Media staff or provided by other parties.PAYDIRT (ISSN 1445-3436)Published byPaydirt Media Pty Ltd.A.C.N. 063 985 133Head Office: Suite 9, 1297 Hay St, West PerthWestern Australia 6005P.O. Box 1589, West PerthWestern Australia 6872Phone: (+61 8) 9321 0355Facsimile: (+61 8) 9321 [email protected]: Editor: Dominic PiperDeputy Editor: Michael WashbourneSenior journalist: Rhonda MalkinJournalist: Michael CameronArt director: Nick BrownAdvertising:Head of Advertising: Richa FullerSubscriptions: Vinitha ChityalaPhone: (+61 8) 9321 0355Facsimile: (+61 8) 9321 0426Pre-press and printing:Vanguard Press, 26 John St,Northbridge WA 6003Member of:Paydirt MediaExecutive chairman: Bill RepardFinance manager: Giovanny JeffersonAccounts/administration: Vanessa CaleConferences: Angelique Julien,Paula Fujita5225 NEWSDespite Indonesia’s domination of the sector seemingly total, ASX-listed Centaurus Metals has pulled off a major coup by signing up Glencore to take 20,000 tpa of nickel concentrate from its Jaguar project in Brazil. Paydirt spoke with Centaurus managing director Darren Gordon about the offtake deal and the path the company is now on towards development of the high-quality assetREGIONAL ROUNDUP Australian juniors continue to prove the most intrepid explorers across the globe. Among the featured companies in this month’s around-the-world coverage are OD6 Metals and its fluorspar gamble in Nevada, Osmond Resources’ pursuit of a Spanish rare earths play and Dalaroo Metals’ expansion of its Cote d’Ivoire gold footprintCOVER Working in rare earths, operating in Malawi, doing business in Kazakhstan – none of them are for the fainthearted but Lindian Resources has put together all three to create among the most exciting development stories on the African continent. Michael Washbourne travelled to Malawi to look at Lindian’s Kangankunde project and map the journey from Central African mining project to Central Asian processing facilityCRITICAL CONFERENCE PREVIEW Throughout a tumultuous decade, Paydirt’s Critical Battery Minerals Conference has managed to capture the multiple narratives taking root in the critical minerals sector. Ahead of the 2026 edition of the conference, to be held at the Pan Pacific Perth on April 21-22, we look at the current state of play in the sector, from China’s tightening grip on the market, to the revival of Australia’s lithium producersLATIN AMERICA Australian miners and explorers were once presumed unneeded in Latin America, the vast, prospective region thought better suited to North American companies. However, as the ASX continues to CONTENTSMember of:162230in support of Australia’s mining industrymaroomba.com.au67ISSN 1445-34369 771445 34300703 Australia’s Paydirt April 2026April 2026 VOLUME 1. ISSUE 347 $11.95PLUS...Critical Battery Minerals PreviewLatin America SpotlightBusiness critical:Lindian driven to succeedExploration Starts HereDepth with DetailLow-noise performance across a wide frequency range unlocks both shallow targets and deep structures, even in conductive terrains.Proven WorldwideFrom frontier regions to advanced exploration, MobileMT has consistently validated drilling decisions and delivered results for leading explorers.Fast and EfficientMobileMTSee More. Discover More.With MobileMT, you don’t just collect data — you gain the clarity, efficiency, and confidence to explore smarter and uncover what others can’t.Helicopter deployment provides rapid coverage of large areas, reducing survey time and cost compared to ground methods.Keeping Exploration Flow MovingMobileMT adds critical geological insight to the exploration workflow, helping teams move from survey data to interpretation and toward drilling decisions.MobileMT is an airborne AFMAG system that uses natural electromagnetic fields (25–21,000 Hz) to image the subsurface to depths exceeding 1 km with high resolution, even in rugged terrain. At the Drake Project (NSW), MobileMT identified deep conductors beneath cover, helping refine drill targets and reduce exploration risk.Why MobileMT?From surface to depth, MobileMT sees it all.Mobile MagnetoTellurics (MobileMT) is the next generation of airborne AFMAG technology. Deployed by helicopter, it delivers unmatched geoelectrical insight from the near surface down to more than 1 km depth — with the clarity and resolution needed to guide real discoveries.www.expertgeophysics.com Join The Explorers Redefining Tomorrow’s Discoveries.●●Secure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!

PAGE 4 APRIL 2026 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRTIt has been a thrilling ride for both industry and event over the 10 years since it started as the Australian Graphite Conference in 2016. The sector’s only consistency in that period has been its inconsistency, prices and projections fluctuating dramatically from one year to the next. The essential problem for the Australian critical minerals sector remains the same as it always has, Australian miners are not competing on a level playing field with Chinese peers. Whenever Australian miners have gained or even looked like gaining a foothold in a commodity – whether lithium, rare earths, nickel or graphite – the market has suddenly become flooded with material, driving down prices below the cost of production.Operations are subsequently placed on care-and-maintenance or, as in the most extreme case of nickel, an entire industry is shut down. Once the competition is eliminated, production levels return to more restrained levels but as demand picks up, there is insufficient capacity to meet it and the entire cycle fires up again. The sector is screaming for some predictability but we may finally have it, at least for a few companies.In February, lithium miner PLS Group Ltd announced a new offtake agreement with long-term customer Canmax. The contract included a floor price of $US1,000/t for PLS’s standard SC5.5 spodumene concentrate. Dale Henderson called it a potential gamechanger for the international lithium sector. “It will be interesting to see what this offtake means for the market, being as it is the first of its kind in the terms set out in it. Maybe there will be more to come,” he said.It was followed up in March by news from Lynas Rare Earths Ltd that it had struck agreement with Japan Australia Rare Earths for a floor price of $US110/kg for at least 5,000 tpa of neodymiumpraseodymium production into Japanese industry. Lynas achieved an average sales price of $68.40/kg across all of its rare earths products in the first half of FY26, up from just $44.60/kg in the prior corresponding period.They may only represent small portions of the overall market for each commodity, but these two floor price contracts – as well as the one struck by the US Department of War and MP Materials Inc last year – could have wide ramifications for the sectors. It is the first concrete proof that buyers – and governments – are willing to recognise the importance of the source of supply, not just the cheapest available product. If alternatives are knocked out every time Chinese producers come under pressure, Western companies will never be able to attract the project finance required to build new projects, thus defeating the pursuit of supply chain resilience. A floor price softens the effects of market dumping. A new report by the Climate Energy Finance (CEF) thinktank (see page 36), confirms the effectiveness of floor prices as an instrument for supply chain resilience. In what he describes as “green energy statecraft”, CEF director and report author Tim Buckley is urging Australian Government to consider how it can work with partners to ensure diversity of supply. “I think the best illustration of green energy statecraft is Lynas’ recent deal with Japan Australia Rare Earths,” Buckley told me. “The Japanese have done a deal with Australia’s world-leading rare earths player which allows Lynas to make money and Japan to secure rare earths.”Buckley said such instruments would be crucial in ensuring nonChinese critical minerals capacity could be built out. “I do see floor prices as necessary,” he said. “You need longterm win-wins and that requires governments to step in to level the playing field because if you are asking mining companies to take on China, their investors will run a mile.“Our companies are all driven by the sole purpose test, they cannot value investments based on national interest, supply diversity or carbon prices without government mandate. It becomes about government setting effective parameters and rules.”Much of this month’s issueis dedicated to a previewof Paydirt’s Critical Battery Minerals Conference, which willbe held on April 21-22 in Perth [email protected] @Secure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!

Centaurus soaks up nickel sentimentThe first domino on Centaurus Metals Ltd’s path to FID has fallen with Glencore AG signing up for one-third of the forecast production from its Jaguar nickel sulphide project in Brazil.Under an offtake agreement inked last month, Centaurus will supply 20,000 tpa of nickel concentrate (6,400 tpa nickel metal) to Glencore, which intends to put the material through its Sudbury smelting operations in Canada. The five-year agreement is binding subject to Centaurus declaring FID by September 30, construction of the Jaguar tailings dam being 50% complete by the end of 2027 and first concentrate being produced by midJanuary 2029. At current nickel prices, the estimated value of the contract is $US450 million.Centaurus managing director Darren Gordon said the Glencore deal marked a “significant achievement” for both the company and Jaguar, which has a forecast production capacity of 65,000 tpa nickel concentrate.“Glencore is one of the biggest names in natural resources globally and one of the longest-standing integrated participants in the sector,” he said. “Signing them up as a long-term offtake partner is a major coup that validates the quality of the Jaguar project and supports our commercial development strategy.”Centaurus will continue to progress other offtake and strategic partnering discussions concurrently with its debt funding process, both of which have been aided by the longawaited return of investor sentiment towards the beleaguered nickel sector.The LME nickel price was battling to hold $US14,000/t in the lead-up to Christmas before suddenly soaring above $US18,500/t by mid-January as murmurings of restricted supply out of Indonesia filtered through the market. Prices have generally remained above $US17,500/t across the first three months of 2026, well above the $US15,000/t average of the past three years.With the Glencore agreement now under its belt, Centaurus will look to progress quickly towards a mid-year FID.“It’s a funny one because there’s still lots to do, but not by number of items,” Gordon told Paydirt.“The reality is, to get the funding away, there’s a lot of things that have to pass by but at the same time, you know exactly what you’ve got to achieve to make that investment decision. From the outside looking in, you would probably think there hasn’t been a whole lot of activity going on, but that activity has actually been some pretty substantive stuff.”“I expect that whole thing of first domino to fall hopefully triggers a bunch of other things to then fall into place over the next six months as we lead into that investment decision.”According to last year’s value engineering study, pre-production capex for the proposed 3.5 mtpa nickel flotation operation at Jaguar was estimated at $US380 million, including pre-strip and contingency costs.Jaguar is also earmarked as a future lowcost nickel producer with a forecast firstquartile AISC of $US4.43/lb, underpinned by cheap power availability and favourable tax obligations in Brazil.Centaurus has spent the best part of two years de-risking the project for an inevitable improvement in nickel prices and market sentiment. For Gordon, that time appears to be now.“It’s amazing, you go away for a Christmas break and everything’s sort of flat and pretty boring,” Gordon said. “If you were looking at the price curve back then, it just didn’t move, it didn’t have a heartbeat. “All of a sudden, the Indonesians actually demonstrate all the things that they’ve been talking about for some time, reining in the licences on the mining and I think perhaps trying to improve their royalty take out of those operations. It showed that it doesn’t take much for that price to move up a little bit.“Jaguar would have still made money at around $US15,000/t, but you just don’t have the same sentiment. People go slow, there’s no urgency and there’s no eyeballs on the sector.”An average 22,600 tpa of nickel metal is expected to be delivered over the first seven years of operations, generating free operating cash flow of $US169 million annually over this period.Total operating cash flow over the 15-year mine life was estimated at $US2 billion. Other key financials include a post-tax NPV of $US735 million, IRR of 34% and capital payback of 1.8 years from first nickel concentrate production, slated for the end of 2028.Brazilian authorities issued the mining lease for Jaguar in October, all but ensurJaguar is poised to become one of the lowest cost nickel producers globallyAUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT APRIL 2026 PAGE 5Secure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!

PAGE 6 APRIL 2026 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRTNorthern Star Resources Ltd boss Stuart Tonkin admitted feeling “more vulnerable” to the possibility of his company being taken out on the cheap after the newest member of the ASX20 flagged a second major production downgrade in three months.Takeover rumours swirled around Northern Star last month after Australia’s largest homegrown gold miner shed nearly 20% of its value in a single day, having informed shareholders it foresaw “great risk” in achieving the lower end of its revised FY26 production guidance as operational challenges continue to plague the KCGM Super Pit and Jundee assets.Northern Star had already cut its anticipated full-year output from 1.7-1.85 moz to 1.6-1.7 moz in January, citing “a number of isolated events” which adversely impacted production during the December quarter. On March 13, the company conceded its “best estimate at the current time is that FY26 production will be above 1.5 moz”.Having been accused of “unsatisfactory disclosure standards” following the January downgrade, Northern Star announced the latest production setback more than a month in advance of the full March quarterly results, but investors still punished the company, quickly wiping $5.02, or 18.75%, from a share price which surprisingly hit an all-time high of $31.96 early last month.A peak market capitalisation of $44 billion at the start of March qualified Northern Star for entry to the ASX20 for the first time, but just how long it can keep pace with the other 19 largest listed companies in Australia remains to be seen.Many analysts now fear Northern Star is vulnerable to a cheap takeover, especially with the gold price still holding firm at more than $7,000/oz. The world’s third-largest producer by volume, Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd, is rumoured to be leading the pack of potential suitors.Asked on a conference call last month what the company was doing to avoid being acquired at a discount, Tonkin conceded: “Today, I seem to feel more vulnerable with this.”“These are things and questions we’ll be looking at and discussing with our board,” he said. “Absolutely, we’ve got to knuckle down and perform. Our attitude around this is that we see enormous long-term value, so we’ve got to work to restore that and build that up.“I won’t comment on vulnerability or otherwise, or takeover risks, but my attitude is we’ve got work to do. We know what we’re doing, it’s going to take some time and it’s something the board takes seriously and reviews.”Northern Star’s total gold sales for January and February totalled just 220,000oz with the finger pointed at “weaker than planned” milling performance at KCGM and “reduced mining productivity” across several operating areas but most notably at the Jundee mine, part of its Yandal hub, where a “bottom up” operational review has now been ordered.There was no immediate change to the company’s forecast cost guidance of $2,600-2,800/oz, revised from its original $2,300-2,700/oz range in January.Northern Star will still have to combat at least another three months of unpredictable performance from the existing mill at KCGM ahead of the new $1.5 billion processing facility coming online in early FY27. Tonkin stopped short of saying the new plant could not be commissioned quickly enough, but confirmed the company was juggling its resources where possible to ensure existing operations continued to tick over while the finishing touches were being applied to the mill expansion project.“I was walking around the plant a week ago, looking at the to do-list, it’s impressive quality and we’re excited to see it turned on,” he said.“It’s even more pleasing when you look at the old plant and the deterioration of it, that we made this decision three years ago to replace it. We thought we could get the existing plant singing right up to the [end] point. “There are elements of the existing plant we may utilise and repurpose in the future, so we don’t want it to fall in a heap, either… NEWSNorthern Star has hinted at further production downgrades on the back of ongoing variable Northern Star fades further, milling performance at KCGMtakeover threat growsSecure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!

AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT APRIL 2026 PAGE 7Lynas Rare Earths Ltd has agreed on a minimum sales floor price with its long-term Japanese trading partner.Under the revised agreement announced last month, Lynas and Japan Australia Rare Earths (JARE) settled on a market-linked floor price of $US110/kg for at least 5,000 tpa of neodymium-praseodymium production into Japanese industry, matching the minimum sales figure benchmarked by rival producer MP Materials Corp and the US Government last year.Should Lynas realise a NdPr sales price above $US150/kg in any calendar year before the landmark deal expires in 2038, JARE will be paid an amount equal to 30% of the upside, capped at $US10 million annually.JARE – a special purpose vehicle established by JOGMEC and Sojitz Corp for Japanese industry – has also provided a firm commitment to purchase 50% of all heavy rare earth oxides, such as dysprosium and terbium, produced by Lynas over the next 12 years.Outgoing Lynas managing director Amanda Lacaze said the revised terms of her company’s existing 15-year partnership with JARE reflected the “rapid evolution” of the global rare earths market.“This new agreement will ensure continued reliable supply of rare earth products that are strategically important to Japanese industry and its global market,” she said.“At the same time, the implementation of fair market pricing will reduce price volatility for Lynas and enable continued growth and investment in our operations.“We thank our JARE partners, JOGMEC and Sojitz, and our Japanese customers for their support over the past 15 years. We are confident this new agreement, alongside other policy initiatives from governments around the world, will contribute to improved rare earths market dynamics.”Lynas also signed a letter of intent last month with the US Department of War to supply $US96 million worth of rare earth oxides over four years, again with a $US110/kg NdPr floor price.In a conference call to discuss the company’s half-year results in late February, Lacaze described a $US110/kg NdPr sales price as the “magic” threshold for both Western governments and rare earths producers attempting to break free of China’s continued stranglehold on the sector.NdPr prices were hovering around $US110/kg at the time of print, up from $US74/kg in December and $US49/kg at the end of 2024. Lynas achieved an average sales price of $68.40/kg across all of its rare earths products in the first half of FY26, up from just $44.60/kg in the prior corresponding period.Lacaze said there was no doubt the price floor negotiated between MP Materials and the US Government had reshaped the industry for the better.“We are seeing governments – Australia, Japan, EU and, of course, the US – taking action to create a functional market,” she said.“We’ve never asked for subsidies, but there’s no question there has been market failure for many years in the rare earths industry. Enacting policies which ensure that the market is functioning properly, we think, is really important, and as those policies are implemented and the market responds, the potential cost to government just goes down. “At present, as the price sits above the $US110/kg NdPr floor price, I'm sure the US Government is feeling very relaxed.”Lynas enjoyed a stellar finish to last year, recording net profit of $80.2 million for the December half, compared to just $5.9 million over the final six months of 2024. Revenue (up 62.7% to $413.7 million) and EBITDA (up 300% to $152.4 million) also increased considerably, while the company’s cash and equivalents jumped from $166.5 million to $1.03 billion, largely built via the $750 million institutional placement and associated SPP completed in September.The half-year also saw the first customer contracts signed for separated heavy rare earth oxides following maiden production of dysprosium and terbium from the company’s Malaysian operations. The Lynas board committed to an expansion of this new revenue stream in October.“These are the products in greatest demand in terms of total volume and we will shortly be producing some other materials, particularly samarium, which we expect to come through before the end of this financial year,” Lacaze said“[We] will follow up with gadolinium and yttrium and then other elements as we bring our new production facility in Malaysia online.”Lynas reported cost of sales increased by 32% across the December half due to a 14% uplift in NdPr sales volume and a full six months of operating costs from its new Kalgoorlie refinery. Lacaze indicated NdPr production was “absolutely on track” for a record six months before ongoing power issues in Kalgoorlie stalled operations towards the very end of the year.“The cracking and leaching part of Kalgoorlie is actually running pretty well, notwithstanding the frankly outrageous power disruptions that we had during the [December] quarter,” she said.“It’s very difficult to run a big, complex plant like Kalgoorlie without reliable power.”The upcoming conference call for the March quarter results will almost certainly be Lacaze’s last, having recently announced her intention to retire before the start of the next financial year.Asked who might replace her after almost 12.5 years in the role, Lacaze responded with her usual trademark humour.“Despite the fact I think that I'm by far the most competent person to select the next CEO, the non-executive directors on our board think they have a say, too,” she said cheekily.“My job is to make sure that we have a business which is strong, which is resilient and which is able to continue to demonstrate the same sort of success that we've been able to demonstrate over my tenure. “I would expect that, given the quality of our track record, the board would not be seeking to make an appointment which would take the business in a fundamentally different direction.” – Michael WashbourneLynas puts foot to the floorAmanda LacazeSecure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!

PAGE 8 APRIL 2026 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRTWhen Midas Minerals Ltd announced it was acquiring the Otavi copper project in Namibia almost 12 months ago, Gerard O’Donovan instinctively went to his fridge and cracked open a beer.O’Donovan had no connection to Midas other than he knew the company’s managing director, Mark Calderwood, boasted a long and successful history with African resources projects, particularly through his time at now leading gold producer Perseus Mining Ltd.What prompted O’Donovan to celebrate was the fact a company led by Calderwood had just picked up a project in the same part of Namibia where he was in the throes of negotiating to vend a patchwork of relatively untouched ground into an upcoming ASXlisted vehicle.“I have a lot of respect for Mark Calderwood, he’s been a seriously good operator in Africa, so when I saw he was acquiring the Otavi project, I was pumped,” O’Donovan told Paydirt.“We’re sitting here negotiating our little deal and then along come people of Mark’s calibre with a little deal of their own for Otavi. I won’t deny I cracked open a beer that night, sat down and went, ‘nice one, we’re in the right spot’.“People who have generated a lot of money for others are now looking 100km to the east of us, in the exact same rocks, in the exact same geology and we’re seeing very similar geological structures for sedimentary-hosted copper on our ground. That’s not a coincidence.”O’Donovan would eventually complete those negotiations for the Chalkos copper project to be the flagship of new float Kaoko Metals Ltd, which is scheduled to debut on the ASX later this month following a $6.5 million IPO.Kaoko – named after the copper belt on which Chalkos is hosted – will shamelessly be hoping to replicate the success reported by Midas in its first year at Otavi. Initial drilling by Midas intercepted multiple zones of copper mineralisation, headlined by hits such as 16m @ 2.55% copper and 72.6 g/t silver within a broader zone of 44m @ 1.36% copper and 36.8 g/t silver from 23m. Shares in the Calderwood-led company surged as high as $1.08 early last month, having been just 11c when the acquisition was announced last May.O’Donovan, who will be Kaoko’s managing director, said Midas had made his company’s path to market all the simpler having essentially been a first mover in northern Namibia.“They’ve done and they’re still doing a lot of the work for us in terms of highlighting the region and showcasing the prospectivity and geology of the region,” O’Donovan said.“I’m a massive advocate of a rising tide lifts Kaoko keen to putits own Midas touchon NamibiaKaoko managing director Gerard O’Donovan (right) on site in NamibiaAPPROVEDCOMPANYISO 9001Quality Management SystemsAPPROVEDCOMPANYISO 14001 Environmental Management SystemsIPOsSecure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!

AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT APRIL 2026 PAGE 9all boats, there’s no real competition, right? Midas are doing us a huge favour with what they’re doing right now and we just want to learn from what they’re doing.”Kaoko is the first Namibian project IPO on the ASX in almost five years. Unsurprisingly, given the dearth of new floats in a country with a population of just 2.85 million, two of the founding directors of the last, Arcadia Minerals Ltd, are also the vendors of the Chalkos project.The ground in question covers some 80,000ha and was pegged by seasoned exploration geologist Philip Le Roux, who identified a series of untested anomalies he believed were worth following up after trawling through the publicly available Namibian geological datasets.One of those anomalies was a 700m outcropping zone of copper which has since become the Donkey Hill prospect.“Fundamental exploration techniques which people have deployed in Australia for years and years, he just went and did the exact same thing, the only difference is not many people were looking in this region,” O’Donovan said.Grab samples from Donkey Hill have graded almost 70% copper and 2,000 g/t silver, but the project is yet to be tested with the drill bit. In fact, the only known exploration activities undertaken at Chalkos were conducted by Le Roux and his team at LexRox Exploration Pty Ltd.O’Donovan negotiated an agreement for not only the rights to Chalkos but for Le Roux and fellow vendors Jurie Wessels and Lisias Pius to continue as Kaoko’s in-country exploration team.“It’s not a handover and walk away, for want of a better description, they’re actually going to be the boots on the ground and actively involved,” O’Donovan said. “That’s why the structure of the deal is very much equity driven. They will get a portion of the company upfront in shares and then there’s performance-based milestones which are all based on actual physical exploration activities.“We were never going to do a deal that cut experienced and reputable guys like Philip out at the first hurdle. That’s not what I’m about, that’s not what the rest of the board are about.”Donkey Hill and Otniel will be the first two prospects to be drilled within days of Kaoko hitting the bourse.“We’ll start with diamond, just to understand that structural sort of control and the orientations we’re seeing with respect to the red bed and the copper mineralisation,” O’Donovan said. “Kaoko is focused on a discovery. We’re not focused on picking up an existing asset or riding the crest of a commodity wave. We’re positioning ourselves to make a major copper discovery and Chalkos has the potential to be a discovery.”Chalkos is not the only string in the company’s bow with O’Donovan describing the opportunity to earn up to 85% of the Karibib copper-gold project as the “sleeper” in Kaoko’s portfolio.Previously explored by the likes of Gold Fields Ltd and Anglo American plc, Karibib is hosted on the Damara belt which also gave birth to Wia Gold Ltd’s 2.93 moz Kokoseb discovery. There is also a historical scheelite working on the licenced area.“We have handed over nothing for it yet,” O’Donovan said. “We did a small cash payment to secure it and we can earn up to 85% through in-ground spend and about 2 million shares over a couple of stages. For a very little amount of exposure, it’s a free kick in one of the best jurisdictions. “You may even see a rig rolling into Karabib first, but only because we want to do a bit more field work at Chalkos, just to define those targets we want to hit with drilling.”O’Donovan is joined on the Kaoko board by Talga Group Ltd founder Mark Thompson as chairman and veteran geologist Jody Dahrouge as a non-executive director, while Brett Tucker will serve as both chief financial officer and company secretary. – Michael WashbourneAPPROVEDCOMPANYISO 9001Quality Management SystemsAPPROVEDCOMPANYISO 14001 Environmental Management SystemsAPPROVEDCOMPANYISO 9001Quality Management SystemsAPPROVEDCOMPANYISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems Nationally Accredited with decades of experience. Safe, Innovative and Efficient.Proven Track Record for Successfully delivering exploration projects across diverse Australian terrains.Client-Focused Approach, Tailored drilling solutions designed to meet unique project requirements.Tailored drilling solutions to complex problemsChalkos is prospective for sedimentary-hosted copperSecure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!

PAGE 10 APRIL 2026 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRTDalaroo Metals Ltd has doubled down on its pivot to Cote d’Ivoire, entering an agreement to acquire up to 80% of the Bondoukou gold project in the country’s northeast.Bondoukou marks the fifth Ivorian project the company has put its foot on in as many months, having laid claims over four exploration permits hosted on the gold-rich Birimian greenstone belt back in October.Dalaroo first arrived in Cote d’Ivoire last June via a deal to acquire up to 80% of the Bongouanoa gold project from former Tietto Minerals country manager Yao (Fred) N’Kanza, who was also responsible for vending what would become the Abujar mine into the explorer-cum-producer eventually bought out by Zhaojin Capital for $733 million in 2024.Listed on the ASX since September 2021, Dalaroo was previously exploring for gold and rare earths in Western Australia before the surprise acquisition of a critical minerals project in Greenland early last year. The asset diversification strategy soon extended into Cote d’Ivoire with the company now confidently building a future based overseas.Dalaroo shares have surged as much as 600% over the past 12 months, coinciding with its acquisition of the Blue Lagoon rare earths project in Greenland. New chief executive John Morgan said most shareholders appeared to be fans of the portfolio revamp.“The feedback we’ve had has been pretty positive so far,” he told Paydirtenroute to Greenland last month, having also spent most of February in Africa.“We are seeing a lot of our top 20 and top 50 investors topping up, which suggests they’re pretty supportive of the direction we’re going in.“By branching out into Africa and Greenland, the opportunity to make a discovery is quite high. The board feels that’s the best way forward and it was also one of the main reasons that I decided to join Dalaroo.”Bondoukou sits on a granted mining lease and is just 35km north-west of Endeavour Mining plc’s 4.5 moz Tanda gold deposit. Rock chip samples of quartz reef material exposed within active artisanal workings have returned grades of up to 17.95 g/t gold. Artisanal workings extend about 600m along strike in the northern portion of the project.Dalaroo launched into systematic geological mapping and geochemical sampling programme last month ahead of a potential maiden drilling campaign at Bondoukou later this year.“We’ve probably got 9km by 2-3km wide that we will essentially blanket with soil geochem, which is right across where all the artisanal workings are,” Morgan said.“From there, we’re pretty keen to get drilling as soon as we can. Once we’ve identified a couple of good targets, we’ll start drilling with either RC or diamond.”Once initial drilling wraps at Bondoukou, Dalaroo plans to turn its attention to field mapping at Bongouanoa before rolling out the rigs in what is essentially a “rinse and repeat” approach to exploration.Like Bondoukou, the Bongouanoa tenure is active with artisanal miners, providing strong indication of the gold potential. The only difference is it has been previously drilled.Morgan said it wasn’t an unreasonable target for the company to delineate resources at either or both projects towards the end of the year.“I would like to have at least a preliminary inferred resource on Bondoukou and going very close to doing the same down at Bongouanoa,” he said.Dalaroo continues to pursue close of its transaction with Red Rock Resources plc over the four exploration permits in central Cote d’Ivoire, one of which is the Kokoumbo ground previously explored by Predictive Discovery Ltd prior to its own pivot into Guinea and unearthing the 5.5 moz Bankan project.Morgan added the potential for the company to make a major discovery in Cote d’Ivoire was substantially greater than if it remained focused on its original home ground of WA.“One of the good things with West Africa is you have either got something that’s substantial or you’ve got nothing,” he said. “They’re not normally a 300,000oz deposit, they normally have 1 moz or more, and that’s exactly what we’re chasing in Cote d’Ivoire.“We could have sat around WA and been comfortable, but we’re chasing a good return for our investors. Cote d’Ivoire is a pretty safe jurisdiction at the moment to do business. The local people really want to be doing business with Australian companies, especially in the beginning. I’m seeing a lot of synergies with the local people and Australian companies.”Dalaroo last month appointed experienced West African executive Mohammed Niare as president of business development in Cote d’Ivoire. He joins the company after playing a key role in African Gold Ltd’s recent $525 million acquisition by Montage Gold Corp. Prior to this, he worked for the likes of Newmont Corp, Kodal Minerals plc and Resolute Mining Ltd.REGIONAL ROUND-UPComplete Mining Services [email protected] | www.capdrill.comEXPLORATION & PRODUCTION DRILLINGLOAD & HAUL SERVICESGEOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS LABORATORIES (MSALABS)INTEGRATED DRILLING TECHNOLOGIESDalaroo expands Ivorian footprintSecure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!

AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT APRIL 2026 PAGE 11Former Tietto exploration manager Frank Twum-Berima continues to serve as country manager of Dalaroo’s Ivorian portfolio.Meanwhile, Morgan travelled to Greenland last month to thrash out logistics for the upcoming limited field season, with the company hoping to shore up as long list of potential drill targets at Blue Lagoon before the exploration window likely shuts again in July.“There’s a few dykes within the granites that look pretty prospective, it looks like it could be the source material for the rare earths,” he said.“I’m also currently working with a company in Australia to get a metallurgical and petrology programme started because once we know what we’ve got, we’ll then want to know what sort of recoveries we might have and what the process is for developing it.“In terms of Greenland, I’d love to have a defined target. At the moment, we’ve got numbers on a map so this time next year, I’d really hope that we’ve got a very welldefined target to put some drill holes into.” – Michael WashbourneSherif Andraweswww.capdrill.com www.capdrill.comComplete Mining Services [email protected] | www.capdrill.comEXPLORATION & PRODUCTION DRILLINGLOAD & HAUL SERVICESGEOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS LABORATORIES (MSALABS)INTEGRATED DRILLING TECHNOLOGIESAFRICAPerseus exits SudanPerseus Mining Ltd has called time on its Sudanese experiment after agreeing to sell its 70% interest in the Meyas Sand project to a wholly-owned subsidiary of Matrix Resources (Zhejiang) Co Ltd last month.The experienced African mine operator will receive a consideration of $US250 million for the undeveloped project, the bulk of which is payable upon completion of the transaction. At the time of print, both buyer and seller were anticipating close on April 22.Perseus acquired Meyas Sands via its takeover of Canadian company Orca Gold for $230 million in May 2022, with former managing director Jeff Quartermaine confident the company’s success in West Africa could translate across to Sudan.“We are apolitical,” he told Paydirt at the time. “As long as the economics work, we have access to titles, we can employ people and export our product, we will invest, and Sudan has made us feel most welcome in that regard.”Unfortunately for Perseus, Sudan’s civil war quickly escalated and the company was unable to progress the stated 2.9 moz gold reserve. Orca’s 2020 feasibility study supported production of 167,000 ozpa over the 14-year mine life at Meyas Sands.New Perseus managing director Craig Jones said the company maintained its view Meyas Sands was “a high-quality project”.“A strategic review of Meyas Sand was undertaken as a result of the protracted armed conflict in Sudan and its impact on Perseus’s ability to progress the development at suitable scale,” he said.“The sale represents an important step for Perseus in its portfolio optimisation and allows allocation of resources to core assets and its growth strategy. Matrix Group is a proven development partner with a vision for the Meyas Sand gold project that aligns with the development goals of Sudan.”Dalaroo is acquiring up to 80% of the Bondoukou gold project, adding to its growing exploration portfolio in Cote d’IvoireSecure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!

PAGE 12 APRIL 2026 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRTCOVERRarefied company:Lindian ready to crackthe big timeLindian is primed to become just the fourth company after Lynas Rare Earths Ltd, MP Materials Corp and Serra Verde Group to develop a rare earths mine outside of China, with first concentrate production from its Kangankunde project in Malawi on track for the end of this year.If that wasn’t considered a big enough achievement for an ASX-listed small cap, Lindian is also set to join its new upstream peers in the even more exclusive midstream production club after inking a lucrative deal to acquire a mixed rare earths carbonate (MREC) processing facility in Kazakhstan last month.For the bargain price of just $US15 million, Lindian and its new Kazakh partner RA Group LLP will take ownership of the SARECO hydrometallurgical plant in the industrial precinct of Stepnogorsk in the country’s north. The operational facility was originally established in 2010 as a strategic JV between Kazatomprom JSC and Sumitomo Corp to process uranium salts into MREC.Martin said acquiring the SARECO plant had capped a whirlwind year since he formally moved into an executive role at Lindian, three months after joining the board at the behest of the ASX-listed company’s frustrated shareholders.“We are basically getting a couple of million dollars’ worth of kit, fully operational, that will take feedstock from Kangankunde for a fraction of what it would cost to build one from scratch,” Martin told Paydirt.“Kangankunde itself is a brilliant project, but this is certainly the cream on top because we’re literally bypassing a decade in study work and permitting, to be producing a concentrate and a MREC in the same year.“We have no development risk, we have no balance sheet risk, we have no political risk. It’s a fantastic deal for shareholders.”Lindian will emerge with a 51% controlling interest and operational oversight of SARECO, plus exclusive MREC product marketing rights. All but $US3 million of the purchase price is also not due until three months after delivery of the first commercial MREC product, expected just weeks after maiden monazite production is achieved at Kangankunde.SARECO has been hungry for suitable The traditional gift to acknowledge a first anniversary is a blank sheet of paper, symbolising a fresh start and the unwritten journey ahead. Lindian Resources Ltd chairman Robert Martin and executive director Zac Komur arranged to have theirs covered in signatures reflecting not only the huge restructuring of the company undertaken over the past year but also the beginning of an exciting new chapter for the world’s next major rare earths producer.Secure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!

AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT APRIL 2026 PAGE 13Rarefied company:Lindian ready to crackthe big timefeedstock for several years, dating back to before Sumitomo withdrew from its partnership with Kazatomprom due to the final product not meeting Japanese spec of low uranium and thorium content. One of the Kangankunde project’s long-established signature metallurgical characteristics is its “undetectable” radioactivity levels.The existing cracking, leaching and precipitation infrastructure at SARECO is understood to be comparable to that recently developed by Lynas at its new Kalgoorlie refinery for a reported capital outlay of $800 million. A similar facility proposed by Arafura Rare Earths Ltd for its Nolans project in the Northern Territory has also been priced at $555 million.Lindian’s stock price rocketed from 53c to 76.5c following details of the SARECO purchase being revealed in early March. Not since a decade before acquiring its initial stake in Kangankunde has the company’s market valuation climbed to such heights.Despite the largely positive response from the investor community, Martin and Komur were still inundated with queries concerning the perceived cheap acquisition fee and whether the logistics of shipping concentrate from Malawi to Kazakhstan would impact the company’s anticipated lowest-quartile position on the global cost curve.Martin insisted the deal specifics were “as real as they come”.“We were approached by the Kazakh Government because we have the feedstock,” he said.“We have a product that is in massive demand and no [new] supply coming on, especially ex-China, and the Kazakh Government understood that. They want to see rare earths production in Kazakhstan and so we were given a number of guarantees and the ability to buy this facility, from its current owner, at an extremely generous price.“We had some fairly serious negotiations with the Government before we came to an agreement, including us having a local partner as part of that initiative.”It is not the first time Lindian has faced queries about the authenticity of one of its assets. As recently as 12 months ago, Martin and Komur were fully focused themselves on leaving no stone unturned in pulling apart the proposed economics for development of the Kangankunde project.A mid-2024 feasibility study flagged a pre-production capital cost of just $US40 million for Stage 1 operations at Kangankunde, paid back in less than two years after delivery of first concentrate. Equally eye-catching was the estimated low cost of production, $US2.92/kg TREO.Martin recalled his initial scepticism.“I had my doubts because $US20 million for infrastructure and $US20 million for non-process infrastructure just seemed really light on,” he said.“I went to Zac and said, ‘run your eyes over this, surely these numbers can’t be that good’ and he came back to me and said, ‘mate, this all stacks up, we’re dealing with an exceptional orebody here’.”A chemical engineer, Komur has developed projects for some of the biggest names in the global resources sector, including BHP Ltd, INPEX Corp, Fortescue Ltd and Swedish battery developer Northvolt AB. In his eyes, Kangankunde will likely prove the best of the bunch.“It has a 300-year mine life, very low strip ratio, it’s just an exceptional orebody,” Komur said.“When you’re assessing these types of assets, you confirm the geology first, then have a look at the logistics and the jurisdiction itself. In our case, we have a permitted site and we’re completely de-risked. Malawi is treating us very well, there’s absolutely nothing stopping this project from realising its potential.“If this project was in Australia, the company’s market cap would likely be $2 billion already.”Kangankunde’s reputation as “exceptional” and “world-class” was known to many in the global rare earths industry long before Lindian struck a deal in August 2022 to acquire the project holding company, Rift Valley Resources Development, for staged payments totalling $US30 million.The problem for Lindian was its market performance over the next 24 months never truly reflected Kangankunde’s stated potential. Influential shareholders revolted, ousting several long-serving directors and executives in late 2024 and nominating Martin as the company’s new chair, initially in a non-executive capacity. Komur joined the board early the following year and was formally promoted to the management team last September.A self-driven workaholic, Martin was running a family office having sold a successful mining services business more than a decade ago. With reputations on the line, he went full-time at Lindian in March 2025 and immediately started rolling out changes designed to restore investor confidence.“The first thing we had to do was put the right people in the right seats to progress the project,” Martin said.“Zac and I made a point that if we told someone we’re going to do something, we not only did it but we did it on time and we did it on budget. The only way to win back that reputation is to do just that. Talk is cheap in this industry and we needed to show people that this was a new beginning for a world-class asset.“Obviously we’ve now got a major acqui-“We are basically getting a couple of million dollars’ worth of kit, fully operational, that will take feedstock from Kangankunde for a fraction of what it would cost to build one from scratch.Lindian has acquired the SARECO cracking and leaching plant in northern KazakhstanSecure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!

PAGE 14 APRIL 2026 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRTCRITICAL BATTERY MINERALS PREVIEWA decade on from its original incarnation, Paydirt’sCritical Battery Minerals Conference returns to the Pan Pacific Perth Hotel on April 21-22. Ahead of the event, Paydirt takes a look back on the roots of the conference and how it has become an allegory for the entire industry, its rise, fall and recent revival.Headline actschange but critical flashpoints remainIt starts with carbonThe event started in 2016 as a showcase for the burgeoning graphite scene on the ASX. At the time there were more than two dozen juniors boasting graphite portfolios but the space was a confusing one for which project assessment didn’t fit comfortably within the traditional mining equation of tonnes-times-grade. Instead, each company had claims that their deposit or project was ideally suited to meeting the emerging demand from the EV sector. Some claimed grade was important, others dismissed grade and pushed flake size as the crucial element, while the rest said it was purity which was the defining component.There was a general acceptance that “not all graphite is created equal” but there was still confusion of what made some graphite projects more equal than others. The end market for mined graphite was equally opaque. It was widely acknowledged China dominated the supply chain but as the conference unfolded, it became apparent no one had a definitive answer for how Australian miners may usurp Chinese production. Still, with share prices climbing, enthusiasm among executives was apparent.“I think there will be a hell of a lot more people here [in 12 months’ time], people will be more educated and a hell of a lot more people will be talking about expandable graphite next year,” IMX Resources managing director Phil Hoskins said at the inaugural conference ahead of the company’s spin out of Graphex (now Marvel Gold Ltd).The closing panel debate at that 2016 event bore remarkable similarities to the debates which are going on today for the entire critical minerals sector. Talga Group Ltd managing director Mark Thompson said graphite was “becoming very political”.“I am seeing from my travels that they [China] are going to get very, very parochial and their own materials are going to be kept which would then starve the rest of the world,” he said.EcoGraf Ltd (then Kibaran Resources) managing director Andrew Spinks shared Thompson’s sentiment, saying once nonChinese supply was up and running, there would be bifurcation in the market.Secure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!

AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT APRIL 2026 PAGE 15“Clearly what we are seeing is that there is going to be two graphite markets; domestic supply for the Chinese and the rest of the world,” Spinks said. “They want qualities that are of an environmentally high standard and we are going to see more closure of their [China’s] mines; the ones that are environmentally unsustainable and toxic,” he said.Lithium charge The conference continued as a one-day graphite showcase in 2017 but within 12 months, the lithium boom was taking hold and there was demand from that sector to be given a platform. The investment world was latching onto the electrification narrative and the fact Australia had an abundance of key battery minerals such as lithium, nickel and cobalt. With Elon Musk’s Tesla rapidly growing into the world’s most valuable car company and every major OEM desperately playing catch up, Australian miners and politicians were beginning to contemplate a future which saw the country produce high-value materials reaching deep into the supply chain.Speaking at the conference, Future Smart Strategies managing director Prof Ray Wills said the lithium industry could be worth $2 billion by 2020 “by making big rocks into small rocks”.“Potentially by 2025, the industry will be worth $1.3 trillion by our estimates, although we think these estimates are a bit conservative and have talked about a figure of $2 trillion for this whole value chain by 2025,” Wills said. “This is about every resource, it is not just about lithium. We also need to be thinking of things like nickel and cobalt as well.”Diplomatic tiesThe following year, 2019, witnessed the first signs the sector and conference was subject to a different level of interest to traditional Perth-based mining investment conferences. A keynote address was delivered by Brussels-based Bert Witkamp from the Hybrid Electric Vehicle Technology Collaboration Programme at the International Energy Association.Witkamp’s presence was fuelled by the growing momentum of the European EV rollout. The speed of developments had caught everyone by surprise.“Even three years ago, at a political level no one believed EVs would be that significant,” Witkamp said. “Now, many countries and companies see it as the way forward. Tesla is the No.1 luxury brand in the US by far and in Norway 60% of new cars in 2018 were EVs. VW plans to stop combustion engine production after 2026. Volvo has made similar announcements.”Even more surprising to European policymakers and OEM executives was how precarious these new EV supply chains were. “European countries wish to have the important part of the EV value chain – manufacturing of the batteries and the battery materials – located in Europe,” Witkamp said. “So, there will be a focus in on potential bottlenecks in raw materials.”Witkamp summed up the uncertainty which persists to this day.“Facts, myths and fiction are mixed in communication.” he said. “Stakeholders need clarity, transparency and up-to-date information to support policymaking and business decisions.”Although the 2020 conference was blown off course by COVID, Witkamp’s appearance heralded a new era for the conference. In 2021, Paydirt took advantage of the short relief from WA’s hard borders to invite Doug Sonnek from the US Embassy in Canberra and UK Deputy High Commissioner Peter Harrington to discuss the increasing desire for more resilience in international critical mineral supply chains. This diplomatic presence at the conference has continued. The 2023 event saw Sonnek’s successor as economic counsellor in the US Embassy, Michael Sullivan, deliver a keynote address while the UK, Germany, Indonesia, Japan and Brazil were all represented by senior officials in subsequent years.The scope widensThe array of international governments represented matched the industry side of the conference programme as the event reflected the truly global nature of Australia’s critical minerals sector. By 2025, the conference had featured projects from more than 20 different countries as well as almost every Australian state and territory.Just as diverse was the commodity mix. Where the early years had been dedicated to first graphite, then lithium, more recent years have reflected the full critical and battery minerals perspective, from the original two, to rare earths, vanadium, manganese, nickel, cobalt and high-purity alumina.As the critical minerals boom took hold, the event expanded, but… Then the contractionSecure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!

www.batterymineralsconference.comwww.batterymineralsconference.comBOOK NOW!1. Scan 2. Register 3. Enjoy BATMIN26Charging ahead with Australia’s critical minerals industryWho should attend?UPSTREAM: Explorers, Developers, Miners, Consultants, Investors, Financiers, Brokers,Analysts, Fund Managers, Mining Services and SuppliersMIDSTREAM: Engineering/Chemicals, Convertors, Energy Storage Providers, Traders,State Governments, RegulatorsDOWNSTREAM: Automakers, OEMs, Manufacturers, Metal Refiners, Researchers, InvestorsASSOCIATED: International Governments, Regulators, Media, Inspectors, Service Providersgraphitelithiumtin cobaltnickelcoppermanganesevanadiumrare earthsCRITICALMINERALSPerth,Western AustraliaB ATTERY21-22 April 2026Charging ahead with Australia’s critical minerals industry

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PAGE 18 APRIL 2026 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRTRon HeeksCRITICAL BATTERY MINERALS PREVIEWHaving built Australia’s peak antimony development at the Hillgrove project in New South Wales, Larvotto Resources Ltd now wants to revive Mt Isa’s copper hegemony.Larvotto secured an exclusive option over the Blockade copper mine in Mt Isa late last year to consolidate the asset with 889sq km of surrounding licences already in the company’s portfolio. “Numerous generations” of exploration at Blockade have uncovered evidence of fault-controlled sulphide mineralisation which Larvotto plans to test at depth. Larvotto’s Mt Isa tenements surround the producing Barbara copper-gold deposit, which feeds the Glencore plc-owned Mt Isa copper smelter. Heeks said the future of Queensland’s best known copper processing operation was a hot topic and if Larvotto’s engagement with global commodities heavyweights and Glencore itself in the past few months were anything to go by, predictions of the operation’s imminent demise were premature.Blockade is in possession of a valid mining permit and has a history of prolific copper production, placing it in pole position to supply Mt Isa with feedstock, according to Heeks.“Blockade was mined by MIM [Mount Isa Mines, now part of Glencore] back in the day before they sold it to a private concern, there was a heap leach there for a while but we see it as a direct ship operation,” Heeks said.“All the rules have changed around Mt Isa in the last five years, I remember talking to a friend of mine who had a lot of ground up there and he just could not do a deal with Glencore – they had so much ore. “Now, it’s at a point where they don’t have any and they’re engaging. I had senior Glencore people in the office three days ago – I will have [commodities trader] Trafigura [Group] people in the office shortly – those types of engagements have already started.“The smelter is still a unique opportunity for those people who want to build a mine there. You’ve got resource companies that don’t want to build [processing facilities] because that’s not what they do, you’ve got an empty smelter, you’ve got a State Government that has shelled out $600 million to keep it going and you’ve got all the exploration areas. “It makes a lot of sense right now to be proactive and dig a few holes in Mt Isa.”Larvotto’s pivot to copper was preceded by the company’s impressive turnaround of the Hillgrove antimony project in New South Wales where a reimagined processing operation stands to benefit from the Australian and US Government’s plans to stockpile critical minerals. Heeks said Hillgrove was on track for its scheduled end of July production kick off.“We’re just upgrading the mill at the moment, the underground mining team did their first blast the weekend before last and are into their l a s t four now,” he said.“We’ve got all our senior management on site and we’ve got the build team from MIQM/Interquip on site doing their stuff, they have 60 people there and the timing is looking good. We are on time to go back into production and produce, by our numbers, 7% of the world’s antimony.”United States Antimony Corp is Larvotto’s largest shareholder and the company was accepted into the US Defense Industrial Base Consortium two years ago, giving it access to US Department of War funding mechanisms. Heeks heralded the recent appointment of Larvotto turns to Queensland copperBlockade was mined previously by MIM and sits on a granted mining leaseSecure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!

AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT APRIL 2026 PAGE 19AVL is moving closer to executing Australia’s first utility-scale vanadium flow battery project AVL locks intovanadium battery bidAlready at a critical juncture of its vertically integrated, vanadium battery flow offering, Australian Vanadium Ltd (AVL) is also preparing to tap into burgeoning aerospace and defence industry demand for the critical mineral.The pivot, which will be folded into the current optimised feasibility study, will create a third pillar for the company to export 99.9% purity vanadium pentoxide, required for military, astronautics and advanced manufacturing components. AVL will pursue the new avenue alongside the original two-pronged strategy of producing vanadium pentoxide for energy storage markets, using electrolysis, and steel for heavy construction. While the new focus paves the way to meet the demand from evolving global critical minerals procurement activities and policy initiatives, it also provides space for AVL to maintain its resolve for a vertically integrated business, both mining vanadium and producing vanadium flow batteries. In February, the company applied to build, own and operate the Western Australian State Government’s flagship Vanadium Battery Energy Storage System project (VBESS) in Kalgoorlie.The VBESS will operate as a 50MW, 10-hour 500 MWh vanadium battery flow (VBF) solution to provide energy security in the Goldfields. The WA Government has earmarked $150 million towards construction costs. AVL subsidiary VSUN Energy Pty Ltd further strengthened the VBESS bid by inking an agreement with Sumitomo Electric Pty Ltd to supply VBF equipment for the project. If successful, the VBESS project would lock in AVL’s long-held aspirations for a robust domestic vanadium supply chain, tracing back to its 395.4mt @ 0.77% vanadium pentoxide Gabanintha project in Meekatharra.At Gabanintha, AVL is focused on gaining a strong correlation and certainty around producing high-quality vanadium concentrates and low silica content along with finalising an EPA permit which is set to be approved in the next 12 months. The work was recently bolstered by a recent $7.5 million capital raising, which will also push forward work on the VBESS bid to ensure a strong position for construction if AVL lands the bid. “That’s off the back of in February the US Government, for the first time in a very long time, started strategically stockpiling vanadium,” AVL chief executive Graham Arvidson told Paydirt. “They ran a solicitation process and are actively procuring vanadium into a military stockpile and there’s also an ongoing solicitation process through the Defense Industrial Base Consortium, wherein vanadium is first cab off the rank on the list of metals that they’re seeking proposals for.”The use case for vanadium as a steel product, particularly for rebar, has mirrored the downturn in iron ore as China reduces construction work, dropping about 38% in the past three years. However, the downward trend in iron ore use is in stark contrast to China’s uptake on vanadium, which is growing by 50% annually with an additional 20% of global vanadium stocks going into the nation’s batteries. “The exciting battery story continues to grow and accelerate and that’s how we’ve set up our business, the key role we want to play is actually putting vanadium into batteries, and in our case, putting it into our own batteries,” Arvidson said. “We think 2026 is the year that flow batteries get built at the same scale they are in China and one of those in terms of the epicentre is right here in WA. “This will be a flagship asset that will, once and for all, show the bankability of very large-scale vanadium flow batteries and the strong use case they have here. Each of AVL locks intovanadium battery bid99.9% vanadium pentoxide grades will be harnessed for vanadium flow batteriesSecure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!

We Build, We Maintain, We Excelwww.myraagroup.comWe prioritise local hiring, skills transfer, and longterm employmentEmpowering communities through training,mentorship, and realWe partner with local suppliers andsubcontractors toajay- chauhan@PAGE 20 APRIL 2026 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRTSUSTAINABILITYI started in research… as a university student in Adelaide many, many years ago and remained in that field until 2009 when my now wife and I moved to Western Australia. I became a bit frustrated with the research side of things, where you could come up with these amazing ideas to save the world but nothing actually eventuated, so when we moved to WA I decided to go for jobs in environmental management. I spent my first six years in WA working for the Swan River Trust and for Fisheries in government, looking at how research can get turned into on-ground action to deliver sustainability outcomes. It was a real eye-opener for me. A lot of my research in the Eastern States focused on river and fish health, so when I was working on the Swan River it was quite interesting to get right down to the dirties of actually having to pump oxygen into a river to keep it going. Another eye-opening experience…came in 2017 when Labor came into power in WA and I started working for the then-Minister for Environment Stephen Dawson. I spent two years there as a principal policy advisor and I just absolutely loved it. We did some amazing stuff in those first two years, such as introducing the Container Deposit Scheme and the Murujaga Rock Art Strategy. From there, I went across to the EPA, initially as their head of strategy and then ultimately as the executive director of the team that supplies the EPA with the advice and reports it uses to make its decision. I left government in March 2024 for this job with BCI, which is my first and only job in industry to date.If I knew what I know now… I would have done things a bit differently when I was in government. I’d love to see our environmental regulators come and work in industry for a little while, just to understand the challenges and the practical realities that are often faced. I think it would be a really positive thing for all because I’ve found there’s sometimes a bit too much focus on a few little things rather than the big, important stuff we should be doing. Working for a small company like BCI… the decision-making is lightning fast. In my first week here, I said to our CEO David Boshoff that we needed another position in the environment team. Straight away he asked me to draw up an ad and by the end of day the position was advertised. Compare that to several months it would take in government to create and fund a position and go through that whole process. The speed at which decisions can be made, especially in a small company like this, is fantastic and I think that also provides a whole lot of opportunity for the environment, too. My interest in sustainability… goes back to my university days. We were quite lucky to have a couple of well-renowned professors who were both amazing researchers and teachers. They had a real impact on the world around them. I thought that would be a pretty interesting and exciting pathway to follow and that’s where I cut my teeth in aquatic biology and aquatic sciences. In fact, my Honours project was on the biology of the solar salt ponds in South Australia. Now being at BCI, I’ve basically come full circle, only this time on the industry side of things.When I started out… the environment was kind of a curiosity. Since then, community, government and regulator interest – as well as investor interest – in the environment has grown exponentially and I think it’s reflected in a lot of the reporting and transparency that’s now required. If I go back and look at the environmental conditions on industry from 20 years ago, it’s astoundingly bare compared to what industry is asked to deal with today. There’s lots of areas that have seen massive change, climate being the obvious one. It’s gone from being a peripheral issue to something that is absolutely now linked to the financials of a company, I think that’s something Secure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!

G L O B A LCOMPANYPROFILEw w w . m y r a a g r o u p . c o mSKILLED PEOPLE. PRECISION PROJECTS. SUSTAINABLE PERFORMANCE.BUILT BY EXPERTS, END-TO-END PROVEN WORK- FORCEGLOBAL EXPERTISELOCAL PRESENCEAUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT APRIL 2026 PAGE 21South Africa links criticalminerals potentialto youthSouth Africa’s mining sector is set to turbocharge skills development among the nation’s youth ahead of plans to target up to R40 trillion of mineral reserves over the next five years.The skills drive – an expansion of the Community Work Programme (CWP) and Presidential Employment Stimulus (PES) – is expected to encourage job-ready development for women while also positioning South Africa as a globally competitive hub for the critical minerals boom with the target of attracting about R2 trillion from investors. It supports the nation’s broader agenda to increase employment opportunities and strengthening economic resilience, while also channelling mineral wealth into local industries.The CWP and PES are primarily funded by the South African Government through the national treasury. PES is coordinated by the presidency, while the Social Employment Fund (SEF) component is managed by the Industrial Development Corp. As of late 2024, total investment in the programme since 2020 was about R32.6 billion.South Africa seeks to tackle youth unemployment with the investment in skills growth, creating opportunities for 1.8 million young people by 2030. Given the nation’s mining sector supports about 900,000 jobs, the industry is predicted to play an important role in increased job opportunities.Workforce development was also boosted in February through a partnership between the European Union and South Africa’s Energy and Water Sector Education and Training Authority as well as the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. The initiative includes €2 million from the EU for a dedicated platform to strengthen skills development and research and workforce readiness across the critical minerals and battery value chain. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (above) emphasised the importance of expanding public employment programmes, including the Community Work Programme and Presidential Employment Stimulus, to provide skills development and employment for youth and women. “For too many people, life remains hard – jobs are scarce and opportunity is out of reach,” Ramaphosa said.Anglo American plc has already stepped up with plans to establish a Global Institute of Critical Minerals Research, which aims to bring together universities and research institutions from South Africa, the UK and other global mining hubs.“We want to contribute to South Africa’s agenda of empowering the next generation of miners while unlocking the country’s full mining potential,” Anglo American chief executive Duncan Wanblad said.FIFOworkersvulnerableto obesityObesity is causing up to 225,000 workers across Australia’s mining industry to skip work every year, costing about $434 million in lost days.A report by GlobalData revealed workers in the mining sector displayed particularly high rates of severe obesity, about 21%, which is shared by the transport and wholesale trade sectors at 14% and 21%, respectively. Extra body weight can worsen joint strain and back injuries, already common in heavy industry with shift work and the FIFO lifestyle of long rosters, irregular sleep and camp catering environments linked to weight gain and metabolic issues, which then increase the risk of obesity.Workers deemed unfit for duty due to symptoms of obesity including fatigue, cardiovascular risk and mobility issues are often down temporarily to ensure safety onsite, contributing to absenteeism. Obesity contributes to a higher number of sick days and increased injury recovery times, with workforce obesity across all industries costing the Australian economy $123 million a day, or $45 billion annually, representing 1.7% of GDP.Secure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!

PAGE 22 APRIL 2026 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRTLATIN AMERICA SPOTLIGHTDespite the blooming business relationship between Argentina and the US, Lake Resources NL managing director David Dickson is not rushing to sign away offtake from the company’s Kachi lithium brine project.Argentina President Javier Milei and US counterpart Donald Trump shook hands on a landmark free trade agreement between their two countries in February. The announcement delivered a timely shot in the arm for the development-ready Kachi project, especially with lithium carbonate prices surging more than 125% to above $US20,000/t over the past six months.The free trade agreement appears to have significantly enhanced the chances of US customers securing first access to the offtake from the proposed 25,000 tpa operation. Speaking to Paydirt from New York where he had just attended Argentina Week, Dickson insisted it was too early to speculate on the company’s next moves.“I think some people are thinking we’re going to announce an offtake deal based on all of this information, but I have to remind everyone that this free trade agreement between the US and Argentina is not finalised yet and it was only agreed in principle just over a month ago,” Dickson said.“We will continue with our negotiations, but a new opportunity has now been created for us. Producing lithium from brine in Argentina is still the cheapest cost globally and potentially exporting that into the US on a free trade agreement makes it even more attractive.“I’m not saying our offtake will end up in the US, but that opportunity is certainly now a better one for us than it was only four or five weeks ago.”Co-organised by JPMorgan, Bank of America and Citibank, Argentina Week had been in the works at least a month before Milei and Trump revealed details of the free trade agreement.Milei delivered the keynote address at the three-day event at the Embassy of Argentina in New York. Dickson was among the 200-odd attendees which also included Rio Tinto Ltd chief executive Simon Trott and groups of US investors looking at opportunities in Argentina.“ I f e l t privileged that I was invited, it was just a super event,” he said.“The good thing for us is that everybody in Argentina, all the way up to President Milei, knows who Lake Resources is and what Kachi is.”Last month also marked Lake’s return to the ASX All Ordinaries, underpinned by both improving sentiment towards the lithium sector after two years in the doldrums and greater investor confidence in the now more robust development case for the Kachi project.The DFS update released last August slashed $US220 million from the forecast capex which currently stands at $1.157 billion for first phase of operations. Opex was also reduced by 3% to $US5,895/t. Other key metrics were pre-tax NPV of $US1.469 billion, IRR of 22.5% and payback of 4.5 years.Lake also assumed Benchmark Mineral Intelligence’s long-term average price for lithium carbonate of $US20,500/t, compared to the $US30,000/t used in the original DFS published in late 2023 before prices turned for the worse.“When lithium was trading at $US8,000/t for most of last year, no one was signing any deal because there’s no one in the world producing lithium carbonate for $US8,000/t,” Dickson said.“What we did have last year was a lot of discussions and people in the dataroom so although we couldn’t negotiate a deal, at least a lot of homework was done by potential offtakers.”Dickson was also encouraged by Rio Tinto confirming a $US1.175 billion financing package to continue development of its $US2.5 billion Rincon lithium complex, just days after announcing the formal start of exports.Rio Tinto is targeting peak production 60,000 tpa of battery-grade lithium carbonate at Rincon in Salta province. While part of the same Lithium Triangle, Kachi is Phase 1 operations at Kachi are expected to produce 25,000 tpa lithium carbonate Lake calm on US offtake interestSecure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!

Registration Open$1950inc.gstEARLY BIRD RATEUNTI L 29 MAY 2026$2200inc.gstSTANDARD RATEAF TER 29 MAY 2026To present, exhibit or attend as a delegate please africadownunderconference.com1500+DELEGATES90+SPEAKERS90+EXHIBITORS20+PARTICIPATINGCOUNTRIES20+SIDE EVENTSREGISTER NOW!Perth,Western Australia2 -4 Sept 2026Secure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!

PAGE 24 APRIL 2026 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRTLATIN AMERICA SPOTLIGHTBelararox board reshuffle drives Argentina discoveries Belararox Ltd has made the most of its relatively short time in Argentina, confirming copper mineralisation from the TMT project and refreshing its board with a new chief executive and exploration team. Just weeks after completing the first hole of a maiden drill campaign, Belararox fired off a second rig to the Toro South prospect, to simultaneously target the same shallow epithermal system overlying a large-scale copper porphyry as at Toro Central. While the mineralisation seen at Toro Central warranted the immediate installation of the second drill rig, it also spurred a change in leadership from Arvind Misra as managing director to Will Dix as chief executive. The leadership reshuffle was preceded by the appointment of executive director Chris Gale four months earlier. Gale has spent more than 16 years working in South America, and led Latin Resources to its $1 billion takeover by PLS Group Ltd.“We’ve just appointed a new CEO, Will Dix, which is exciting and Chris Blaser I promoted to exploration general manager,” Gale told Paydirt. “Chris is very smart, BHP [Ltd] for nine years, most of those years in copper porphyries in South America and Australia.“We’ve really got a great team put together now, we’ve got great assets, so for me it’s about now moving forward with those assets and creating that sense of urgency to get these projects developed.”For Gale, the strong fundamentals of Belararox’s tight capital structure with about 270 million shares on issue – the top 50 controlled by 70% of the register – and $7.10 million cash, alongside the start of drilling are hard to ignore. Argentina is also rapidly emerging as a high-potential copper destination.The nation’s mining potential has been enhanced by President Javier Milei’s aggressive economic reset. Milei’s policies have made the mining sector a cornerstone of his reform agenda. It is hoped the shift will turn Argentinian mining’s relative under-development on its head, with copper a major focus as more than 50% of its $30 billion mining portfolio now focused on the red metal.Several projects are aiming for more than 1.5 mtpa of production by 2035 with BHP partnering with Lundin Mining Ltd in mid2024 to develop the Vicuna project in San Juan. The major is expected to invest an eye-watering $US18 billion into the project and with TMT located just a few kilometres south of the BHP/Lundin juggernaut project, Belararox is confident in the geology of its tenements.“The district itself, the Vicuna district, is exceptional,” Gale said. “BHP have just put $3.5 billion into a JV for 50%, they’re our neighbour, we’ve got Atex [Resources Inc] – they’ve had a big porphyry discovery there that’s 20km [from the Toro South target].“We’re in a fantastic jurisdiction and copper belt.”Such is Belararox’s fervour for copper, the company is planning to make the commodity its sole focus, inking a deal in May 2025 to sell its Bullabulling gold project to Minerals 260 Ltd and preferring to eventually spin out its polymetallic Belara project in NSW. The KCP copper project in Botswana will remain firmly in the mix with Gale keen to see which jurisdiction wins out. “We have two jurisdictions but I like a bit of competition as well amongst the team to say what the best project is. Then we can have total focus on that project and put all our efforts, all our resources into that project – that’s what builds success in my view,” he said. “Once you have that flagship project, you focus on it and you go hell-to-leather to get that thing developed.”Belararox will continue to build value in the ground in both jurisdictions in the interim and once clear on a defined path is likely to enlist the help of a major partner to take the project to production.“We all know, if you have a copper porphyry discovery you’re going to need one of the big boys to help you out, mainly with money and a bit of expertise to develop it but it’s really how you define that target,” Gale said. “[But] if you can get the funding to a point where you’ve taken a lot of the risk out for the big guys [then] you add a lot of value to the company.”– Rhonda MalkinBelararox has moved quickly into a second rig at TMT following promising copper mineralisation from a maiden campaign Secure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!

AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT APRIL 2026 PAGE 25Cosmos enters BoliviaAreverse takeover will see Cosmos Exploration Ltd become the first ASXlisted company in more than a decade to explore in Bolivia. Cosmos announced on March 4 it would exercise its option to acquire EAU Lithium Pty Ltd – a private company which is participating in a JV with another ASX-listed company, Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd – over exploration of Bolivia’s lithium prospects.Under the deal, Cosmos will issue 108.5 million shares to the EAU vendors, giving them effective control of the company. EAU has an agreement with Bolivian state lithium company Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos (YLB) to use Vulcan’s proprietary VULSORB direct lithium extraction technology to test lithium brines from Bolivia’s salars. EAU executive chairman James Durrant said the execution of the option to merge with Cosmos was a key part of the company’s strategy to “collaboratively and transparently support in the development of the lithium sector in Bolivia”. “The governance, profile and investment access of the public listing is an important aspect in what we hope to be a long-term and mutually beneficial relationship with YLB on behalf of the Bolivian state,” Durrant said.Bolivia’s lithium potential – it forms the Lithium Triangle alongside Chile and Argentina – has long been known, however the political and investment climate has rarely been amenable to foreign investment. However, the election of Rodrigo Paz to the presidency in November 2025 represents a break from the socialist approach of the Evo Morales years. Paz’s election represents a clear swing to the right, with his administration made up largely of ministers who spent their career in international finance and development institutions or the private sector.Chile’s Kast agrees US talks on first dayChile and the US have signed a joint statement to begin discussions on rare earths and other types of critical minerals, Chile’s foreign ministry said last month.Areas of potential coordination include public and private financing for mining projects, the management of scrap for minerals recycling and exploration for new projects which could help boost minerals supplies in both countries.“I believe there is much we can do with the US and Chile to strengthen the supply chains of these minerals,” US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau told journalists in Chile, where right-wing Jose Antonio Kast was sworn in as President last month.“We will discuss how we can work together,” Landau added.Landau, who previously served as US Ambassador to Mexico, signed the agreement with Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Perez Mackenna in a Santiago ceremony overseen by Kast.Albemarle Corp has produced lithium in the country’s northern Atacama region for more than 50 years, operations that have made it the world’s largest producer of that battery metal.Albemarle was not immediately available to comment on the partnership between the two countries.EnergyX, a Puerto Rico-based lithium technology startup backed by General Motors, aims to build a $US1.1 billion lithium facility in Chile that is slated to come online in 2028 and eventually produce 50,000 tpa.“This is a good first step on Kast’s first day in office to sign something of a framework agreement with the US,” EnergyX chief executive Teague Egan said.Trafigura follows US into VenezuelaTrafigura will work with Venezuela’s state gold miner Minerven to develop a responsible sourcing programme as part of its prepayment deal for gold dore, the Swiss commodity trader said.The Washington-backed overhaul of Venezuela’s gold sector is the second major initiative by the Government of acting President Delcy Rodriguez, who took power after the US ouster of President Nicolas Maduro in January, and has pushed through a sweeping oil reform meant to stoke foreign investment.The US moved to allow purchases of gold produced by sanctions-hit and cash-strapped Minerven, its subsidiaries, and Venezuela’s Government in early March. The licence allows deliveries to the US for refining.Trafigura, also involved in Venezuela’s oil trading pact with the US, agreed to purchase Secure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!

Late payments upsetPerenti guidancePerenti Ltd shares dropped 15% in a day after an underwhelming half-year earnings period the company said was related to overdue payments.Perenti downgraded full-year revenue guidance to $3.45-3.55 billion (previously $3.45-3.65 billion) in its half-yearly report, with EBIT(A) guidance falling from $335-$355 million to $335-$350 million, net capital expenditure to circa $325 million (previously $340 million) and free cash flow to greater than $170 million (previously greater than $160 million).A 3.25c/share interim dividend was proof the changes would not affect the ongoing profitability of the company, according to Perenti managing director Mark Nowell.“Similar to prior years, several customers paid invoices in early January 2026, which had a timing impact on half-year free cash flow. After adjusting for these late receipts, normalised free cash flow of $33 million for 1H26 remains in line with our FY26 guidance expectations,” he said.“The board’s confidence in the outlook is reflected in the declaration of an interim dividend of 3.25c/share, an increase of 8% on 1H25.”The company’s otherwise consistent earnings growth comes down to its portfolio reshaping strategy with subsidiary Barminco completing its exit from the Khoemacau copper mine in Botswana in June last year.Norwell said he was particularly pleased with Perenti’s increased EBIT(A) margin. Half-year revenue of $1.73 billion matched the company’s best-ever result last year with underlying EBITDA of $160.1 million and underlying NPAT of $91.8 million for the half representing 3% and 12% growth respectively.Epiroc loader inautomation firstAutomation technology has been installed on an Epiroc underground loader for the first time ever to access narrow veins at the historical Reward gold mine in New South Wales.The agnostic technology, RCT’s AutoNav Tele, was installed on an Aramine L350D loader with a custom “mini” AutoNav control hut designed specifically to meet space constraints at the mine. The mine’s owner, Vertex Minerals Ltd, is building a smallscale processing plant which could revive the local town of Hill End. The gold mining town was all but abandoned after mining ceased in 2010. RCT east coast branch manager Owen Perrott said the unlocking of previously unprofitable sections of the orebody made the project “more than just a machine installation”.“We’re introducing technology that can access areas previously unreachable in this narrow vein mine, unlocking gold reserves left behind for decades,” Perrott said.“Due to the demand I have been receiving from other sites for smaller hut offerings, I thought it would be a good opportunity to design a layout for one, from the ground up. The client was extremely happy with the layout and quality of the finished product, and mentioned we should be making more Today. Tomorrow. Together.PAGE 26 APRIL 2026 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRTSIGNED, SEALED & DELIVERED2021Protecting almost half of Australia’s listed mining and energy companies.We’re Australia’s leading D&O insurer for the Mining and Resources industry. Ranging from junior explorers through to the largest producers, talk to your insurance broker about how Liberty can support your business through all stages of the mining cycle.Insuring400+boardsDiscover moreLiberty Mutual Insurance Company, Australia Branch (ABN 61 086 083 605) incorporated in Massachusetts, USA (the liability of members is limited) (Liberty)Perenti defended a mid-year guidance downgrade RCT designed a custom ‘mini’ control hut for its AutoNav TeleSecure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!

Today. Tomorrow. Together.2021Protecting almost half of Australia’s listed mining and energy companies.We’re Australia’s leading D&O insurer for the Mining and Resources industry. Ranging from junior explorers through to the largest producers, talk to your insurance broker about how Liberty can support your business through all stages of the mining cycle.Insuring400+boardsDiscover moreLiberty Mutual Insurance Company, Australia Branch (ABN 61 086 083 605) incorporated in Massachusetts, USA (the liability of members is limited) (Liberty)of them, particularly with the previously less profitable small mines coming back to life with the current gold price.”GR finds workat Tower HillGR Engineering Ltd (GRES) has been named as preferred EPC contractor by Genesis Minerals Ltd for the Tower Hill gold project near Leonora, Western Australia.GRES agreed to design, procure, construct, install and commission the project’s circa 4 mtpa gold processing plant. The agreement, worth some $225 million, required about $20 million worth of critical long lead items to be ordered immediately. The final terms of the contract were expected to be signed last month.“We see this award as a strong endorsement of GR Engineering’s proven process design record and EPC delivery capability in the gold sector in Western Australia,” GRES managing director Tony Patrizi said.“We look forward to continuing to work with the Genesis team on the successful and safe delivery of this important project as part of their growth strategy.”Davyhurst contract a coup for MMSOra Banda Ltd has tapped Mineral Mining Services (MMS) for a quick roll out to the Davyhurst gold project in WA’s Eastern Goldfields, where the contractor says its technical expertise and operational agility will make it indispensable.Rapid mobilisation of the MMS fleet was under way at the time of print. The mobilised package included “a full contingent of equipment and specialised personnel required to manage a project at scale” including several 120t diggers. Under the contract terms, MMS agreed to provide full load, haul, drill, blast and extensive civil works focused initially on the project’s Waihi pit and associated ROM realignment.MMS chief executive Steven Hulme commented on the significance of the contract for the company’s presence in the Eastern Goldfields. MMS aims to increase its district portfolio.“The award of this contract reinforces MMS’s strong presence in the West Australian Goldfields and demonstrates the company’s technical and operational capability, including the ability to rapidly mobilise across a range of mining and civil projects,” Hulme said. Wier grinds down costs at PlatreefWier Group PLC has made a deal with Ivanhoe Mines Ltd to supply high pressure grinding rolls (HPGR) to the Platreef mine north of Johannesburg, benefitting the project’s bottom line and lessening its environmental impact.The ENDURON HPGR circuit will form part of the concentrator’s Phase 2 tertiary crushing stage with Wier hoping to emulate its success with the equipment at the Kamoa-Kakula copper complex JV in the DRC.The Platreef Phase 1 project started production in November 2025 with the Phase 2 expansion scheduled to finalise before the end of the year. The ENDURON machinery is capable of reducing energy requirements by up to 40% compared to traditional tumbling mills with the associated savings in operating costs and lowered carbon emission an important point of difference, Wier said.“HPGR technology is now fairly standard in the mining industry and has proven to be cost and energy efficient,” Ivanhoe executive vice president Steve Amos said.“Ivanhoe Mines has extensive HPGR operational experience gained from the three operating HPGRs at our Kamoa copper mine in DRC. We look forward to a successful and longlasting partnership with Weir.”AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT APRIL 2026 PAGE 27Ivanhoe hopes to replicate its success with the ENDURON grinder at platreefSecure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!

Multiple mineralised trends confirmedat El Aguila Battery Age Minerals Ltd has identified continuity of a gold and silver mineralised system in maiden step-out drilling along strike of El Aguila Main, a key target area within the El Aguila gold-silver project in Santa Cruz province, Argentina.The discovery has significantly enhanced the prospectivity of the project along multiple kilometres of strike length of the main structure. Multiple shallow gold and silver intercepts were defined with the one of the best results being 10m @ 17.52 g/t gold and 0.89 g/t gold from 19 m (including 1m @ 44.60 g/t silver and 2.09 g/t gold from 28m).Aquila South also returned robust results of 0.55m @ 40.55 g/t gold and 107 g/t silver from 49m, 7m @ 2.48 g/t gold from 42m, and 2.87m @ 5.97 g/t gold from 299m. Intersections from two step-out drill holes indicate an eastward extension of the Aguila Main mineralised trend of 300m to about 2.7km and remains open along strike and at depth. Battery Age plans to follow up with further drilling to test the newly defined extension. Chief executive Sebastian Kneer said the maiden programme had “materially expanded the footprint of mineralisation at El Aguila” and validated its structural targeting model.“Step-out drilling has extended the system to about 2.7km and 1.5km of strike at El Aguila Main and South respectively, with mineralisation remaining open along strike and at depth,” Kneer said. “We are highly encouraged by the thicker zones of mineralisation intersected along strike, particularly in the eastern step-out holes. These results strengthen our geological model and clearly identify priority deeper targets for immediate follow-up drilling.“With multiple mineralised trends now confirmed, we look forward to advancing to the next phase of exploration.”Kaili targets potential new rare earths provinceKaili Resources Ltd has highlighted the emerging potential of the Murray Basin as a new rare earths province after reporting encouraging results from a recent drilling campaign at the Limestone Coast Mallee project in South Australia. Shallow aircore drilling across the Lameroo, Coodalya and Karte tenements comprised 54 drill holes for 973m, targeting rare earths mineralisation hosted within the Loxton-Parilla Sands formation. Designed as a wide-spaced, low-cost reconnaissance campaign aimed at identifying priority zones for follow-up exploration, drill holes were positioned along road verges to minimise disruption to private land and allow efficient regional coverage.Initial laboratory assays have returned TREO grades of up to 517 ppm, with several other intervals above 400 ppm, taken from Kaili’s September drill programme. The mineralisation occurs within ionic clay-style deposits associated with tertiary strandlines in the Murray Basin, a geological setting that has attracted growing exploration interest due to the potential for relatively simple extraction compared with hard-rock rare earth deposits. With early assays confirming rare earths mineralisation across multiple tenements, Kaili is expected to assess the results to refine its geological model and identify targets for future drilling programs. The latest results mark an important step in evaluating the rare earth potential of the Limestone Coast project, with Kaili seeking to define larger mineralised systems within the Murray Basin corridor.Kaili principal geologist Mark Derriman said the ALS Laboratory results from the drilling within the Coodalya tenement highlighted the need for further verge drilling along with possible grid-based drilling on freehold land in the eastern portion of the tenement.“Along with previous drilling results and detailed geological logging we will direct our focus for subsequent drilling programs within the Department of Energy and Minerals preapproved exploration drilling of up 300 holes for a total of up to 6,000m,” he said.PAGE 28 APRIL 2026 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRTBattery Age’s maiden drill programme at El Aguila delivered multiple, gold and silver intercepts Deep hole directional drillingDiamond core drillingSpecialist engineering servicesMine infrastructure drillingReverse circulation drillingRemote exploration servicesDRILL BITSSecure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!

AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT APRIL 2026 PAGE 29Stavely delivers sizzle with updated resourceStavely Minerals Ltd has unveiled a new resource ahead of the upcoming scoping study revision on its namesake copper-gold project in western Victoria.The updated resource of 60mt @ 0.58% copper equivalent contains 280,000t copper, 170,000oz gold and 5.4 moz silver, representing a 113% increase in overall tonnage, 31% more copper, 67% more gold and 69% more silver. It will provide the platform for the refreshed scoping study which is expected to be completed mid-year.Stavely also improved the confidence of the resource, with 58% copper, 63% gold and 63% silver now included in the indicated category.The company said the primary driver for the increased in both tonnage and contained metal was “substantial” increases in metals prices with “large and coherent” volumes of previously unclassified low-grade copper, gold and silver mineralisation now captured within the resource-constrained pit optimisation.Stavely executive chair Chris Cairns said the updated resource demonstrated the “exceptional leverage” the project has to rising metals prices. “If your investment thesis is that copper is going to be stronger for longer, there is possibly no better value leverage to that metals price scenario than this asset,” he said.“The second open pit optimisation using consensus metals prices gives a good indication of the volume of material we could reasonably expect to be dealing with in the scoping study and validates our previous aspirational statements that we can realistically target a production level of approximately 20,000 tpa of copper-equivalent in concentrate for in excess of 10 years.“We have long felt that the market struggles to place a value on our quality assets, but being able to complete the scoping study will place a ‘flag in the sand’ with respect to value. Prospective investors may discount the project on the basis of permitting risk, funding risk or any other discount factors they wish to apply, but it is important that the company provides the ‘starting point’ metrics in terms of cash-flow, NPV and IRR. That is our singular mission in the coming weeks.”Terra expands Southwest sulphide systemRecent drilling at Terra Metals Ltd’s Southwest prospect continues to demonstrate scale and coherence of the PGM-copper-nickel sulphide system at its Dante project in Western Australia.Mineralisation was intersected across an 850m strike corridor with a lateral width of about 650m. Multiple holes finished in sulphide mineralisation while the basal contact is expected to be confirmed.Some of the best results include 62m @ 0.44 g/t 3PGE from 196m, and 61m @ 0.42 g/t 3PGE3 from 37m. The thickness and consistency of the sulphide-bearing sequences indicate emplacement adjacent to a major magmatic feeder zone within the Dante intrusion.Re-assays from the Southwest discovery holes also confirmed high-value iridium-group PGEs, a geochemical signature characteristic of sulphide accumulation in conduit-proximal positions where repeated magma recharge promotes metal enrichment and upgrading. PGE re-assayed results included 35m @2.94 g/t from 48m with peak value of 0.32 g/t rhodium, iridium, ruthenium and osmium. Terra managing director Thomas Line said the results demonstrated the Southwest sulphide system was growing rapidly in scale and geological confidence. “We are now defining mineralised stratigraphy across approximately 650m of width, 850m in strike length, and at least 348m in depth extent, with consistent PGM-copper–nickel sulphide mineralisation intersected in multiple zones,” Line said. “What makes Southwest particularly compelling is the combination of thick, laterally extensive sulphide mineralisation at SW5 and SW6, alongside the broader oxide and IOA mineral systems we are defining. This confirms we are dealing with a large, long-lived and chemically fertile magma chamber capable of generating multiple critical mineral systems.“With drill spacing tightening and mineralisation now demonstrated across multiple zones, our next phase of drilling will focus finding the true extent of the PGM-coppernickel-sulphide system at Southwest.”Stavely has delivered a revised resource ahead of the scoping study update on its namesake project in VictoriaDeep hole directional drillingDiamond core drillingSpecialist engineering servicesMine infrastructure drillingReverse circulation drillingRemote exploration servicesSecure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!