March 2026 VOLUME 1. ISSUE 346 $11.95lycopodium.comLycopodium is a global engineering and project delivery organisation providing specialist services in the development and delivery of mineral resource studies and projects.Renowned for our expertise in precious and base metals studies and projects, our vast capability extends to diamonds, iron ore, battery metals, uranium and industrial minerals, servicing the entire project lifecycle, from the initial scoping study through design to full project delivery and beyond, into operational optimisation and life-extension.Working in partnership, with trust, integrity and respectE [email protected] T +61 8 6210 5222Kiaka Gold Project, Burkina FasoGlobal Minerals SpecialistsAfricaThe Americas APACBoto Gold Project, Senegal20014 Lycopodium Paydirt Ad v1.indd 1 12/2/2026 11:10ISSN 1445-34369 771445 34300702PLUS...Mining Indaba review... exclusiveswith Resolute, Gold Fields, B2GoldOn site in Namibia, Uranium spotlightQueensland focus Australia’s Paydirt March 2026●●●Jupiter rising:Defying expectations
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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 Fujita263208 NEWSIn an encouraging sign for the beleaguered nickel sector, Ardea Resources has received $1 billion of nonbinding funding support for its Kalgoorlie nickel project. Rhonda Malkin speaks to Ardea managing director Andrew Penkethman on how the company plans to progress one of the world’s largest undeveloped nickel assets while prices remain suppressedCOVER Since listing on the ASX nearly eight years ago, Jupiter Mines has been a consistent but somewhat prosaic manganese miner. That could be about to change thanks to some strategic transacting from the company’s new major shareholder, South African coal producer Exxaro Resources. Paydirt editor Dominic Piper travelled to South Africa’s Northern Cape to find out what the investment means for the future of the unassuming but highly profitable Tshipi manganese operationINDABA REVIEW Paydirt joined more than 11,000 delegates in Cape Town for another week of debates, networking and festivities at the annual Investing in African Mining Indaba. Our coverage shines a spotlight on the major talking points from the conference, including site visits in Namibia with Midas Minerals and Noronex, plus exclusive interviews with major African producers B2Gold, Gold Fields and Resolute MiningQUEENSLAND The future of the iconic Mt Isa smelter remains up in the air. As part of our annual feature on the Sunshine State, we ask established copper producers 29Metals and AIC Mines what its potential closure could mean for their respective businesses and Queensland’s growing list of budding base metals explorersURANIUM The uranium price might have retreated from its January spike but confidence is growing that the sector is headed for another bull market. Michael Washbourne reports on what the yellowcake CONTENTSMember of:263267in support of Australia’s mining industrymaroomba.com.au81Cover image:Secure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!
PAGE 4 MARCH 2026 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRTAeris Resources Ltd’s landmark $214 million acquisition of Peel Mining Ltd and its South Cobar copper assets has reshaped the company’s Tritton asset base and enhanced its footprint in one of Australia’s most prolific copper belts.The acquisition was inked in February as a binding scheme of arrangement and will see Aeris gain the Mallee Bull and Wirlong copper deposits, which will provide feed for the Tritton processing infrastructure. Peel shareholders will receive 0.3363 Aeris shares for every one Peel share held, valuing the company and its South Cobar copper project and associated tenements at 19c/share.Remaining precious and base metals assets in the Cobar Basin, including Peel’s high-grade Southern Nights complex, cash and JVs, will be demerged into a NewCo through a distribution of shares to Peel shareholders. The consolidation will create a diversified 500,000t contained copper mining hub for Aeris with the combined Tritton and South Cobar copper project resource rising to 29.5mt @ 1.73% copper for 511,000t of contained copper. It also de-risks Tritton by extending the mine life to more than 10 years together with feed from the Constellation project, which is expected to flow before then end of 2026. With 88% of Mallee Bull’s resource in the indicated category, Aeris believes it can declare a maiden reserve on the asset within six months of completing the acquisition and incorporate optimised mine scheduling to further improve the resource and operating efficiency of Tritton.Aeris executive chair Andre Labuschagne said the company would “always” look for opportunities to optimise its Tritton operations.“Tritton has got a 1.8 mtpa process plant, so it’s about how we secure the future and de-risk the future,” Labuschagne told Paydirt. “Constellation is our new mine which will kick off later this year but then you are looking for what else is a big, low-cost deposit, the Peel assets, specifically Mallee Bull, is where we see another future baseload feed.“Between Constellation and Mallee Bull, you can easily put together a 10-year mine plan than just feed from the small mines.”This operational integration is central to Aeris’ strategy, signalling a shift from fragmented asset holdings towards concentrated, infrastructure-aligned growth which leverages existing capacity for scale benefits. Alongside the acquisition activity, Aeris continued to report solid production outcomes through the end of 2025, reinforcing its ability to deliver operational performance even as it pursues growth.In its December quarter report, Aeris recorded 10,000t copper equivalent production, alongside gold output at its Cracow mine, while significantly deleveraging its balance sheet through the repayment and cancellation of debt facilities. The company also advanced exploration programmes across its key operations, with encouraging results from drilling at Tritton’s Avo - c a Tank and Budgerygar prospects. It also started drilling at the Golden Plateau prospect within its Cracow tenure in Queensland. Aeris strengthened its capital position during this period through an $80 million placement and an oversubscribed share purchase plan, supporting both working capital requirements and strategic investment capacity in the face of accelerating acquisition activity. Simultaneously, Aeris has taken steps to streamline its portfolio by divesting non-core assets. In late 2025, the company agreed to sell its North Queensland copper assets to an external buyer for up to $15.5 million, freeing up capital and management focus for the Cobar Basin integration and other priority projects. This divestment aligns with Aeris’ broader corporate objective of concentrating resources on its most promising copper belts, while maintaining exploration exposure through the spin-out NewCo which will manage Peel’s non-copper assets. Despite copper’s recent record run, Labuschagne believes the market is still lagging on the importance of copper and the predicted shortfalls in supply.“Over the past five years we have talked about the market and the requirements for decarbonisation and the AI space and the fact that there will be a big deficit in stock as we move forward,” he said. “We’ve started to see that now with the price where it sits today and has been for the last two months. It has been a good price, especially in Australian dollars. “I think the benefit is being in production in NEWSAeris transforms Tritton scalewith Peel acquisitionTritton’s mine life is expected to extend more than 10 years Secure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!
Lachlan Star Ltd has praised a local prospector’s work on the New Waverley gold project near Norseman after the company agreed to purchase the ground.Lachlan Star inked a deal with local prospector David “Golly” Pascoe last month to acquire a 90% interest in New Waverley, 12km north-east of Norseman. Golly, along with the project’s other previous owners, delineated geological conditions conducive not only to a classical Norseman stacked lode gold system under thin alluvial cover but also a potentially valuable sulphide sweetener.Key to New Waverley’s appeal are westto-east “cross links” intersecting a northtrending corridor of mineralisation.Last month, Lachlan Star chief executive Andrew Tyrrell told an investor webinar New Waverley’s north-trending gold corridor resembled the historical Mainfield prospect, an integral part of Pantoro Gold Ltd’s nearby gold operations and one of Norseman’s most prolific production areas. Discovered in 1894, Mainfield has produced about 3 moz @ 11 g/t gold largely from the high-grade, narrow-vein Mararoa and Crown quartz reefs.New Waverley is 16km from Pantoro’s ground and is almost directly adjacent to the south-west of Lachlan Star’s Killaloe landholding. Tyrell said Lachlan Star planned to build an understanding of areas near three historical shallow open pits before turning its attention to the east where Golly’s near-surface exploration had unearthed exciting potential.“Where there are west-to-east cross links, you get these nice big blow-outs and good grades of mineralisation,” Tyrell said.“Waverley and the other prospects all sit within the granted mining lease. To the east, there is evidence of another sub-parallel zone comparable to Waverley which runs from a prospect called Bird’s Nest out to Golly’s X-Link target.“Golly’s X-Link is where Golly put in these costeans. He has exposed some nice quartz reef development and we’re seeing sulphides in those quartz reefs. We’ve actually sampled that material. It’s at the lab now and we’re hoping to get some assay results in the near future.“We’ll continue to explore and understand the potential behind this sub-parallel structure but if you look at the work Pantoro has done and the work they have presented in the last 18 months, you can see a similar style of formation.“There are big regional structures, cross-linking structures – these localised, promising areas are highly capable of supporting follow-up exploration.”Tyrrell said despite competition from other companies interested in acquiring New Waverley, Golly’s high regard for the Lachlan Star team’s technical expertise was the deciding factor in the company’s successful bid. “Both myself and our exploration manager have a strong background in gold explo ration and discovery. We are also backed by Tim Goyder so if we are able to advance this project to being a development opportunity in the future we have the backing to take it forward,” Tyrrell said.“On the vendor’s side, they had Colin McIntyre, a former non-executive director at Pantoro, acting as their technical advisor and as an intermediary between ourselves and the prospector through the negotiation process.“Colin has decades of experience in this district, he understands these systems better than most.“He loves this project; he agreed after long conversations to come across and work for us as a technical advisor and he brings a lot of strong mining expertise as well.“It’s quite rare to find this kind of opportunity in a district like this and we are excited A Norseman star is bornAUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT MARCH 2026 PAGE 5New Waverley has several historical open pitsSecure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!
PAGE 6 MARCH 2026 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRTNEWSBauxite play VBX Ltd has overcome a key constraint of a 2025 PFS by more than doubling the resource at its Wuudagu project near Wyndham, Western Australia.The resource upgrade is a significant milestone for the company, which started last year with a 63.5mt indicated resource and is now sitting on 131.9mt @ 40.2% aluminium oxide and 12.6% silicon oxide. The 108% lift in the resource was achieved through drilling of VBX’s other plateaus at Wuudagu with the results demonstrating the project has more material available in the measured and indicated category for inclusion into a DFS. Now in a very comfortable financial position post an IPO in June, which raised $10 million, VBX has several options to finance into production.“We purposely have taken the step to retain all of the product marketing and offtake rights to this point and doing the IPO and raising the money was a key aspect of that,” VBX managing director Ryan de Franck told Paydirt. “It’s allowed us to derisk and advance the project and retain all of those rights.“Whether we finance the project conventionally through equity and debt or whether we did it through a strategic partner or an offtake type financing facility, they’re all the options that we’re working through.”VBX worked consistently on derisking the technical aspects of Wuudagu privately for 10 years but understood additional work would be required in the lead-up to a DFS and permitting.“I guess we were just guided by investor appetite – it was demand from investors to put money into a listed vehicle and that was the best structure for us to do it,” de Franck said.There’s more prospectivity in the pipeline with Wuudagu G, the second largest plateau at 6.6sq km, yet to be drilled and could build the resource further. A key aspect of Wuudagu is the material beneficiates well, meaning the in-situ silica content can be reduced relatively easily through simple industry standard scrubbing and screening methods. “Our material is medium in alumina – it’s high in silica in the ground but it beneficiates to a high-grade, high-quality, low-silica product of around 45% alumina and 3% silica, that’s essentially the benchmark,” de Franck said. “That’s one of our key competitive advantages, we’ve got this Guinea spec product, but we’re located in northern Australia with Australian jurisdictional advantages but also the logistics [being] close to the coast.”Being close to end-user markets like China, India and the Middle East also helps shave transport costs by 75% compared to the material being sent out of Guinea. Bauxite is classified as a critical mineral in most jurisdictions but not Australia, however the Federal Government is under increasing pressure to include the commodity, along with alumina and aluminium on its official critical minerals list. Given its use in aluminium and the role aluminium plays in the energy transition with lightweight EVs, renewable energy power generation and food packaging, it would seem bauxite demand will remain strong. With the multiple minerals making up bauxite – including alumina, iron, silica, gallium, vanadium and titanium – all in demand it’s clear the Australian Government will need to step up to support alumina refining processes.For VBX, that path is best left to others with its eye firmly set on bauxite.“There’s other critical mineral opportunities in the aluminium value chain but we’re focused on the bauxite opportunity because as a bauxite export strategy where we’re beneficiating the material and then selling the bauxite, that’s what we can recover and monetise,” he said. “In terms of a port for our project, we’ll be establishing our own marine facilities adjacent to where the deposits are in Napier Broome Bay, in the north Kimberley.“In terms of the timeline for the DFS, we’re targeting completion for first half of this year and for FID that would depend on where we land with some of the strategic discussions that we’re having and visibility on formalising binding offtake and financing arrangements.” – Rhonda MalkinVBX resource bump rings true on ASX entryVBX executive chair Richard de Franck and managing director Ryan de FranckRyan de Franck rings the bell on IPO in June 2025Secure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!
AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT MARCH 2026 PAGE 7The long wait for regulatory approval at the Cummins Range rare earths project in the Kimberley has left RareX Ltd with a dim view of Western Australia’s permitting regime.RareX was granted a mining lease at Cummins Range – 130km south-west of Halls Creek – in January and plans to focus on the project’s complex metallurgy but issued a word of warning about WA’s once world-leading regulatory framework. A heritage agreement with the local Jaru people preceded the issuing of the mining lease but was only reached after three years of negotiations, in which the entity acting on behalf of the Jaru went through several changes of leadership and legal representation. RareX managing director James Durrant told Paydirt the need for meaningful engagement with the Traditional Owners was clear but he was mystified as to why negotiations took so long.“If you actually talk to the Aboriginal people themselves, the communities all basically want the same things we all want,” Durrant said. “They want to see good jobs and to see training, education and a certain amount of financial benefits from projects to go into their region – yet they seem to get caught up with regulatory bodies.“In some cases, like in the Northern Territory for example, you are not even allowed to communicate directly with the Native Title holders, which is bizarre.”RareX had planned for a drawn-out permitting process and Durrant said extreme care was taken by the company not to involve itself in any internal discussions amongst the Jaru. One reason for the threeyear permitting wait could be the “alternate agendas” inserted into the discussions by intermediate organisations not directly involved in the negotiating process, Durrant suggested.“Towards the end, we presented the final terms of agreement to a hall of about 180 Jaru people. We took them through it; they had a lot of questions and ultimately the board decided to sign on,” he said.With its final permitting hurdle cleared at Cummins Range, RareX said the project’s varied mineral endowment would be its main focus. The PFS was “refined” in September 2024 and although the company hadn’t made any concrete decisions about when to release the next study, Durrant said metallurgical studies had been under way for some time.The Australian Government announcing its intention to stockpile critical minerals in January was an encouraging sign, according to Durrant, who said the tests under way would paint a fuller picture of Cummins Range’s polymetallic potential.“The metals we have at Cummins Range are very relevant to the critical minerals space and particularly Australia’s planned critical mineral reserve being rare earths and gallium, which the project has a lot of,” he said.“We’ve also got a lot of phosphate and scandium and as such, we are running three different met programmes in parallel – we’ve got rare earths being done at SGS Lakefield [Canada], we’ve got gallium being done here over in eastern Australia and we’ve got phosphate being tested in South Australia.“They are all looking at the ways we can extract and then integrate those extractions.”In October last year, RareX entered into a binding MoU with privately-owned US Strategic Metals to pursue opportunities for strategic funding, technology development and supply chain collaboration. Durrant expected last year’s heavy investment by the US Government, such as the $US550 million equity, funding and offtake deal made by the Department of Defense with MP Materials Corp at the Mountain Pass rare earths project in California, to continue.“There’s a very clear direction the US is taking, there will be more investments, perCummins Range delays regrettableRareX managing director James Durrant (front row, right) expects more US investment in Australian critical mineralsSecure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!
PAGE 8 MARCH 2026 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRTREGIONAL ROUND-UPBrazilian Rare Earths Ltd (BRE) has enlisted the best in the rare earths processing business to help the company reach its downstream ambitions.Sydney-headquartered BRE signed a heavy rare earths offtake and technical partnership with French-based rare earths specialist Carester last year. Carester agreed to provide engineering, construction and commissioning services to BRE at the planned Camacari heavy rare earths separation plant in the Brazilian state of Bahia.The agreement includes a 10-year binding offtake arrangement to support up to 150 tpa of separated dysprosium and terbium oxide production at Carester’s Caremag plant in south-west France, one of the world’s largest heavy rare earths separation and recycling projects where production is slated to begin this year.Carester has funding support from the French Government, JOGMEC (Japan Organisation for Metals and Energy Security) and Iwatini Corp, a leading Japanese industrial and advanced metals company.BRE managing director Bernardo Da Veiga told Paydirt Carester’s real-world experience made it the ideal partner to progress the company’s plans. While relatively new on the rare earths scene (Carester was founded in 2019) Da Veiga said the company’s founders were anything but, having previously been instrumental in the success of fellow French rare earths hegemon, Solvay SA.“Carester is basically all the top, most experienced rare earths guys from Solvay, which has been doing rare earths separation for decades, who left and formed their own company,” Da Veiga said.“These are guys who have operated several rare earths facilities across the globe and have been involved in a number of others as consultants.“Outside China, they are one of the few groups that have a proven track record in rare earths processing.”Da Veiga underlined the importance of commercial-scale experience in the complex processes required for rare earths separation. He feared many of BRE’s peers would discover the importance of employing tried and tested methods when scaling up the hard way. “There are a lot of partnerships being entered into in this industry but a lot of them involve technology which is unproven,” Da Veiga said.“Many have been demonstrated at a lab scale but not proven up to what I would consider investment scale. That is a big question that needs to be answered. “The Carester guys have operated industrial-scale plants for a long time.”A slew of “technical results” are expected from BRE’s flagship Monte Alto rare earths project – 130km south-west of Salvador – in the next few months, culminating in a scoping study in the middle of the year.Ore sorting test results last month showed 95% increased yield and 100% rare earths enrichment from Monte Alto material with further results validating BRE’s low temperature recovery process.Extraction rates of 97% rare earth oxides, 97% neodymium and praseodymium, 83% dysprosium, 87% terbium and 97% uranium were achieved from a low temperature (150°C) acid cure process, eliminating the need for expensive plus250°C rotary kilns.Although producing a concentrate would make economic sense in the short term, Da Veiga said BRE planned to process as far as the separated rare earths oxide stage. Oxide production exposed the company to one of its fundamental value drivers – demand for ex-China supply.“In time, we could add things like metallisation to the chain but at the moment, we see the most value-add going from ore in the ground out to separated rare earths,” Da Veiga said. “I’m not a huge fan of the ‘mines to magnets’ theory. Magnet making requires a whole different skillset which is unique… but we never say never.”This year, Da Veiga also plans to continue BRE’s hunt for a development partner at Monte Alto. While far too early to detail BRE’s exact funding needs, Da Veiga said the company intended to approach any potential offtake tie-up from a position of strength.“Our offtake is very valuable; there are a lot of groups globally that would be very interested in our offtake – North American, European and Asian parties,” Da Veiga said. “In exchange, we would expect funding assistance.“There are a lot of tailwinds coming our way, the world is waking up to the fact that with robotics right around the corner, the demand for this stuff is set to explode.“Everyone says EVs are the main value driver for rare earths but once robotics takes off – especially once robots start making robots, which is not far away – things will become very interesting.” – Michael CameronBRE recruits rare talentSorted ore shows clear separation of dark higher grade materialBRE reported good results from multi sensor ore sortingtests at Monte AltoSecure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!
AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT MARCH 2026 PAGE 9LATIN AMERICAThe University of Queensland-backed, Chile-based Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI-Chile) has warned the incoming Chilean Government not to let the country’s mining standards slip.Jose Antonio Kast won the Chilean presidential run-off election in December and is set to take office as leader of the world’s No.1 copper producing country this month. During his campaign, Kast promised to move away from former President Boric’s state-influenced approach to managing the sector, opposing the creation of a national lithium company and pledging to audit stateowned major Codelco. Kast said his government would aim to eliminate “unnecessary regulation” from a range of approval processes, including those used in Chile’s mining and exploration industries.SMI-Chile Director Centre of Environmental Responsibility in Mining Doug Aitken told Paydirt preserving and updating the country’s strict environmental and social sustainability standards was key. He said the long-term viability of Chilean mining depended on continued support from host communities.“The new Government will need to ensure Chile’s mining industry remains strong, particularly with the copper prices we have seen recently,” Aitken said. “They will need to find that balance – ensuring Chile is an attractive place to invest in terms of support and permitting times while also making sure environmental and social standards are maintained or even improved.”JKTech is a not-for-profit mining consultancy closely affiliated with SMI-Chile. Chief executive Mark Noppe said it was well-placed to offer independent advice.“SMI’s broad capabilities and research is focused on how to discover, identify, study, extract and produce but then also how to do that safely and in an environmentally responsible way and how that intersects with communities,” Noppe said.“It is one thing for companies and governments to be accelerating and fast-tracking new mines, projects and developments but the caveat is what is required to do that responsibly. That is something we wish to inform.”SMI-Chile is primarily focused on supporting mining research in South America, including supervising PhD research but the organisation also runs professional development courses. Aitken identified, amongst other opportunities, educating local communities about contract negotiation methods as crucial to maintaining support. He said SMI-Chile’s disinterested position, autonomy and neutrality was key to establishing trust with many local communities.“In Chile, we work a lot with local communities and particularly with indigenous communities, we have developed a strong relationship with these groups and have positioned ourselves as an independent party that they c a n w o r k with,” Aitken said.“Between the industry and the community, we provide support with areas like developing optimal contracting models between communities and the industry to create shared value in the local territory. Also, we can help with more technical aspects such as community environmental monitoring. There are so many opportunities across Latin America and I hope we can use the experience that we’ve built in Chile to branch out into other countries.”SMI-Chile has been approached by the governments of Peru, Colombia and Brazil with requests to establish a similar presence in each country, but Aitken identified substantial funding requirements as a common stickling point. He said the recent wave of investment into Argentina’s mining sector, coupled with its relative lack of talent, represented a real opportunity.“They [Argentina] are not a traditional mining country, there isn’t yet the full depth of expertise in their universities, so we’ve been looking at setting up partnerships with local universities to support that growth,” Aitken said. Kast advised to temper ambitionsDoug Aitken (second from left) said Chile must retain strict environmental and social oversight of the mining industryMark NoppeUQ’s SMI-Chile sees growth potential in Argentina and has run training programmes in the countrySecure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!
PAGE 10 MARCH 2026 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRTSince listing on the ASX in April 2018, Jupiter Mines Ltd has been consistent, almost to the point of dullness. The company’s shares have traded in a narrow range of 15-39c, meaning a market cap of $300-750 million. It has consistently paid dividends through each of those years, essentially passing on its 49.9% share of profits from the Tshipi manganese mine in South Africa’s Kalahari manganese field directly to shareholders. The operation itself is just as consistent, producing and selling 3-3.5 mtpa of manganese in each of the seven years since Jupiter listed at FOB costs of $US1.98-$US2.30/dmtu. Only EBITDA has fluctuated in that period, a function of the manganese price’s retreat from $US5.72/dmtu in 2019 to $US3.26/dmtu in 2025.With a mine life of 100 years and strong macro fundamentals for manganese, that consistency could stretch well into the next century, but the last nine months have seen new options arise.In May 2025, South African coal producer Exxaro Resources Ltd enacted on its stated ambition of entering the country’s manganese sector by acquiring the other 50.1% stake in Tshipi from Ntsimbintle Holdings Pty Ltd and OM Holdings Ltd, as well as Ntsimbintle’s 19.99% shareholding in Jupiter. In addition, it took on Ntsimbintle and OM’s marketing rights, which equates to 50.1% of ore sales from Tshipi. The transaction valued the entire asset at $1.2 billion, setting the see-through value for Jupiter’s 49.9% stake at $600 million and Exxaro’s newly acquired 19.9% holding in the ASX company at 31.7c/share.Having jumped 6c to 20c on the announcement, Jupiter shares have steadily climbed since (30.2c at the time of print) as the market digested exactly what it meant for a company which has rarely sent pulses racing.It is the most significant development since renowned South African mining entrepreneur Brian Gilbertson brought Tshipi to the ASX through a $240 million reverse listing into Jupiter in 2018. Managing director Brad Rogers told Paydirt at the time the transaction was announced it set a new floor for what had always been an underappreciated stock.“I’m always pointing out that on a fundamental value basis Jupiter is too cheap. This is another data point to say if you look at the dividend yield of 20c, which is roughly where we are today, there’s very good value,” Rogers said. However, when chairman Ian Murray brought Rogers into the company in 2022, it wasn’t to simply act as courier for dividends from Tshipi through Jupiter to shareholders. The opportunities they identified were much wider.“We could continue to stream dividends to shareholders for another 100 years,” Rogers told Paydirt recently. “We have already paid the majority of our market cap in dividends – 22c/share – in just a tenth of the mine life. The company supported the mine and streamed a good dividend. It was a successful strategy and remains the focus now and there is no reason that cannot continue.“But since Ian and I came in, we’ve sought to do more. There was a clear message from shareholders – ‘we love the dividend but see opportunity for further value because of the long mine life and the COVERPersistent problems with energy and infrastructure have most observers doubtful South Africa’s mining industry can ever regain its dominant global position. However, in the country’s remote Northern Cape, ASX-listed Jupiter Mines Ltd is confounding sceptics by operating a high-quality bulk commodity asset which recent corporate deals suggest is severely undervalued. Tshipi mine manager Josua Bekker and Jupiter chief operating officer Matthew Jarvis at the viewing platform for the Tshipi open pit mineThe Tshipi crushing plant has been a reliable, consistent performer throughout its eight-year historySecure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!
AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT MARCH 2026 PAGE 11macro conditions for manganese’.”Rogers, Murray and the board have considered numerous options, from divestment and M&A sprees to changed operational strategies and new product lines.At the mine site, Jupiter management has been anything but a silent shareholder. Rogers’ experience in bulk commodity logistics (he was formerly chief executive of Bis Industries) has allowed him to impart knowledge on the operating team’s rail, road and port strategies, while Jupiter chief operating officer Matthew Jarvis has deep experience in mining from his days with BHP Ltd and South32 Ltd in both South Africa and Australia.“Even though we are a shareholder, not the operator, Jupiter is more involved than you would think. It takes more work than you realise because of the JV, you need to work with the site team, work with your JV partner and make sure all shareholders are aligned,” Rogers said. “We have been able to provide a lot of input and expertise on certain areas, Matt is particularly involved in the mine planning given his background with BHP and South32. I’ve spent a lot of time with the team – who are already leaders in South Africa – on all sorts of work at the mine level, designing what is the right level of sustained high-volume output given other mines are coming to the end of their life in the medium term. How can we best position for that, given we have a long-life asset and have infrastructure capacity on site.”The most ambitious efforts have seen the company investigate ways of supplying directly into the EV battery market. In March 2024, Jupiter published a scoping study into production of high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) material suitable for the EV battery market. It indicated refining lowgrade Tshipi ore, currently stockpiled as waste, into HPMSM was plausible, with a facility producing 100,000 tpa of HPMSM suitable for the EV market.While work has slowed in line with EV market corrections, Jupiter continues to advance a PFS on the project.“We have done a lot to position ourselves around those opportunities, particularly the EV market,” Rogers said. All these options can be pursued in the confidence that Tshipi is capable of delivering over an extended period. As well as its 100-year mine life, the operation boasts among the lowest operating costs in the Kalahari manganese field, meaning it has natural a d - van -tages over neighbours. “It is a good orebody, operated by a good team and we are set up with infrastructure and the asset base,” Rogers explained. “The most important thing in bulk commodities is to be fittest in the field and because the Kalahari field provides 40% of global manganese supply, if you are more cost-effective than your neighbour you can be stable. We don’t have to pull manganese out of the market.”As Tshipi mine manager Josua Bekker explained on site, after nearly a decade of operation, the mine was performing close to optimal.“The main bottleneck isn’t the plant or the rail loop, it is the mining, as it should be with any bulk operation,” he said. “We are getting deeper at 200m and there is a lot happening in a small hole, but we keep chipping away on productivity and efficiency measures and keep improving.”Ore from the 1.4km by 900m by 200m deep open pit is processed through the 3.6 Thabang Gaborokwe in the plant control room at Tshipi Brad RogersSecure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!
INDABA REVIEWPAGE 12 MARCH 2026 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRTWhile it may be notionally focused on the continent it is held in, the Investing in African Mining Indaba continues to help set the agenda for the global mining and metals space, with debates on everything from critical minerals and the US-China relationship, to market trends and issues of local ownership. Paydirt joined more than 11,000 delegates in Cape Town for the week of debates, networking and festivities. Zambian approacha beacon foran entire continentZambia will continue to refine management of its mining industry as the country strives to lock in the gains its copper sector has made in the last four years.Zambia has affected a remarkable economic turnaround under the leadership of President Hakainde Hichilema, with its once moribund copper industry bouncing back to aid economic growth and lower inflation. The Zambia copper sector had been sliding for a decade amid litigation, underinvestment and governance issues but in 2024 it posted a 12% increase, followed by 8% growth in 2025. That has provided the backbone of a wider economic performance which has seen GDP growth lift from negative-2.8% in 2022 to an estimated plus-6% in 2025.The country is on track to produce 1 mtpa copper this year, a third of the way to its goal of 3 mtpa by 2030.Hichilema said the revival had been propelled by his Government’s policy of placing mining at the front of the economic agenda. “At 2022, I stood somewhere here as a new- l y elected president and shared our vision for our economic reconstruction and mining stood at the centre of that,” he said on the opening day of Mining Indaba. “Four years down the road, I’m here to say this is how far we have gone and where we are going from here as a country.“Our eyes are set on a trajectory of success. For the first time in the history of our country, a government is setting and delivering targets, not in isolation from the business community, but working together with the business community. [We are] setting the targets together and then we Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema Secure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!
AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT MARCH 2026 PAGE 13“For the first time in the history of our country, a government is setting and delivering targets, not in isolation from the business community, but working together with the business community.can work towards specifics.” There appears to be no miracle policies among the Hichilema Government’s approach, just the kind of simplified structures most international investors are crying out for from African governments.“Our reforms are anchored in stability,” he said. “Given the conditions we inherited – the conflict, litigation, all that stuff – our job was to build confidence and stability so we could achieve growth. We inherited a declining economy but we launched disciplined reforms – clarity of execution, consistency – and these reforms are bearing fruit, there is no question about it.” The effect is apparent. More than $US12 billion in new foreign investment has flowed into Zambia since 2022 – almost all of it into mining projects, on the back of the global copper boom.The Government has also worked to bring an end to several long-running disputes. In November 2023, it returned subsidiary Konkola Copper Mines to Vedanta Resources plc, four years after its predecessor seized the company.It has also revived Mopani Copper Mines Ltd, bringing in Abu Dhabi’s International Resources Company Ltd to take a 51% stake in the company previously owned by Glencore plc and state mining investor ZCCM Investment Holdings plc. “Before we came into government, we said we would stop that [Konkola] liquidation and end the litigation,” Hichilema said. “Today, we can say we have ended that and the business is back in production and we are talking about Phase 2 of the transaction and we know what that is – raise more capital to expand some of our rich resources, Konkola Deep for example.“Mopani was in comatose, and Glencore had so many things in there and we’ve been able to unravel that and today Mopani is contributing strongly to our 3 mtpa copper target.”While revival and expansion has been at the heart of Zambia’s turnaround to date, Hichilema admitted new developments would be crucial to hitting 3 mtpa and he welcomed the recent arrival of Ivanhoe Mines Inc and KoBold Metals Inc, the AI-inspired, US Governmentbacked explorer.“There will be redefined mineral maps in our country,” he said. “Ivanhoe is here, they’ve just taken a tenement in Zambia, we are happy you’ve made that decision. We are looking for other investors in this hall to take that decision also.”Hichilema said KoBold’s Mingomba discovery, made near Konkola in early 2024, had the potential to produce more than 500,000 tpa copper. “This discovery came out of an existing old tenement around a mine that never did any exploration,” he said. “That is a lesson, when we have tenements already, can we explore the full extent of your tenements before you queue up for more?”Forcing companies to stay active on their properties can only be enacted if the regulatory framework is strong and Hichilema acknowledged it is an area of focus.“We are building institutions, we had a weak base when we took office, but those institutions are critical to support of the industry,” he said. “We have strengthened the regulation and mineral governance overall. The minerals regulation commission, which was never there, is now up which will help us to streamline approvals processes but also root out inconsistencies, multiplicity of rules and procedures that creates some problems for investment and for the government. OPINIONAfter an address which laid bare the opportunities on offer across the continent, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema’s keynote on the opening morning of Mining Indaba delivered everything investors have been calling for. As with his entire four-year presidency, Hichilema resisted the urge to play to his audience and instead offered an explanation of Zambia’s economic rebound which was based on a willingness to work with the business community but not shy away from his Government’s obligations to its citizens.For so long, African politicians have attempted to perform the double-speak to reassure both voters and foreign investors they have their best interests at heart.For the voters, this means talk of extracting maximum value from their country’s natural resources and holding foreign companies to account. For the investors, it means pledges to ensure a stable, transparent and consistent business climate.The balance has rarely been achieved but the economic numbers underpinning Hichilema’s address back up his words. His presidency has seen Zambia’s GDP growth move from negative-2.8% to an expected plus-6% this year, while copper production is set to surpass 1 mtpa, having already arrested the slide which had taken place over the previous decade. Inflation is also being tackled and Zambia passed its recent IMF package review with flying Secure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!
PAGE 14 MARCH 2026 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRTINDABA REVIEWNamibia enjoys anexploration renaissanceNamibia experienced record exploration expenditure of $150 million in 2024 and the 2025 numbers are expected to show an increase as uranium prices continue to escalate and several promising gold and copper discoveries come to prominence on the world stage.Aiding this new exploration push is a more amenable regulatory environment. Namibia has been known as one of the most investor-friendly jurisdictions in Africa for more than two decades and while its mining sector has remained strong, exploration numbers fell drastically in the early part of the decade as the Government declared a moratorium on licences. With the moratorium now removed, explorers are flooding back into the country and Deputy Minister for Industries, Mines and Energy Gaudentia Krohne told a Mining Indaba audience her Government was working to ensure the country capitalised on the interest.“In Namibia, we realise the Government must enable investment, not complicate it,” Krohne said. “Our approach is underpinned by policy certainty and institutional credibility As the rest of the continent hopes the global push for new sources of gold, copper and uranium will bring explorers to their countries, the Southern African nation of Namibia sits comfortable in the knowledge that it boasts advanced, world-class deposits of all three metals. Secure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!
AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT MARCH 2026 PAGE 15The Eronga district in western Namibia is home to some of the world’s largest uranium depositsand transparent regulatory framework which protects investors and promotes responsible investment. We recognise investment success depends on efficient response of institutions.”The Government is banking on its new digital cadastral system to clear the backlog of exploration applications as it looks to deliver on the interest. Mining Commissioner Isabella Chirchir said the new system would speed up assessment and granting.“The ministry is implementing digital licensing reforms, which will allow us to process historical applications and improve coordination to cut processing time,” she said. The digital cadastre will combine with the reforms included in an updated Minerals Act.“Our Minerals Prospecting and Mining Act is over 30 years and it has regulated the industry very well,” Chirchir said. “But with the changing environment, we needed to revise our laws. We have a Minerals Bill in place, which will moderate processes without moderating existing rights.”If the new system is successful, foreign investors can expect to move rapidly in a country where new developments are sprouting up in several regions. Krohne pointed to the resurgence of the country’s gold and uranium sectors as evidence Namibia had recovered its confidence on the global stage.“Our ambitions are already being realised through investment ready projects,” she said. “B2Gold [Corp]’s Otjikoto gold mine continues to perform strongly and the Twin Hills mine [owned by Chinese group Shanjin International] is advancing as a third major gold mine for Namibia. These are real projects, delivering real outcome, and there is more.“The re-opening of Langer Heinrich signals the new confidence in the Namibian uranium sector and the Swakop uranium desalination plant, secures water for mining and communities.”Krohne’s last point reinforced another of Namibia’s distinct advantages. Where much of the continent suffers from an infrastructure gap, Namibia boasts world-class facilities, such as the Walvis Bay port near the uranium hub of Swakopmund. “Through the Walvis Bay corridor, Namibia opens up direct access to the Atlantic Ocean for countries such as Zambia, DRC, Zimbabwe and Botswana,” she said. “These logistics are an advantage and strengthens the opportunity for mineral beneficiation and industrialisation in the region.”The country also has among the best conditions for solar energy in the world with renewables a key pillar of the Government’s wider industrial strategy. “Sustainability remains central to Namabia’s mining future,” Krohne said. “We are strengthening environmental governance, promoting renewable energy in mining, investing in water security and empowering women in youth through skills development and enterprise participation. Sustainable mining must be inclusive mining.”Secure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!
PAGE 16 MARCH 2026 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRTNoronex Ltd has done just that, having tied up more than 10,000sq km along the Kalahari copper belt either side of the Namibian-Botswana border. The Kalahari belt is one of the most sought-after positions in the world of copper exploration. While it shares similarities to the prolific Central African copper belt to its north-east, the depth of sand cover throughout the district means exploration success has been fleeting. The only two discoveries to graduate to operating mines were both Australian finds. In the mid-2000s, Brisbane-based Discovery Metals found, defined and built the Boseto project which is now being operated as the Khomecau mine by MMG Ltd. A decade later, Mod Resources delineated the now Sandfire Resources Ltd-owned Motheo mine. MMG’s arrival, at the cost of $1 billion, intensified the spotlight on the belt.Noronex is not new to the district, having arrived on the Namibian portion in 2020. Its position has already attracted the attention of South32 Ltd, which struck a farm-in deal over the junior’s Humpback and Demara copper projects last year. However, progress has been at times slow going, the depth of sand cover in the eastern portion of its landholding making target generation slow and expensive, never a good combination for a junior explorer with obligations to keep the story moving forward. Experienced managing director Victor At a moment when the entire mining world is looking for new copper provinces,it seems incongruous that an ASX-listed junior can pick up more than 10,000sq kmof tenure on what is regarded as the world’s most underexplored copper belt. INDABA REVIEWNoronex and South32prepare widerNamibian pictureSecure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!
AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT MARCH 2026 PAGE 17Rajasooriar arrived at the company in January to reinvigorate its approach, both in the district and the boardroom. For Rajasooriar, the attraction was plain to see. “When I looked at Noronex, it really appeared a blank canvas because the company has one of the largest landholdings in what is such an underexplored area,” Rajasooriar told Paydirt. “I’m a mining engineer, not a geologist, so I will always ask the advice of experienced geologists. They all said the same thing – it is underexplored and if you take the pragmatic, disciplined approach and do the work properly, you have the opportunity to find a companymaking deposit.”The lack of historical work is an advantage.“There has only been very sparse historical work, commodity prices and the amount of cover has put previous explorers off,” Rajasooriar said. Copper exploration in 2026 is very different however, with the spot price surging to record levels and miners of all persuasions seeking out prospects in the red metal.The presence of South32 in a large chunk of the portfolio is further confirmation of the potential in Noronex’s ground. The mid-tier miner is spending $15 million over five years to earn 60% of the Humpback, Damara and Cgae Cgae projects, the latter on the Botswana side of the border. “South32’s interest shows we have the right mix to find a Tier-1 deposit,” Rajasooriar said. “Not only do they bring the firepower of a multibillion-dollar company, but they bring a lot of technical expertise and input we can rely on.”The first year of the farm-in saw the JV spend $3 million on RC and diamond drilling at the Humpback project with the target of identifying structural settings similar to Sandfire’s Motheo project in Botswana. “We are chasing those same domal structures as identified around Motheo,” Rajasooriar explained. “The main target is the D’Kar-NPF contact where so much of the mineralisation on the Botswana side of the belt has been identified.”When Paydirt visited the project in February, drilling was about to wrap on a 7,000m RC programme at the Powerline project, part of the wider Humpback ground. Holes to date have returned 4m @ 0.58% copper and 69 g/t silver from 203m and 3m @ 0.29% copper and 48 g/t silver from 211m from the Qembo prospect and 7m @ 0.25 copper and 25 g/t silver from 152m and 9m @ 0.24% copper and 29 g/t silver from 226m. “The drilling is further confirming and strengthening confidence in the geological model around that targeted D’Kar-NPF contact,” Rajasooriar said. “So, even though the hits to date have been relatively low grade, every hole is hitting copper, which tells us there is a lot of copper in the system.”With the drilling programme anticipated to be completed by the end of February, Rajasooriar and newly installed chief geologist Anthony Chisnall are preparing to take time After completing RC and diamond drilling in 2025, Noronex plans to gather its thoughts and plan geophysical campaigns before returning to drillingSecure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!
PAGE 18 MARCH 2026 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRTQUEENSLAND SPOTLIGHTAIC gears up forexpanded EloiseNow with 10 straight quarters of consistent production under its belt, AIC Mines Ltd is rallying for the most pivotal year in its short history.AIC capped 2025 with a new company record for quarterly mine production from its Eloise copper-gold operation, about 60km south-east of Cloncurry, despite an extreme weather event in the region adversely impacting mill throughput across the final weeks of the December period.Delivering operational consistency quarter-upon-quarter has been the cornerstone of AIC’s focus since acquiring Eloise in late 2021, but especially after taking ownership of the nearby Jericho deposit at the end of the following year.Last month the company confirmed it had reached Jericho via a 2,400m underground access drive from the Eloise mine, a major milestone in AIC’s bid to grow its copper production beyond 20,000 tpa. Stoping and development ore is expected to begin in earnest from June.The expansion strategy also includes increasing the processing capacity at Eloise from 725,000 tpa to 1.1 mtpa, with commissioning of the larger plant scheduled for the upcoming December quarter.AIC managing director Aaron Colleran said the company was ready to deliver on a growth plan essentially cultivated when it accepted the keys to Eloise and instantly became a production business.“We have been planning and anticipating this moment for quite some time,” he told Paydirt.“We’re developing the Jericho lode now and structural construction [of the expanded process plant] is effectively kicking off now. 2026 is really going to be a big year for us.“We thought 2025 was a big year – and it was a big year for us – but I’m sure at the end of 2026 we’ll look back and say, ‘oh, 2025 was nothing’.”Jericho mineralisation (specifically the J1 lens) was intersected ahead of schedule with AIC quick to confirm the geological continuity, mineralisation style, hanging wall competence and ground conditions were consistent with its modelling.AIC elected to access Jericho via the Eloise underground instead of completing a traditional surface box-cut and decline given the potential to unearth and rapidly develop future discoveries at the northern end of the deposit. This decision was validated in December 2024 with the discovery of the Jolly shoot, barely six months after starting development of the Jericho access drive.Colleran heaped praise on the company’s operations unit for early arrival at the J1 lens.“It’s 100% the team we have behind us, we have a very committed team here at AIC,” he said.“We’ve now had 10 consecutive quarters of achieving guidance and effectively intersected the Jericho underground early.“That doesn’t happen without having to deal with a few issues along the way. We planned well and we reacted well. You won’t have seen them, but there were some bumps on that path, but the team on site responded quickly and appropriately to get us there ahead of time.”One of the bumps that AIC recently had to negotiate was 571mm of rainfall on site during the month of December, including 357.4mm over a 48-hour period, just shy of the threshold for a 1-in-500-year rainfall Expansion activities are ramping up across the Eloise operation near Cloncurry as AIC seeks to increase production beyond 20,000 tpa copperSecure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!
AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT MARCH 2026 PAGE 19event.Despite mining a company record 189,000t of ore during the quarter, AIC was only able to process small volumes as the December period drew to a close, with some 27,000t containing about 450t of copper left on the ROM pad.Colleran reiterated the setback was only short term with surplus ore processed once the wet weather cleared in January.“We ended up with a lot more ore on the ROM pad at the end of December quarter than is ordinary for us, but we’re not blaming the wet season because there’s a wet season every year and we just have to deal with it,” he said.“The good part for us, in a way, is that our mine only has a portal at surface, so mining is typically not impacted by the wet season, but obviously those impacts start to multiply as you hit surface. Therefore, getting wet ore through screens is always going to be problematic and slow you down – simply put, that’s what impacted us in the month of December.“It’s not a long-term problem, it’s just a short-term cashflow issue. The silver lining – or maybe we should be calling it a ‘copper lining’ given prices – was we were better off selling concentrate in January than we were in December.”According to AIC, its concentrate stockpile at the end of the quarter carried a notional value of circa $8.7 million, based on the December 31 spot copper price of $18,682/t. Eloise concentrate continues to be sold under a life-of-mine offtake agreement to Trafigura Pte Ltd and includes “significant” gold and silver by-product credits.Structural and mechanical construction of the expanded process plant began last month under the watch of experienced EPC contractor GR Engineering Services Ltd, with detailed engineering design more than 70% complete at the time of print. Initial engineering design work has also started on the proposed Stage 2 plant expansion to 1.5 mtpa.Colleran said the company could not have embarked on this growth journey if the existing operations at Eloise were producing inconsistent results. First-half production was in line with FY26 guidance of 12,800-13,200t copper and 6,000-6,500oz gold-in-concentrate at an AISC of $4.85-5.25/lb copper sold.“Delivering on promise quarter-on-quarter now for 10 quarters in a row, as every miner knows that’s not easy, especially with a deep underground mine,” Colleran said.“You’re literally facing unknowns almost every day, but we’ve got a good handle on the orebody and we’ve now got enough development in place that we’re able to deal with whatever Mother Nature and our geology throws at us.”Extreme weather events in North Queensland over recent years have curtailed operations such as 29Metals Ltd’s Capricorn copper mine. Fortunately for that company, it has other operating assets in its portfolio to ensure revenue continues to flow during periods of suspension.Colleran is well aware of the benefits of a multi-mine portfolio, having been an integral player in the origin story of leading gold producer Evolution Mining Ltd, where he oversaw the acquisitions and divestments of several assets prior to joining AIC in 2018.M&A is still very much on the company’s agenda, but Colleran continues to be conscious of not jumping at the first acquisitive opportunity which lands on his desk, even if it means AIC remains a single-asset operator for now.“Single-asset company is not optimum,” he said. “A company really needs a portfolio of 3-5 mines from which you can build an overhead support – not an overhead cost – into the group and be able to afford that inhouse support. It can also weather issues as they may arise at an operation.“Investors definitely want to see a comCommissioning of the expanded Eloise plant is scheduled for the end of this yearAIC reached mineralisation at the Jericho copper deposit last monthSecure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!
PAGE 20 MARCH 2026 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRTQUEENSLAND SPOTLIGHTPacgold seeks to stand outside the packThe past 18 months have seen Pacgold Ltd raise more than $20 million with the sole objective of expanding its Alice River gold project in Queensland.Alice River has underpinned the growth of the company since its inception being a regional sized target, with more than 30km of strike mineralisation. Pacgold has capitalised on the potential of Alice River, drilling 30,000m since October 2024 and, with 377sq km of tenements, the company understands it is one of just a handful of land packages in Australia which holds the potential for a very large gold discovery. In the past six months, Pacgold has significantly advanced its understanding of the Alice River system through integrated exploration and drilling programmes testing highpriority targets identified through geophysics and surface geochemistry. Work has also focused on known mineralised zones and previously untested areas beneath shallow cover, reflecting a shift away from purely outcrop-driven exploration toward deeper, data-led targeting.Pacgold has also continued to refine its geological model for Alice River, incorporating historical data with new results to better define the scale and orientation of mineralised structures. The current exploration strategy is aimed at expanding known mineralisation and identifying parallel systems to increase the project’s overall footprint.Pacgold has already proven up a 26.7mt @ 1.01 g/t gold for 854,000oz resource and is expected to resume drilling in April once the wet season is over. Up to $4 million has been ring-fenced for exploration at Alice River, while about $2 million will be allocated towards the St George project, located just down the road, out of Mt Carmine. The St George project recently produced standout antimony results including 1m @ 12.8% from 41m and 3m @ 1.6% from 67m. Pacgold managing director Matthew Boyes told Paydirt that North Queensland was “a great place to be” as it was relatively underexplored.“It certainly hasn’t seen the same amount of exploration activity as you get in Western Australia by a long stretch,” Boyes said. “I think there’s huge potential for both a new antimony gold province and also a major discovery at Alice River.“Alice River was a mine, it’s produced ounces in its past, it was an existing asset, we’ll be plugging away at that while we’re producing gold down at White Dam in South Australia.”Newly acquired, White Dam gives Pacgold selfsufficiency and although the market is well placed for raising equity, Boyes said the company was keen to set itself apart from the path taken by others. “Pacgold needs to be able to produce gold, be able to be self-sufficient, get out of the pack and be able to put those funds towards advancing all of its exploration assets, not just Alice River and St George but also in SA,” he said. “Our backbone, or what forms our company, is our ability to discover gold and I think that’s why Queensland is going to be key to that.“We’ve got 900sq km at St George and just under 400sq km up at Alice River, so really big land positions. There’s been a lot of work p u t i n t o those assets, especially in the last four years, we’ve got a very good understanding of the controls in mineralisation up there.“I think 2026 is going to be integral to developing that into an asset that then is going to look like it’s going to be heading down the road to being a mine.”Pacgold plans to establish a 2 moz resource before considering advancing the asset further given it will require links to infrastructure, however there are opportunities to establish synergies with other targets within the tenements.The flourish of antimony at St George is another feather in Pacgold’s portfolio and Boyes is keen to ride the market momentum regardless of its longevity.“The antimony space is very interesting – I’m not sure whether it’s a long-term cycle or whether we’re just going to see a small bubble in it,” he said. “But certainly, it’s a metal which is getting a lot of interest, especially in the solar panel and munition space.“It’s obviously a metal which is in shortage now, like all these small volume commodities it’s hard to understand exactly what the real supply/demand kinetics are on them. But I think it’s definitely a space we could The Alice River project continues to underpin Pacgold’s growth aspirationsMatthew BoyesSecure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!
AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT MARCH 2026 PAGE 21Lindo KhuzwoyoSUSTAINABILITYSustainability will undeniably sit at the heart of any mining project in development, especially in the African context, but industry has been challenged to ensure those standards remain authentic.During the closing panel discussion at this year’s Mining Indaba in Cape Town, young professionals from across the African continent were unanimous in their views the application of sustainability standards was non-negotiable.Anglo American plc sustainability principal Lindo Khuzwoyo went one step further and challenged her peers in the resources sector to find ways to better demonstrate more robust compliance to those standards.“I don’t see it as a ‘should we or should we not?’ because I think we already are [collectively committed to sustainability as an industry],” she said.“I think the mining industry is already far ahead of the curve in terms of applying sustainability standards, etc, and we haven’t had the luxury to not do so. The question is then about whether we’re doing so authentically or not, I think that’s what it boils down to. “There’s an economic consideration, and obviously the thoughts are the bottom line is what matters… but what you’ll find from large investment companies like the Blackrocks, the Norwegian sovereign fund, etc, they want the companies they invest in to be sound, sustainability wise. They want ESG compliance, they want it to be authentic, and they will disinvest in the event they’re not seeing impact.”Mining Indaba ambassador and seasoned sustainability expert Kirsten Hund also challenged the notion ESG practices were no longer a high priority for companies and investors alike despite conversations around sustainability seemingly relegated to the backrooms.“I think gone are the days where we all had environmental, social, governance departments that all did their individual projects,” she said. “These days, it’s a lot more about how we really integrate sustainability into our businesses.“If the communities that we collaborate with are unhappy with the mine, that has direct impact on the business. I’ve worked for De Beers and if the community blocked the road, the mine would not have been able to operate. So, it comes back to making that direct connection between sustainability and the need to be sustainable and how that impacts business continuity.“In the end, if we can build these integrated strategies, which are not about ‘let’s finance a school here’ or ‘put in a soccer field there’ and ‘protect those species over there’, if we can take that integrated approach, it will be better for everybody.”Khuzwoyo said sustainability was sometimes about recognising that investors and customers can be one in the same.African Legal Support legal counsel Mohamed Stevens said the potential formalisation of small-scale and artisanal mining communities around established operations could be one way to showcase the sec - to r ’s broader commitment to sustainability.“When you look at mining operations, the local communities are the most impacted,” he said.“Mining companies come in with expats the vast majority of time and the level of employment from the mining sector isn’t that much. Directly, it’s estimated about one million people are involved with commercial mining, the service sector that takes it to tens of million. But for artisanal, small-scale mining, it’s estimated there’s over 45 million people that are actually involved… but the lack of formalisation results in activities being done in precarious HSC conditions, which results in conflict, both social and legal. “Look at Ghana, for instance, last year artisanal and small-scale miners produced more gold than large-scale miners, so that just tells you the amount of minerals that can be unlocked just by having this integration. “It is important when we’re talking about sustainability in the mining sector that we’re also thinking about how we can make the most of the minerals that are already being produced, how we can ensure that we have the local communities and that social licence to operate. “It is key to have those local communiMining must be its authentic selfKirsten HundSecure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!
URANIUM FOCUSPAGE 22 MARCH 2026 AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRTFor uranium veteran Scott Melbye, chief executive of both Uranium Energy Corp and Uranium Royalty Corp, there has never been a better time to be involved in the industry.“I’ve had the real pleasure of being in the nuclear energy industry and uranium since the early 1980s, that’s 42 years in this industry, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a combination of geopolitics and mega-trends of supply and demand driving a thesis like we see in uranium today,” Melbye said during a dedicated uranium panel session at last month’s Mining Indaba in Cape Town.“Our industry had to go through a 12-year bear market [since 2011] but it’s actually set the stage for the supply and demand discussion we’re having today. Because something incredible has happened and it’s the green energy transition. The climate change community and the carbon reduction community have realised we can’t get there by wind and solar alone.“A big shift of the political left has suddenly stopped opposing nuclear and become a really supportive proponent of nuclear energy as part of a lower carbon future.”The World Nuclear Association recently collated national government targets and goals for nuclear capacity out to 2050, assessing them alongside plans for continued and extended operation of existing reactors, including completion of those under construction. It concluded that global generating capacity could reach 1,446GW by 2050 if governments hit their targets for new nuclear, far exceeding the 1,200GW goal set in the earlier Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy report.Currently, there are 440 nuclear power reactors with a combined capacity of almost 397GW operating across 31 countries. At least 70 power reactors under construction are expected to add another 77GW.The goal of at least tripling global nuclear capacity by 2050 has been endorsed by almost three dozen governments since the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in December 2023, marking the start of the first major uptick in uranium spot prices post Fukushima.Uranium feedstock for the proposed global pipeline of nuclear reactors remains at a premium, however. As Melbye pointed out, most of the “low-hanging fruit” in the sector has already been picked.“We went through a 12-year bear market, so there was very little investment in exploration, very little investment in mine development, so the low-hanging fruit in our industry is quite limited,” he said.“The Langer Heinrich mine in Namibia, that was a restart of an existing mine that was shut. The Honeymoon mine in South Australia, was also a restart. The same for a number of mines in Texas and Wyoming in the US. The low-hanging fruit is gone and now we need greenfield mine developments.“If you think the barrier to entry is difficult for mining in general, add another layer for uranium mine developments in terms of regulatory, licensing and permitting, and you have a real situation now where we have a supply squeeze which is not going to be satisfied overnight.“If we had $US200/lb uranium in the spot market tomorrow, there would be no additional mines coming on as a result of that. We’d still have to go through the normal progression. “Now I’m not implying that nuclear power plants are going to go without fuel – they will [access it] – but we’re going to see a period of very volatile uranium prices, which is probably what the industry needs. Capitalism works, it will drive investment into uranium mines and we’ll have a build out and eventually, years from now, it will result in oversupply, but we’re so far from that in uranium today. The runway of this bull market is going to be quite long and sustained until we get that amount of mine development under way.”The 440 active nuclear reactors globally currently consume an estimated 200 mlbpa of uranium, meaning an existing “If we had $US200/lb uranium in the spot market tomorrow, there would be no additional mines coming on as a result of that. We’d still have to go through the normal progression. Loyiso Tyabashe Scott MelbyeSecure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!
AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT MARCH 2026 PAGE 23Etango neighbourbecomes good friendBannerman Energy Ltd has found a development partner for the Etango uranium project in Namibia in China’s largest nuclear utility CNNC (China National Nuclear Company).State-owned CNNC – majority owner and operator of the Rossing uranium mine 30km to the north-east of Etango – last month committed a $US321.5 million strategic investment through subsidiary CNOL (CNNC Overseas Ltd) for a 45% stake in the project. The Etango JV vehicle, Bannerman Energy (UK) Ltd, has a 95% interest in the project with 5% held by Namibian social welfare organisation, One Economy Foundation.Bannerman executive chairman Brandon Munro told Paydirtthe transaction was “absolutely” a cause for celebration, especially as it shields shareholders from equity dilution without the unfavourable terms seen in many offtake-based debt financing arrangements. Bannerman retained unhindered marketing and sale rights over 40% of Etango production on behalf of the JV, a move Munro said would help the partnership “own customer relationships, build a history of reliable delivery and geographically diversify”.“We didn’t have any concerns about our product not being in demand, Namibia is able to sell uranium to any jurisdiction on the planet,” Munro said.“What is particularly attractive [about the CNNC deal] is what the demand on their part represents, in the way that CNNC would partner with us on the project. “What it represents is a very long term, sustainable vision to ensure the mine operates properly and this creates a real contrast with the alternative of financing with debt. The primary objective of a debt provider is to get money out, CNNC’s primary objective is to get uranium out over the long term.“Most importantly, in any other debt scenario, we would have to commit a large proportion of our product to fixed price or under price ceilings. With this transaction, we’ve been able to ensure the offtake pricing is market related at the time of delivery.”Munro said the potential synergies between the two companies, as well as a hefty value proposition for Bannerman, became clear during CNNC’s thorough due diligence.“We’re getting value through their investment t o the JV because it gives us the construction funding we need but we’re also getting a huge amount of value from the offtake – it is a win for both partners,” Munro said. “What we learned through negotiating this JV was because we are such different companies, there was a lot of value that could be created for both partners and the JV itself.”The remaining 60% of Etango production was secured by CNOL at “arm’s length, market-based pricing terms”. Munro said the uranium benchmarks of two well-established agencies – TradeTech and UxC (Uranium Exchange Company, used by companies such as Canadian uranium giant Cameco Corp) would help determine the value of Etango’s CNNC destined offtake.“The price will be a combination of the prevailing spot price and the long-term price at the time of the relevant delivery,” he said.Munro believed CNNC’s interest in Etango became a distinct possibility following its acquisition of Rio Tinto Ltd’s share of Rossing in 2019. Since then, CNNC had not put a foot wrong, he said.“Frankly, we’ve liked everything we’ve seen at Rossing since CNNC entered Namibia. Their governance is strong and appropriate, they doubled down on Rio’s generous community contributions via the Rossing Foundation and they allowed the mine’s Namibian management to get on the job with minimal interference,” Munro said.“They also provided price support via a pricing agreement in 2019 to underwrite Rossing’s near-term financial viability when prices were low.“Not only is the partnership a really good deal for Bannerman but we couldn’t want a better partner for what we want to do in Namibia and also for our broader aspirations. “As the largest Chinese state-owned integrated nuclear enterprise, CNNC has extensive experience operatBannerman executive chairman Brandon Munro and Scott MelbyeSecure your Paydirt subscription and view the magazine in full every monthSubscribe to read this article.Sign up today!