I'm Super, thanks for asking. Pic: Getty Images
Mining
Diggers and Dealers is upon us and Stockhead will be making the rounds in Kalgoorlie from Monday, August 5 to Wednesday August 7.
The operators of the Goldfields gabfest expect another strong showing with 2600 delegates expected over the three days, though murmurs of lighter investor interest in the face of weaker commodity sentiment and cost-of-living pressures (as well as Kalgoorlie-Boulder rental prices) have certainly done the rounds.
The big difference since last year has been the slide in battery metals prices, with nickel prices around 25% lower and spodumene lithium concentrate some 74% down from US$3450/t at last year’s event to US$910/t this year.
But at US$2465/oz (AUD$3780/oz) gold has pretty never been higher, bringing the precious metal back to the centre of attention at the mining festival held on the precipice of the Super Pit, just kilometres from where Paddy Hannan, Dan Shea and Tom Flanagan sparked Australia’s largest and most enduring gold rush with the discovery of the Golden Mile in 1893.
“With the gold price around A$3,700/oz and the event being held in the gold mining capital of Australia, I expect a very large focus of the event will be on gold companies and potential corporate activity in this sector,” a Diggers and Dealers’ Suzanne Christie said in emailed responses to Monsters of Rock.
“After a number of strong years in the junior exploration space, the lithium and nickel markets have forced a slowdown in spending.
“With the strong gold price and global interest in more niche, rare earth commodities I am hopeful that the junior exploration sector will remain strong albeit in different commodities to more recent times.”
Former Federal Opposition Leader and WA Governor Kim Beazley will be the keynote speaker on Monday morn, following his old sparring partner John Howard who presented a few years ago.
Here are some stories we’ll be watching, with presentation times for you to follow along via stream.
Whoever scheduled this deserves a raise.
Arguably the biggest talking point for analysts heading into Diggers and Dealers is whether Simon Lawson’s Spartan Resources, owner of the immense and high-grade 1.5Moz Never Never discovery, will draw a premium bid from a resource hungry mid-tier.
Ramelius seems most likely, having kicked off a cat and mouse game by spending $180 million on ~18% of the Dalgaranga gold project owner.
They’re one after another at 9am and 9.20am on Wednesday morning, meaning RMS boss Mark Zeptner and Lawson will be rubbing shoulders on the Goldfields Arts Centre stage, a situation juicier than the steak at the gala dinner to follow.
The meeting rooms of the GAC will be closely watched for signs of a pow-wow between the Mt Magnet mining bosses and their corporate advisers in the days leading up to their talks, as will the myriad hotels and public houses of the gold rush capital.
With both landing shots in the media in recent days – Lawson suggested $1.35bn SPR may be too expensive for its suitors while Zeptner said ‘it’s a nice to have’ rather than a ‘need to have’ for RMS – what takes place in the shadows leading up to the event could tell how big the fireworks may be.
Get your popcorn sort of stuff that.
Speaking of gold M&A, the next-most-watched story in the space after Spartan is probably Newmont’s process to sell its Telfer mine and majority stake in the Havieron discovery.
No Newmont Corporation (ASX:NEM) this year – the company it took over, Newcrest, used to be a regular attendee, albeit leaving the talking up to one of its geos.
But London-listed Greatland Gold, backed by Andrew Forrest’s Wyloo Metals, is back again, with Telfer sure to be high on the agenda for media and investors in attendance.
The status of a previously flagged but undelivered ASX listing could also be something to look out for.
It’s on a few hours after Antipa Minerals, the explorer led by former LionOre executives including MD Roger Mason, whose 1.8Moz Minyari Dome project nearby could be captured in any broader Paterson province regional consolidation.
Speaking of gold M&A – god we’re obsessed – two of the leading candidates to make a play at De Grey Mining (ASX:DEG) and its 10.5Moz Hemi discovery are flanking De Grey boss Glenn Jardine on Tuesday
Johannesburg-headquartered Gold Fields has its new CEO Michael Fraser in town, the owner of the St Ives, Agnew and Gruyere gold mine touted as one party with a horse in the DEG race.
Another, strongly rumoured contender, is Agnico Eagle. The third-largest gold miner in the world and owner of the rich Fosterville operation in Victoria talks in the next session after Jardine, Gold Fields, which has a massive presence in the Goldfields, is before.
That said, DEG has long spoken about bringing Hemi into production on its own. The Pilbara mine could be one of the largest in Australia from 2026 at 530,000ozpa over its first 10 years, but it carries a capex of around $1.3bn, raising the question of whether a company level takeover of JV with an existing mining giant a la Gold Road Resources (ASX:GOR) will be more beneficial for shareholders.
It has shown the capacity to go it alone, at least from a financial standpoint. De Grey recently raised $600m in equity and received approved credit term sheets for ~$1.1bn in bank and government debt.
Among the other international players on the bill is an interesting name in K92 Mining, a C$1.8bn PNG gold miner with Aussie links and a very Aussie ticker code which thinks it can turn its Kainantu mine into a Tier-1 operation by 2026 through a staged expansion from ~120,000ozpa to 470,000ozpa at costs of under US$450/oz once by-product credits are calculated.
Two of the bookies favourites if most-watched small cap was an award (it’s not), WA1 and Encounter are rolling into town to tell the story of the new niobium province in the West Arunta region.
$980 million capped WA1 is up 171% over the past year and over 6000% since its 2022 listing, after outlining the largest niobium discovery in 70 years at its Luni carbonatite on WA’s border with the NT.
The explorer whose had the most joy following WA1’s success – Luni boasts 200Mt at 1% Nb2O5 – is Will Robinson’s journeyman explorer Encounter, which recently saw Chalice Mining (ASX:CHN) take a 6% stake in a hint the industry is watching the West Arunta story very closely indeed.
At one point, during the glowing metal’s worst days six or seven years ago, not one yellowcake stock was on the card at Diggers.
This year Boss Energy (ASX:BOE), Paladin Energy (ASX:PDN), Peninsula Energy (ASX:PEN) and Deep Yellow (ASX:DYL) are all presenting, with production updates from Boss and Paladin to be watched closely.
We know the miners are enthusiastic about the market, but what about performance … and maybe Boss chief Duncan Craib can explain its aborted Jabiluka bid in more detail.
It goes without saying a few big dawgs are on the bill who’ll be of high interest.
Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) MD Dale Henderson nabs the 1.50pm slot on Tuesday. The lithium miner’s market insights will be chewed up by depressed battery metals bagholders. As should IGO (ASX:IGO) boss Ivan Vella at 3.30pm on Monday.
For the smaller lithium mid-tiers 2023 hero Wildcat Resources (ASX:WC8) is on at 4.10pm on Monday while Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR) boss Tony Ottaviano will be coming for your breakfast on Tuesday morning at 8.30am, just days after producing the first spodumene concentrate at its Kathleen Valley mine near Leinster in WA’s northern Goldfields.
Patriot Battery Metals’ (ASX:PMT) Ken Brinsden returns to his old stomping ground for the first time as the Canadian lithium explorer’s CEO. The outspoken industry figurehead is must watch TV.
Amanda Lacaze, the charismatic MD of the biggest rare earths gun in the West Lynas (ASX:LYC) (Monday 11.35am) is also box office, as is Evolution Mining (ASX:EVN) chair Jake Klein (Tuesday 8.50am), whose bullish gold projections may finally come true this year (he’s kinda copper too now though).
Lacaze is one of three women on the bill, though to Diggers and the industry’s credit only one male name – Paul – has more speakers.
Rowena Smith from NSW-cum-Korea focused mineral sands and rare earths play Australian Strategic Materials (ASX:ASM) presents Wednesday at 9.35am, while Fortescue (ASX:FMG) have group manager of corporate development Kristen Pelc on deck with the thankless task of facing the investing public just weeks after her boss Andrew Forrest announced 700 job cuts and a sell down by insto Capital Group shave 10% of the iron ore giant’s share price. A presser seems unlikely after that one, but we hold out hope.
On the bourse today a stinker from the commodities complex and a dour mood around China’s economic growth send the materials sector 1.5% lower. Westgold Resources (ASX:WGX) was a rare mid-cap standout after sealing its $2bn merger with TSX-listed Beta Hunt gold mine owner Karora Resources.
Uranium stocks were pulverised though after Kazakhstan’s Kazatomprom surprised by raising guidance to between 22,500 and 23,500t of uranium in 2024, up from the previous guidance of 21,000-22,500t. The extra production will be used to boost inventories for the market’s largest producer.
Westgold Resources (ASX:WGX) (gold) +6%
Resolute Mining (ASX:RSG) (gold) +1.5%
Newmont Corporation (ASX:NEM) (gold) +1.5%
Capricorn Metals (ASX:CMM) (gold) 1.5%
Deep Yellow (ASX:DYL) (uranium) -19.2%
Boss Energy (ASX:BOE) (uranium) -12.9%
Paladin Energy (ASX:PDN) (uranium) -10.8%
Silex Systems (ASX:SLX) (uranium) -8.5%
At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Spartan Resources and Antipa Minerals were Stockhead advertisers at the time of writing, they did not sponsor this article.
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