Ashleigh Collins

Santana Minerals Ltd just dropped its updated PFS and it might be a good bit better than the headline numbers suggest. Headline numbers are: After-tax NPV: A$1.5B at today’s gold price. Capex: A$277M. Payback: <1.7 years. Market cap: A$440M (after a 20x move since 2022). All looks great, and the real results may be even better because of conservative assumptions and speed. The PFS is based on A$3,500/oz gold. That’s about US$2,300/oz. If the price holds or grinds higher, the NPV could grow fast. The timeline is another bright spot. First pour could be about 18 months out if the schedule sticks, putting early production in 2027. The jurisdiction helps. If it proceeds, this would move from discovery to production in the same decade. That would be a clear signal New Zealand is open for modern mining again, building on its long mining history. Bottom line, this is a strong study, with conservative inputs, and a clear path to cash flow. If permits, financing, and execution land on this schedule, and if gold stays firm, this could be one of the fastest discovery-to-cash-flow stories in the sector. Big step for everyone at Santana Minerals too.

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MT has teamed up with Nagrom the Mineral Processor metallurgical laboratories in Perth to bring specialist metallurgical testwork capability to the WA market. This builds on decades of expertise from both companies and, importantly, utilises MT’s Carrara, Queensland, met lab mineral sands and iron ore beneficiation experience, which is now deployed in WA through this arrangement. Nagrom’s practical, solution-driven approach, combined with MT’s deep technical know-how, delivers an unmatched service offering to WA iron ore, mineral sands, and other mineral customers. Key capabilities will include: ✔  Full range of spiral testwork ✔  WHIMS testwork ✔  Heavy Liquid Separation ✔  Dense Media Separation testing at scale (coming soon) The new facility will be overseen by Gareth Hobbs, part of our MT Perth team, who brings extensive experience running metallurgical labs in South Africa and DMS operations. I recently visited the site with Rain Lewis, right next to Nagrom’s existing test lab, where the new facility is taking shape. We’re on track for a mid-October launch. Importantly, the nature of this team-up is that customers can still choose to work independently with either party for full flexibility. More updates coming soon.

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Mining engineers nudge out lawyers and CEOs in earnings list According to data released by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), the nation’s more than 10,000 mining engineers rank among Australia’s top ten highest-earning occupations by average taxable income. Mining engineers come in at seventh, with an average income of $206,423 – just edging out legal professionals by $15 and earning more than the average chief executive officer or managing director ($194,987). https://lnkd.in/drkXG7Mi

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Graphite: The Unsung Hero of the Battery and Electronics Boom -There are two main categories of natural graphite: amorphous and flake -In batteries where they are both purified into coated spherical graphite, which are referred to as synthetic and natural -Global lithium-ion battery demand is growing at 12–20% CAGR, and that’s good news for both graphite markets: 3–4× growth in total graphite demand 6–8× potential growth for natural graphite if its share in anodes doubles -With ~40% of current natural graphite output (~700,000 tonnes/year) already going into batteries, and additional demand from natural large flake graphite in electronics and high-performance applications, the future for mined graphite looks bright — even if synthetic dominates battery anodes. Harry Minnis, CAChristopher ChicoChristopher Ecclestone

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