MiFID II exempt information – see disclaimer below

 

80 Mile Plc* (80M LN)  – Employee benefit scheme designed to retain and focus staff as drilling starts at Disko and for new budget at Jameson oil & gas

Aldebaran Resources (ALDE CN) – Infill drilling support MRE update due 3Q26

Asara Resources (AS1 AU) – Focus on expanding and upgrading 923koz MRE at Kada

Aterian plc* (ATN LN)  – Aterian converts £80,000 of CLN

Critical Metals (CRML US) – Tanbreez offtake agreement

 

Copper ($13,648/t) resumes move higher as Codelco overstates production data

  • Copper prices have edged higher following a sharp sell-off to near record highs.
  • Bloomberg reports Codelco has fired an executive after internal audits overstated 2025 output.
  • The 27kt correction implies 2025 production fell to its lowest level since 1998.
  • Copper supply has been plagued by consistent output constraints from Chile and Peru in recent years, offset slightly by major growth in the DRC.
  • Major porphyry deposits in the Andes are struggling to ramp up output given grade decline and spiralling capital intensities.
  • Whilst production is being increased from novel technologies for sulphide leaching, deficit concerns over the longer term persist.
  • Grasberg suffered a major disruption last year and continues to operate at 60% of nameplate, with a full return to production delayed by another year in recent results.
  • Demand growth is coming from AI data centres and associated infrastructure, whilst China is rolling out major capital programmes to upgrade their grid infrastructure.

 

Gold ($4,521/oz) holds higher ground as peace negotiations continue into the weekend

  • Gold prices have recovered partially from the recent sell-off, holding over $4,500/oz.
  • The metal fell from $4,800/oz as peace talks broke down between the US and Iran.
  • Negotiations are expected to stretch into the weekend, although there seems to be limited progress on key issues such as Iran’s nuclear programme.
  • US Treasury yields have held c.4.6% for the 10 year, pressuring precious metals as investors look to higher yielding safe havens.
  • The dollar moved higher alongside yields, also weighing on the wider metals spectrum.
  • We consider the longer term implications of the conflict as directionally bullish for gold, with the breakdown of the ‘Petrodollar’ status quo a key potential tailwind for gold prices, with Gulf states potentially diversifying their foreign reserves away from Treasuries towards other liquid assets.
  • However, pressure to emerging market currencies such as Indonesia, India and Turkey, driven by higher energy costs, has seen gold sales to shore up domestic currencies.
  • Volatility is expected over the short term, with gold poised to move higher should a more concrete peace deal be reached in the Middle East.

 

Ebola - Uganda urges US and others to reverse cuts to global health funding

  • The nation is currently working to contain Ebola cases from the DRC where infections are linked to local customs.
  • The Bundibugyo strain of Ebola has killed ~140 people with no vaccine developed.

 

Dow Jones Industrials +0.55%at50,285
Nikkei 225 +2.74%at63,375
HK Hang Seng +0.92%at25,612
Shanghai Composite +0.87%at4,113
US 10 Year Yield (bp change) -3.0at4.575

 

Currencies

US$1.1608/eur vs 1.1601/eur previous. Yen 159.12/$ vs 159.02/$. SAr 16.495/$ vs 16.546/$. $1.343/gbp vs $1.342/gbp. 0.713/aud vs 0.711/aud

CNY 6.795/$ vs 6.803/$. Dollar Index 99.29 vs 99.35 previous

 

Economics

Walmart, the world’s largest retailer by revenue, flagged inflationary risks reporting its quarterly earnings.

  • "If the current elevated cost environment persists, we'd expect somewhat higher retail price inflation in Q2 and the second half of the year," Walmart CEO John David Rainey said.
  • An increase in fuel and fertilizer costs in particular are expected to drive cost of food higher.
  • Walmart reiterated its annual sales target which was considered conservative with share pulling back more than 4% post the announcement.

 

Germany – Business sentiment unexpectedly climbed in May, albeit, only marginally

  • An improvement follows drops in March and April.
  • Ifo Current Index climbed to 86.1, from 85.4.
  • If Expectations Index was up at 83.5, from 83.8.

 

US and Iran remain far apart in discussions on critical issues including nuclear enrichment and control over the Strait of Hormuz

  • Earlier, new Supreme Leader issued a directive that Tehran should keep its near-weapons grade uranium and not send it abroad as part of the deal.
  • US said that it will not allow Iran to have its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
  • "We will get it. We don't need it, we don't want it. We'll probably destroy it after we get it, but we're not going to let them have it," Trump said on Thursday.
  • Another point of disagreement is Iran’s plans to impose a tall system in the strait.

Negotiations to end war in Iran and Lebanon taking shape

  • Iran’s conditions include an end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, the release of frozen Iranian assets, and an end to the naval blockade on Iranian ports.
  • The American offer includes:
    • ending the war on all fronts,
    • removing the American blockade on the Strait of Hormuz,
    • granting Iran management of the Strait including payment terms and maritime routes,
    • releasing approximately $25bn in frozen Iranian funds.
  • In return, Iran will hand over 400kg of uranium and close its nuclear facilities except for the Tehran medical reactor.
  • All stages could be completed within 30 days.
  • The report states President Trump is asking Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions in exchange for control and sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s supreme leader is reported to have signed an order banning the export of enriched uranium from Iran (Reuters)

  • The move, if true, is a major issue for the US which denes the order exists.
  • Trump is reported to have promised Israel that any possible deal with Iran would involve the removal of enriched uranium

Iran trying to formalise toll system for the Strait of Hormuz with Oman

  • Iran refusing to reopen Strait of Hormuz till US agrees to lift its naval blockade of Iranian ports.
  • Oman’s government didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
  • Insurers say they won’t insure ships through the Strait of Hormuz while the conflict in on due to risk of drones, missiles, mines and fast attack boats.

US blockade redirects 94 commercial ships and disables four from transiting Iranian ports

 

Oman – Oman is reported to be in talks with Iran over the charging of tolls through the Strait of Hormuz

  • The toll system is unacceptable to the US according to Marco Rubio.

 

Turkey - Turkey offloads US Treasuries in effort to prop-up currency

 

Taiwan – US$14bn arms sale to Taiwan paused

  • The pause follows Trump’s visit to China and talks with President Xi.

 

Poland – Trump has reversed an earlier decision and is sending 5,000 troops to Poland

  • Trump reversed his suspension of deployment to Poland over issues with NATO over their lack of action on Iran.

 

Precious metals:

Gold US$4,525/oz vs US$4,515/oz previous

Gold ETFs 98.8moz vs 98.7moz previous

Platinum US$1,958/oz vs US$1,930/oz previous

Palladium US$1,382/oz vs US$1,359/oz previous

Silver US$76.1/oz vs US$74.9/oz previous

Silver ETFs 794.6moz vs 794.8moz previous

Rhodium US$9,750/oz vs US$9,700/oz previous

 

Base metals:

Copper US$13,680/t vs US$13,489/t previous

Aluminium US$3,664/t vs US$3,613/t previous

Nickel US$18,717/t vs US$18,640/t previous

Zinc US$3,568/t vs US$3,534/t previous

Lead US$2,013/t vs US$1,982/t previous

Tin US$53,910/t vs US$53,000/t previous

 

Energy:

Oil US$105.4/bbl vs US$106.3/bbl previous

Natural Gas €49.4/MWh vs €49.4/MWh previous

Uranium Futures $84.6/lb vs $84.6/lb previous

 

Bulk:

Iron Ore 62% Fe Spot (Singapore) US$105.6/t vs US$107.4/t

Chinese steel rebar 25mm US$489.5/t vs US$489.0/t

HCC FOB Australia US$239.0/t vs US$239.0/t

Thermal coal swap Australia FOB US$137.5/t vs US$139.6/t

 

Other:  

Cobalt LME 3m US$56,290/t vs US$56,290/t

NdPr Rare Earth Oxide (China) US$101,430/t vs US$104,555/t

Lithium carbonate 99% (China) US$25,946/t vs US$25,937/t

China Spodumene Li2O 6%min CIF US$2,630/t vs US$2,630/t

Ferro-Manganese European Mn78% min US$1,035/t vs US$1,035/t

China Tungsten APT 88.5% FOB US$1,693/mtu vs US$1,693/mtu

China Tantalum Concentrate 30% CIF US$213/lb vs US$213/mtu

China Graphite Flake -194 FOB US$420/t vs US$420/t

Europe Vanadium Pentoxide 98% US$6.0/lb vs US$6.0/lb

Europe Ferro-Vanadium 80% US$28.4/kg vs US$28.4/kg

China Ilmenite Concentrate TiO2 US$242/t vs US$242/t

US Titanium Dioxide TiO2 >98% US$2,809/t vs US$2,809/t

China Rutile Concentrate 95% TiO2 US$1,154/t vs US$1,154/t

Spot CO2 Emissions EUA Price US$65.1/t vs US$65.1/t

Brazil Potash CFR Granular Spot US$405.0/t vs US$405.0/t

Germanium China 99.99% US$3,725.0/kg vs US$3,725.0/kg

China Gallium 99.99% US$400.0/kg vs US$400.0/kg

Europe Molybdenum Oxide 57% US$30.0/lb vs US$30.5/lb

 

Company news:

80 Mile Plc* (80M LN) – 0.86p, Mkt cap £43m – Employee benefit scheme designed to retain and focus staff as drilling starts at Disko and for new budget at Jameson oil & gas

  • 80 Mile plc report the achievement of all milestones under the EBT ‘employee benefit trust’ scheme and is establishing a new EBT to incentivise its key people.
  • The old EBT gives a further 13,557,018 new shares to key personnel today.
  • The company is also issuing 237,000,000 new shares to the new EBT scheme.
  • These will be issued subject to certain performance criteria as follows:
    • Rod McIllree: 60,000,000 EBT Shares
    • Troy Whittaker: 60,000,000 EBT Shares
    • Olga Solovieva: 30,000,000 EBT shares
    • Future executive director: 60,000,000 EBT shares
    • Employees: 27,000,000 EBT shares
  • The EBT scheme is designed to incentivise the team to focus on exploration and drilling programmes at:
    • Disko-Nuussuaq where drilling is targeting nickel and PGMs with an initial 5,000m of drilling by Forage Fusion Drilling starting in the first week of July supported by Air Greenland.
    • Jameson for Oil & Gas where the first US$7.5m budget has been approved and funded.
      • USFM will fund an initial US$30m to earn up to a 51% legal and beneficial interest in Disko leaving 80 Mile with a 49% free carry.
      • 80 Mile Plc retains operational management during the earn in period for US$500,000 cash and a 10% management fee on all expenditure incurred at Disko.
  • The team will be busy through the through the 2026-2027 field seasons
  • Both projects are at a stage where there is substantially increased work flow, complexity and execution risk.
  • Conditions:
    • EBT Shares to Rod McIllree, Troy Whittaker and Olga Solovieva will be linked to the Company's market capitalisation, as follows:
    • 50m EBT Shares will be transferred to the beneficiaries when the market capitalisation exceeds £100m (undiluted)
    • 50m EBT Shares will be transferred to the beneficiaries when the market capitalisation exceeds £125m (undiluted)
    • 50m EBT Shares will be transferred to the beneficiaries when the market capitalisation exceeds £150m (undiluted)

Conclusion:  The market cap milestones require multiple uplifts in the company value with the first hurdle at >2x the current market cap giving a primary performance condition that is directly links executive reward to the stock’s performance and external market validation.

The upcoming exploration and drilling programmes at Disko and Jameson during 2026–2027 represent a step-up in operational complexity, capital deployment, and execution risk.

The EBT structure is designed to reflect the technical, logistical, and financial challenges associated with these programmes, which are critical to unlocking the next phase of growth.

*SP Angel acts as nomad and broker to 80 Mile Plc (formerly Bluejay Mining). The analyst has formerly visited license in Greenland with management.

 

Aldebaran Resources (ALDE CN) C$2.7, Mkt Cap C$494m – Infill drilling support MRE update due 3Q26

  • Argentine copper explorer/developer Aldebaran reports drilling results from its Altar project in San Juan.
  • The Company has completed seven infill holes to upgrade the MRE from inferred to measured and indicated categorisation.
  • Highlights include:
    • ALD-26-173EXT: 1,339m at 0.45% CuEq from 12m (inc. 500m at 0.71% CuEq from 326m)
    • ALD-26-199EXT: 1,059m at 0.51% CuEq from 326m (inc. 0.61%CuEq from 869m)
    • ALD-26-174EXT: 1,198m at 0.43% CuEq from 92m (inc. 388m at 0.63% CuEq from 530m)
    • ALD-26-036EXT: 826m at 0.54% CuEq from 124m (inc. 98m at 1.07% CuEq from 140m)
  • Management note the holes continue to highlight the scale of the Altar deposit, with several holes ending in mineralisation, suggesting potential MRE expansion.
  • Aldebaran is undertaking a 40,000m drilling programme to upgrade the MRE in 3Q26.
  • The Company is aiming to deliver a PFS for Altar in Q2/Q3 2027.
  • Drilling will support more informed decisions on processing and open pit/underground mine infrastructure for the PFS.

 

Asara Resources (AS1 AU) A$0.14, Mkt Cap A$281m – Focus on expanding and upgrading 923koz MRE at Kada

  • Guinea gold explorer Asara reports results from 16 drill holes over 2,8756m at its Kada Gold Project.
  • The Company has conducted an RC programme to grow the inferred resource at Kada.
  • Highlights include:
    • MSRC26-070: 40m at 4.5g/t Au and 8m at 4.4g/t Au from 60m, which was drilled to the northeast.
    • MSRC26-065: 59m at 2.1g/t Au from 43m (inc. 11m at 4.3g/t Au)
    • MSRC26-069: 47m at 2g/t Au from 30m
    • MSRC26-060: 64m at 0.9g/t Au from 26m
    • MSRC26-062: 9m at 5.2g/t Au from 128m (inc. 3m at 7.6g/t Au)
  • Focus from drilling is intended to upgrade the inferred section of the MRE to Indicated, extending the indicted strike length of 300m to 1,300m in line with the inferred footprint.
  • Asara is also focused on expanding the inferred MRE along strike, with much of the historic drilling drilled at spacing insufficient for resource classification.
  • Management highlights the potential of the higher-grade northeast extension, raising the potential for a high-grade zone beyond the current resource envelopme.
  • Down-drip drilling is supporting a better understanding of the mineralised system and will enable further high-grade targeting.
  • Management notes consistent gold mineralisation along the 3.5km north-south trend at Kada, expected to support an expansion and upgrade of the deposit.
  • Kada holds an MRE of 30mt at 0.95g/t Au at 923koz, the bulk of which is in the inferred category.

 

Aterian plc* (ATN LN) 23.55p, Mkt Cap £4.2m – Aterian converts £80,000 of CLN

(Aterian holds 100% of Agdz Copper-Silver Project in Morocco)

  • Aterian Plc reports the conversion of £80,000 of their Convertible Loan Note through the issue of 320,000 new shares at a conversion price of 25p/s.
  • Following admission Aterian will have 18,220,000 shares in issue.
  • Management are busy working on exploration with the potential for new discoveries in Rwanda, Morocco and Botswana.
  • We see good potential for new discovery in Rwanda where Rio Tinto spent US$4.73m on drilling, geochemical sampling and geophysical surveys reporting: .
    • HCK: 6.90 m grading 2.11% Li₂O, including 3.45 m at 3.20% Li₂O within fresh pegmatite below the weathered zone.
    • Musasa: 23 pegmatites with indicators for more pegmatites observed at a further 20 locations.
  • The team are also busy developing trading in tin, tantalum, niobium and other minerals out of Rwanda using a US$4.5m trade finance agreement.
  • In Morocco Aterian are using AI in collabnoration with Lithosquare in a €1.4m fully funded AI-led programme across eight priority projects.
  • In Botswana, the team are exploring on licenses in the Kalahari Copperbelt and are examining lithium brine licences in the Makgadikgadi Pans.

*SP Angel acts as Broker to Aterian Plc

 

Critical Metals (CRML US) US$11, Mkt Cap US$1.6bn – Tanbreez offtake agreement

  • The Company signed a 15y binding offtake agreement with REalloys for the Tanbreez Rare Earth Project, Greenland.
  • The agreement builds on a non binding deal signed October last year.
  • Under the deal, REalloys will buy 15% of annual RE concentrate production from the project.

 

SP Angel - No.1 for Precious Metals: LSEG StarMine Award for Most Accurate Forecasting in Reuters Polls Q1 2026

No.1 for Precious Metals: Q1 2026

No.1 for Precious Metals: CY 2025

No.1 in Precious Metals: Q1 2025

No.1 in Precious Metals: CY 2024

No.2 in Base Metals: CY 2024

 

 

Analysts

John Meyer –John.Meyer@spangel.co.uk – 0203 470 0490

Simon Beardsmore – Simon.Beardsmore@spangel.co.uk – 0203 470 0484

Sergey Raevskiy –Sergey.Raevskiy@spangel.co.uk - 0203 470 0474

Arthur Parish – Arthur.Parish@spangel.co.uk – 0203 470 0476

 

Sales

Richard Parlons –Richard.Parlons@spangel.co.uk - 0203 470 0472

Abigail Wayne –Abigail.Wayne@spangel.co.uk - 0203 470 0534

Rob Rees –Rob.Rees@spangel.co.uk - 0203 470 0535

Grant Barker – Grant.Barker@spangel.co.uk – 0203 470 0471

 

 

Image

 

Prince Frederick House

35-39 Maddox Street

London, W1S 2PP

 

*SP Angel are the No1 integrated nomad and broker by number of mining brokerage clients on AIM according to the AIM Advisers Ranking Guide (joint brokerships excluded)

+SP Angel employees may have previously held, or currently hold, shares in the companies mentioned in this note.

 

Sources of commodity prices 
Gold, Platinum, Palladium, SilverBGNL (Bloomberg Generic Composite rate, London)
Gold ETFs, SteelBloomberg
Copper, Aluminium, Nickel, Zinc, Lead, Tin, CobaltLME
Oil BrentICE
Natural Gas, Uranium, Iron OreNYMEX
Thermal CoalBloomberg OTC Composite
Coking CoalSSY
RRESteelhome
  •  
Lithium Carbonate, Ferro Vanadium, Tungsten, Spodumene, Ferro-Manganese, Graphite, RutileAsian Metal
  

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