Yancoal to acquire Queensland coal mine for $2.5b

BHP backs Chinese $1.69b SolGold takeover bid Major SolGold shareholders — including BHP (ASX: BHP) and Newmont (ASX: NEM) — have vowed to support a takeover from China-based Jiangxi Copper (JCC) for the right price. If JCC, SolGold’s largest shareholder, can formalise an offer of 56c (£0.28) per London stock exchange-listed share, the other major shareholders have agreed to hand over the keys to SolGold’s crown jewel — the Cascabel copper-gold project in Ecuador. Hosting the high-grade Alpala deposit, the Cascabel project is positioned to emerge as a significant global copper and gold mine. Both BHP and Newmont, who each hold a 10.3% stake, have provided a letter of intent to JCC indicating their support of the revises possible offer. Max Capital and Nichola Mather, who hold 5.1% and 2.8% respectively, have also issued letters of intent. JCC has been a significant shareholder in SolGold since December 2022 and owns 12.2% of the issued share capital of SolGold which, combined with the letters of intent, represents 40.7% of the issued share capital of SolGold. SolGold’s board of directors have indicated to JCC that if an offer that meets the terms is made, they would be minded to recommend the offer to shareholders. 

Element 25 (ASX: E25) has secured commitments for an $18m share placement to fund the expansion of its Butcherbird manganese project in WA to 1.1mtpa of manganese oxide concentrate.This follows the June 2025 announcement that the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) would support the project with a $50m investment.Element 25 managing director Justin Brown comments on the expansion.“Expanding Butcherbird is an important part of our strategy to sell manganese concentrate to steel industry partners as well as using it as feedstock in our plans to produce HPMSM,” he said.“We are pleased with the support from new and existing shareholders in this placement, particularly in light of the challenging market backdrop.”Under the placement, the company will issue 60 million fully paid ordinary shares at an issue price of $.30/share, representing a 9.1% discount to the last close price on April 8. The placement is expected to settle on April 22.

Lynas Rare Earths (ASX: LYC) has signed a binding letter of intent with the US Department of War to finalise a four-year rare earth oxide offtake agreement. Under the agreement, Lynas will allocate $137m worth of rare earth oxides to support US supply chain resilience objectives with an established floor price for supply of US$110/kg for neodymium and praseodymium. This offtake agreement follows the mutual decision to modify the original agreement between Lynas and the DoW based on significant uncertainty as to whether the construction of the heavy rare earth (HRE) processing facility at Seadrift, Texas would proceed. Lynas chief executive and managing director Amanda Lacaze says, through the agreement, the US Defense Industrial Base will continue to have access to rare earth oxides essential for modern manufacturing. “We thank the US Government for working with Lynas to reach this mutually beneficial arrangement and look forward to finalising the definitive agreement in due course and continuing our productive engagement," she said. Lynas and the DoW continue to discuss further supply arrangement for HRE oxides.  Last week, Lynas extended its rare earths supply deal with Japan Australia Rare Earths (JARE) through to 2038 and established a floor of US$110/kg for neodymium and praseodymium — identical to that set in the DoW agreement.  As the world’s only significant producer of separated rare earth materials outside of China, Lynas is strategically important to diversifying the global supply of rare earths. This significance has been bolstered by the company’s H1 FY26 results in which the company reported a 63% rise in revenue for $413.7m — Lynas’ best first-half profit in three years.  Lynas saw the average price of all its rare earth products rose to $96/kg during the half, a trend that continued in 2026 with neodymium and praseodymium reaching a domestic price of $157 /kg in China. 

Regis reassesses ‘unviable’ $1b gold mine Regis Resources (ASX: RRL) is proposing a new development approach for its McPhillamys mine in NSW, which was derailed in 2024 by an Indigenous heritage ruling.The ruling made in August 2024 — more than a year after the project was approved — denied the construction of a tailings dam near the Belubula River in an attempt to protect culturally significant land.The company took the decision to the Federal Court and the matter was heard by the court in December 2025.Regis has argued that the view held by the Federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) changed after additional evidence was produced by an independent Aboriginal elder more than a year after approval was granted — believing that further investigation into the Dreaming story used as evidence should have taken place before the ruling was handed out.If Regis’ application is successful, the company will seek a declaration from a Federal Court judge that the 2024 ruling handed down by then Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek is legally invalid and that the application be redetermined by a different minister.Following Regis’ challenge to the Federal Court, Minister Plibersek remained adamant in her ruling.“The truth is we are living in a country where we’ve got thousands of years of continuous culture and heritage. We’ve done a pretty bad job of protecting it in the past,” Minister Plibersek said.“Protecting cultural heritage and development are not mutually exclusive. We can have both.“Crucially, my decision is not to stop the mine. The company has indicated to me that it has assessed around four sites and 30 potential options for the tailings dam.”Following the ruling, contrary to Minister Plibersek’s declaration, Regis deemed the project as non-viable, stating it would take up to 10 years to identify and gain approval for an alternative tailings site, before taking out a non-cash impairment of $192m.With the Federal Court’s ruling pending, Regis continues to progress a dual-track strategy to return McPhillamys to an approvable status.In parallel with the ongoing court process, Regis has advanced work assessing the suitability of an integrated waste landform incorporating a form of co-disposal within the planned waste dump.Initial study outcomes indicate that the concept is technically feasible and further detailed engineering, environmental and commercial assessments are underway to progress facility design, approvals pathway and potential development timeframes.