BHP’s Canadian potash bill hits $12.5b after second cost reset

Bellevue Gold (ASX: BGL) has delivered a record underlying free cash flow of $158m for Q3 FY26 after reporting increased mined and processed ore grades.The company mined 293kt of ore at 4.6g/t for 44koz gold and processed 283kt at 4.7g/t for 41koz of gold during the quarter, reporting that metallurgical recovery averaged 94.6% and continues to outperform recoveries set in its FY26 guidance.Bellevue has now established several production levels at its higher-grade Deacon Main mining area, which contributed consistently throughout the quarter, and has scheduled first development in ore at its higher-grade Deacon North mining area for Q4 FY26.With mined and processed tonnes forecast to increase for the next quarter, Bellevue remains on track to meet its FY26 production guidance of 130–150koz.Bellevue continued pre-delivering gold and reducing near-term hedge book commitments, which it expects to increase future spot gold price exposure, reporting that it is free of contractual hedge book deliveries until the end of December 2026.The company expects to continue accelerating pre-deliveries into forward gold sale commitments, further de-risking its balance sheet whilst maintaining flexibility to build cash, support investment in exploration and other opportunities as they arise.Bellevue said diesel purchases represented about 1.3% of total project costs during the financial year to February 28, 2026, with the company describing its direct diesel cost exposure as among the lowest in the sector.The company reports that it is not currently impacted by any diesel supply issues and continues to operate its power station with industry leading renewable energy rates of about 90% during March 2026.

Core Lithium (ASX: CXO) will bring its Finniss lithium operation back into production after securing restart funding.The miner will move immediately into mobilisation, early works and development activities to position Finniss for first concentrate production in the September quarter of 2026.Core Lithium managing director Paul Brown says all major approvals are in place and there is a proven processing plant ready for restart.“Near-term ore feed will be sourced from the Grants open pit, providing a low-risk and rapid pathway to recommencement of concentrate production,” he said.“BP33 underground development will occur in parallel, supporting a transition to long-life, high-margin underground operations.“The company remains focused on safe, disciplined execution as it advances a staged restart program through 2026 and 2027 with first spodumene concentrate production targeted for the September quarter 2026.“First ore from Grants is targeted within one month of contractor mobilisation, with BP33 first ore expected in mid-CY27 and ramp-up to nameplate production of 1.2mtpa in mid-2028.“Employment levels at Finniss are expected to scale across construction and operations, supporting a material number of jobs over the project lifecycle.”The restart will be funded through a package comprising $99m (US$70m) in convertible notes from Glencore and InfraVia, a $71m (US$50m) senior secured loan from Nebari, and a fully committed $120m equity raising.Glencore lithium head Robin Francois comments on the development.“We share the government’s view that this operation is vital to the regions’ critical minerals strategy and is a key asset for achieving the Northern Territory Government’s ambition of a $40b economy by 2030,” he said.“This is another example of how Glencore’s unique marketing business can support Australian mining companies while we continue to expand as a leading supplier of critical minerals.”Together with existing cash and recent sale proceeds, the package is expected to fully fund construction and restart and provide liquidity during ramp-up as Finniss transitions toward steady-state operations.

Image takes a second glance at gold A promising mineral resource estimate and a buoyant gold price have prompted Image Resources (ASX: IMA) to conduct a comprehensive review of its gold tenements.The strategy review will include potential divestiture or other commercialisation options for Image’s entire gold tenement package which contains a recently announced maiden mineral resources estimate of 2.0mt at 2.1 g/t gold for 139koz gold in the inferred category.Image Resources managing director and chief executive Patrick Mutz says the time is right to assess options for extracting the best value from the gold tenements.“We have been and remain focused on mineral sands mining and processing as our principal business. However, given the continuing buoyant gold price, it is appropriate to determine if any value can be unlocked from these gold assets in the shorter term,” he said.“We will also be evaluating the potential for Image to setup and control a contract mining, ore hauling, and toll-processing model with minimum capital requirements for the Erayinia/King project, to take advantage of the potential operating margins supported by the buoyant gold price.”If Image can extract appropriate value from the gold tenements, funds would be used to either repay remaining debt or for project development capital for the company’s next minerals sands development project.

After suspending construction of train 2 at the Kwinana refinery, IGO (ASX: IGO) now has little hope for the project’s future, citing uncompetitive energy and labour costs.