Lifestyle Communities shares plunge after tribunal ruling
The company had paused trading on Monday ahead of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal decision, which found that Lifestyle Communities had breached tenancy laws by failing to clearly disclose deferred management fees in its residential site agreements.
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News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Why Brazil's rare earth deposits could catch major attention
Lynas looks to Brazil and Malaysia for ionic clay opportunities to loosen China's grip on supply These countries boast significant ionic clay resources which hold a number of advantages over hard rock We chat to Brazilian Critical Minerals and highlight several other ASX players in the region As Chinese export curbs send rare earth prices through the roof, Lynas (ASX:LYC) could be plotting a Brazilian breakout that would loosen Beijing's stranglehold on the materials powering the world's transition to EVs. While a mega merger with America's MP Materials isn't currently on the cards, the company – now the largest producer of separated rare earths outside China after producing its first batch of dysprosium oxide in May and terbium in June – is reportedly eyeing ionic clay deposits in Malaysia, and to a lesser extent, Brazil, where vast granite belts have been slowly cooking up rare earth riches for eons. Through millennia of weathering, rare earth elements (REEs) leach from the parent rock and accumulate in clay-rich deposits containing kaolinite and halloysite – creating concentrated, potentially economic rare earth resources. These resources are typically found in subtropical climates, like Malaysia, parts of Brazil, China and Myanmar. The beauty of these deposits is their promise for simpler, cost-effective extraction. Hard rock deposits, such as Lynas' 106.6Mt Mt Weld project (averaging 4.12% TREO), typically offer higher rare earth grades but extraction can be energy-intensive, costly and requires complex processing methods like flotation and hydrometallurgy. Ionic clay deposits, on the other hand, are found near surface, making it easier and cheaper to explore, drill and mine. REEs from these types of resources can also be extracted through environmentally friendly processes using solutions with low pH. REE prices up five-fold In an interview with Stockhead, Brazilian Critical Minerals (ASX:BCM) managing director Andrew Reid said this helps explain why rare earths giant Lynas may be looking to invest in ionic clay, despite building its success on hard rock assets like Mt Weld. 'The cost of extraction is so much cheaper than what they're doing in Australia right now,' he said. 'They've already spent an enormous amount of money setting up their project, but it also costs a lot to keep going and they're highly leveraged to the chemical price, particularly for sulphur, because they use a lot of sulphuric acid,' he said. 'I think they've been prudent in looking at other opportunities to source rare earths to their clients that can be done quicker, faster and safer, until now.' Chinese export controls have triggered magnet shortages, leaving some automakers struggling to source rare earth magnets, essential for motors, windshield wipers, speakers, and air conditioners used in both EVs and conventional cars. In retaliation for tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration, China in April imposed export limits on seven medium and heavy rare earth elements. Market analysts from Shanghai Metals Market, one of only a handful of price reporting agencies for rare earths, suggest that improving demand may also fuel price increases. In America, buyers have anecdotally been driving prices through the roof to get their hands on suddenly limited supply. 'I was just in the States and Canada over the last few weeks and the rare earth price there has gone ballistic,' Reid said. 'I was hearing of prices up to five times higher than the Chinese price being offered for rare earths right now in the west, but the big question is, how long will that last?" 'Will the Chinese reduce their export controls to rebalance the market? Because they very much want to keep control of the rare earth sector, that's their primary aim,' Reid said. 'They don't want the price to climb and remain high for very long because they don't want to incentivise (competitors).' One of the world's largest ISR projects In Brazil, ionic clay deposits are primarily found in the state of Minas Gerais, particularly within the Pocos de Caldas alkaline complex, while other areas include Bahia, Goias and Amazonas. Brazilian Critical Minerals owns the Ema project within Brazil's northwestern Apuí region, host to one of the world's largest ionic clay rare earth deposits with a resource of 943Mt at 716ppm total rare earth oxides. It includes a starter zone of 341Mt, including high-value magnet rare earths used to make permanent magnets for advanced technology like EVs, wind turbines and particle accelerators. A scoping study completed in February 2025 outlined a post-tax net present value of US$498 million for the Ema project, with an internal rate of return of 55% and a payback period of about two years on capex of just US$55m. The company has now successfully trialled in-situ recovery, which Reid said is the same methodology used in Southeast Asia to extract ionic clays. It's been successful in lowering the in-situ pH to levels that demonstrate clear migration of magnesium sulphate throughout the clay layers, indicating that REEs are now at a stage where they can be effectively ionically leached into solution. 'We are the only project in the Western world that has been successful at extracting clays by ISR, which significantly derisks the project' he said. 'You need a very niche set of criteria in order to be able to execute ISR and we just happen to have those at Ema. 'Hopefully there are more that are discovered but at the moment we're the only ones where you can apply this very cheap technology to the extraction of rare earths – that's a very big kudos to the sector and certainly a big kudos for Brazil.' Other ASX rare earth players in Brazil Axel REE (ASX:AXL) operates the Caladão project in the prolific mining province of Minas Gerais, Brazil where mineralisation is found within a thick regolith profile, rich in clay minerals such as REEs and gallium. The company recently hit up to 2m at 124g/t gallium from surface in its latest round of drilling while auger drilling revealed the presence of rare earth mineralisation, peaking at 11m at 2718 parts per million total rare earth oxide from 6m, with three more intersections grading above 1200ppm TREO. Existing exploration at Caladão covers only about 20% of the total 430km2 project area, offering plenty of potential for further discoveries. These latest drilling results will support a maiden resource or gallium and rare earth elements at Area B, with calculations for Area A's mineral resource already underway via SRK Consulting, a mineral exploration services firm. Perpetual Resources (ASX:PEC) is in the middle of planning the next exploration phase at its Raptor project in Brazil, home to ionic adsorption clay (IAC) style REE mineralisation. This type of asset boasts several advantages including being enriched with a higher proportion of the more valuable REEs like praseodymium, neodymium, terbium and dysprosium. So far, metallurgical testing has demonstrated high recoveries of up to 94% for key magnet rare earth elements with initial drilling intersecting high-grade mineralisation, returning a standout 1m interval grading up to 8029ppm TREO. The company is hoping the next campaign will support its pathway towards delivering a maiden resource, which is possible for as early as late calendar year 2025. Other objectives of the program include extending known mineralisation and exploring new targets. PEC is also exploring for lithium, tin and caesium in minerals rich Brazil, confirming on Wednesday that drilling at its Igrehinha project had hit both lithium host mineral spodumene and caesium host mineral pollucite. And Verity Resources (ASX:VRL) is planning a maiden auger drill program at its Pimenta projec t in Minas Gerais, Brazil, focusing on a 20km high-grade rare earths-gallium-titanium zone. Drilling will follow recent reconnaissance work which returned up to 25,817ppm total rare earth oxide (TREO), with an average of 25% high value magnet rare earths (MREO) over 147 samples. VRL, which also owns gold resources in WA's Laverton district, believes the results to date confirm a mineralisation style potentially similar to American Rare Earths' (ASX:ARR) Halleck Creek allanite REE deposit with a 2.63Bt at 3292ppm TREO resource, one of the largest in the US. Importantly, the REE geochemical signature remains consistent between rock and regolith samples, supporting a model of vertical enrichment via residual weathering.
Sky News AU
3 hours ago
- Sky News AU
‘Playing with fire': Warning over US President Donald Trump's 50 per cent copper tariffs as Labor struggles to negotiate
Pain for consumers could be on the cards after Donald Trump revealed massive tariffs and Labor struggles to negotiate any exemptions. President Trump this week vowed to enforce 50 per cent tariffs on copper and US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick said the levies would come into effect from July or August 1. It comes as the Albanese government struggles to negotiate tariff exemptions with Trump. Two allies — United Kingdom and Canada — have already secured exemptions amid broader negotiations and commitments to significantly lift defence spending. However, Mr Albanese has been unable to even meet President Trump face to face, much less negotiate a trade deal. Copper prices have soared on Wednesday following Trump's announcement with the metal up more than 14 per cent compared to Tuesday. Commonwealth Bank of Australia's commodities specialist Vivek Dhar warned of pain across the global economy amid the price hikes. 'It may benefit upstream in terms of (US) copper producers, but if you go further downstream to those that consume copper, the higher price paid is something that can really hurt that industry,' Mr Dhar said on Business Now. 'This is something we have precedence of. If we go back to 2018 to 2021, this is exactly what happened with steel and aluminium.' He warned the Trump Administration could ultimately hurt the US economy if its tariff plan goes awry. 'I think the US is really playing with fire and if it doesn't go to plan it could actually be worse for the US economy, just given how the downstream sector response," Mr Dhar said. Multinationals BHP and Rio Tinto have come under the microscope since Trump revealed the massive levies. Both companies mine copper in South America, while BHP also mines in South Australia and Rio Tinto mines in Mongolia. Further backlash to Trump's copper tariff came from Minerals Council of Australia CEO Tania Constable, who said the measures would 'disrupt global trade, undermine investment confidence, and increase costs for consumers including in the United States'. 'Sudden and sweeping trade actions only heighten uncertainty and constrain the ability of businesses to plan, invest and grow,' Ms Constable said. 'The right response is not to raise barriers, but to make economies more resilient, productive and globally connected. 'While Australia's direct copper exports to the United States are limited, trade restrictions imposed on other key trading partners have the potential of disrupting global supply chains, increasing costs, and creating uncertainty for Australian exporters.' Trump's announcement rattled many companies on the ASX including Capstone Copper (down 3.3 per cent), Sandfire Resources (down 3.4 per cent) and Evolution Mining (down 6.6 per cent). The copper levies come alongside planned 200 per cent tariffs on pharmaceuticals that Trump said his administration will enforce in about 'a year (or a) year and a half'. 'We'll give them a certain period of time to get their act together,' Trump said about drugmakers bringing manufacturing to the U.S. Treasurer Jim Chalmers remains on alert after Trump revealed the swath of levies. 'These are obviously very concerning developments,' he told ABC RN. 'It's been a feature of recent months that we've had these sorts of announcements out of DC. 'It's still early days. Obviously, we'll make a more detailed assessment of what's come out of the US in the usual way. The two big announcements were obviously regarding copper and pharmaceuticals.'
AU Financial Review
3 hours ago
- AU Financial Review
ASX to rise, Wall St rallies broadly, Nvidia resets record high
Australian shares are poised to open higher, bolstered by broad gains in New York. Nvidia briefly traded above the $US4 trillion valuation mark, the first company to do so. Investors were paying less attention to the trickle of 'trade' letters being released by President Donald Trump on his social media platform, with tariff rates mostly in line with what he previously proposed. Trump said he would levy a 30% rate on Algeria, Libya, Iraq and Sri Lanka, with 25% duties on products from Brunei and Moldova and a 20% rate on goods from the Philippines. CNN's Fear and Greed Index edged back into 'extreme greed'. Mark Hackett at Nationwide told Bloomberg that the markets appears to be signalling an openess to risk. ' 'As the market reaction to the ebb and flow of tariff news has become muted, the next catalyst is earnings season.' Major US banks will begin reporting their latest quarterly results late next week. Market highlights ASX futures are pointing up 41 points or 0.5 per cent to 8571. All US prices as of 2pm New York time. Today's agenda It's a quiet day for data with the key print being weekly US initial jobless claims late on Thursday for another view on the strength of the labour market. Top stories Fundies could face fee threat if super funds rethink equities mandates | Carving out CBA and other bank shares from industry funds' active, fee-paying mandates means they cannot be underweight the ASX's largest financial stocks, writes Joyce Moullakis. Death threats and targeting kids: report exposes CFMEU Qld's 'violent' abuse | An investigation into the CFMEU's Queensland branch contains shocking allegations of dozens of abusive incidents towards rival unionists, public servants and even children. | Anthony Albanese and his advisers are determined not to let Donald Trump's fire-and-brimstone antics influence how Australia engages with China. | This former ASX and affordable housing darling's long-time fee structure is under fire. Watch out. | The administration wants to 'bring copper production home', but the most likely result is that manufacturers will have little choice but to pay more for it, writes Jennifer Hewett.
