Lunch Wrap: ASX bobs up and down, as iron ore stocks ride China's mega dam news
Iron ore pops on China dam dreams
Insignia jumps on $3.3bn buyout bid
After Monday's sharp stumble, the ASX opened Tuesday with a bit of fight, climbing 0.2% in the morning.
But by lunch in the eastern states, it was struggling to stay afloat, sinking to a narrow loss of 0.02%.
Overnight, Wall Street powered higher, with fund managers continuing to chase risk assets.
The S&P 500 cracked 6,300 for the first time, while earnings season kicks into top gear this week with the Magnificent Seven on deck.
On the macro front, the RBA's July meeting minutes dropped this morning, and they offered a bit more colour on why the board kept rates steady at 3.85%.
The decision, according to the minutes, came down to the RBA wanting to move 'cautiously', particularly with inflation now tracking closer to target.
A minority of board members were leaning toward a cut, citing downside risks, but the majority felt it would send the wrong message.
Back to the ASX, and miners were back in the driver's seat as iron ore jumped 3%, the highest it's been in four months.
The bounce was powered by hopes of more stimulus out of China, and its headline-grabbing plan to build the world's largest dam in Tibet. According to analysts, that mega project could give a decent jolt to demand for steel and concrete.
BHP (ASX:BHP) and Fortescue (ASX:FMG) climbed around 2% on the news, while Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) surged 3%.
Champion Iron (ASX:CIA) also rallied 4% to its highest level since March after locking in a deal with Nippon Steel and Sojitz to jointly develop its Kami iron ore project in Canada.
While the miners flexed, it was a softer showing for the banks, the worst-performing sector by 12:45pm AEST:
Still in large caps news, Insignia Financial (ASX:IFL) surged 12% after US-based private equity firm CC Capital agreed to buy the lot in a $3.3 billion deal at $4.80 a share.
Over in the construction space, Fletcher Building (ASX:FBU) fell 1% after revealing it's weighing a potential sale of parts of its construction business following inbound interest.
ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS
Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for July 22 :
Security Description Last % Volume MktCap
IS3 I Synergy Group Ltd 0.012 300% 7,074,192 $5,118,900
MPA Mad Paws 0.130 73% 20,653,624 $30,468,169
VR8 Vanadium Resources 0.036 57% 17,604,059 $12,978,713
CUL Cullen Resources 0.006 50% 162,840 $2,773,607
PAB Patrys Limited 0.002 50% 121,448 $2,365,810
AON Apollo Minerals Ltd 0.007 40% 4,298,989 $4,642,284
ALR Altairminerals 0.004 33% 7,799,123 $12,890,233
SHP South Harz Potash 0.004 33% 56,178 $3,849,186
14D 1414 Degrees Limited 0.033 32% 119,612 $7,290,629
AIV Activex Limited 0.026 30% 5,941,874 $4,310,052
KGD Kula Gold Limited 0.009 29% 12,753,484 $6,448,776
BET Betmakers Tech Group 0.125 25% 13,417,818 $109,863,128
FHS Freehill Mining Ltd. 0.005 25% 50,000 $13,655,414
MMR Mec Resources 0.005 25% 155,000 $7,399,063
SP8 Streamplay Studio 0.009 21% 1,397,252 $8,969,552
OLI Oliver'S Real Food 0.006 20% 83,366 $2,703,660
PRM Prominence Energy 0.003 20% 200,000 $1,216,176
SLZ Sultan Resources Ltd 0.006 20% 444,069 $1,157,350
TFL Tasfoods Ltd 0.006 20% 334,313 $2,185,478
NTI Neurotech Intl 0.025 19% 2,350,715 $22,042,060
EVG Evion Group NL 0.032 19% 1,789,175 $11,742,839
LMG Latrobe Magnesium 0.013 18% 4,376,810 $28,892,490
LTP Ltr Pharma Limited 0.425 18% 1,184,604 $40,306,667
EXL Elixinol Wellness 0.020 18% 159,399 $3,913,254
Affiliate marketing platform, iSynergy Group (ASX:IS3) rocketed 300% before the ASX stepped in with a speeding ticket and slapped the stock with a trading halt. IS3 says it's now working on a response to the price query and reckons the halt should be lifted by Thursday, with nothing else to add for now.
Pet stock Mad Paws (ASX:MPA) has inked a $62 million takeover deal with US pet care giant Rover, with shareholders set to receive 14 cents a share in cash, an 87% premium to its last closing price. As part of the deal, it's offloading its Pet Chemist business to VetPartners for around $13 million and shutting down its Sash and Waggly brands. The board's backing the deal, and so are major holders.
Vanadium Resources (ASX:VR8) has locked in a binding two-year offtake deal with China Precious Asia for 100,000 tonnes per month of vanadium-rich magnetite direct shipping ore from its Steelpoortdrift project in South Africa. It's a major step in moving from developer to producer, though pricing still needs to be finalised by August 30 and mining is yet to begin.
ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS
Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks for July 22 :
Code Name Price % Change Volume Market Cap
NAE New Age Exploration 0.003 -25% 60,216 $10,823,646
PKO Peako Limited 0.002 -20% 4,801,244 $3,719,355
PRX Prodigy Gold NL 0.002 -20% 28,500 $15,875,278
QXR Qx Resources Limited 0.004 -20% 49,149 $6,551,644
RLG Roolife Group Ltd 0.004 -20% 3,485,000 $7,963,906
BEL Bentley Capital Ltd 0.009 -18% 5,658 $837,407
AMS Atomos 0.005 -17% 90,872 $7,290,111
SIS Simble Solutions 0.005 -17% 525,549 $6,493,982
STX Strike Energy Ltd 0.135 -16% 14,603,237 $458,834,578
BLU Blue Energy Limited 0.006 -14% 1,053,411 $12,956,815
BYH Bryah Resources Ltd 0.006 -14% 7,103,753 $6,789,675
LML Lincoln Minerals 0.006 -14% 6,850,020 $14,717,988
SPX Spenda Limited 0.006 -14% 125,000 $32,306,508
CMO Cosmometalslimited 0.019 -14% 200,000 $7,086,984
FAL Falconmetalsltd 0.615 -13% 1,714,011 $125,670,000
SFM Santa Fe Minerals 0.300 -13% 37,034 $25,122,482
HAL Halo Technologies 0.027 -13% 43,599 $3,987,728
ATS Australis Oil & Gas 0.007 -13% 110,000 $10,544,500
GTR Gti Energy Ltd 0.004 -13% 8,832,499 $14,835,762
LU7 Lithium Universe Ltd 0.007 -13% 4,524,839 $7,487,837
LMS Litchfield Minerals 0.110 -12% 14,551 $3,630,757
LOC Locatetechnologies 0.115 -12% 1,151,106 $30,572,664
BUX Buxton Resources Ltd 0.039 -11% 2,111,227 $15,060,428
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Kingsland Minerals (ASX:KNG) is wrapping up early-stage studies at Leliyn graphite project in the NT, where it intends to build a mine and processing plant.
Core Energy Minerals (ASX:CR3) has started aircore drilling at its Cummins uranium project in South Australia.
West Coast Silver's (ASX:WCE) latest rock chip and float sampling program has identified high grade silver and elevated copper and gold.
Cannindah Resources (ASX:CAE) has identified the potential to substantially increase the amount of copper at its Mt Cannindah project.
LAST ORDERS
ClearVue (ASX:CVP) has enlisted advisory firm Kidder Williams to review its structure and strategic growth options. The company will assess narrowing the focus of sales and marketing to the Asia Pacific market, identifying and securing qualified distributors in other markets, and optimal capital structure.
Buxton Resources (ASX:BUX) has drilled down to 404 metres of depth at the Centurion project, but was unable to complete the first hole due to ground conditions. A second hole is underway, the program has been delayed to mid-August, and the drilling contractor has taken responsibility for the costs of the abandoned hole.
Future Battery Minerals (ASX:FBM) has wrapped up a 21-hole, 1900m drilling program at the Miriam project, targeting gold at the Forrest and Canyon prospects. Results from the program won't be available until early September, after which FBM will follow up with a second phase of drilling ahead of a mineral resource estimate.
At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While ClearVue, Buxton Resources and Future Battery Minerals are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.
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News.com.au
23 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Is lithium finding its wings again? Here's what three ASX explorers have to say
After prolonged depressed prices, lithium has begun to claw its way back China continues to control the majority of lithium processing and EV manufacturing Stockhead speaks to three explorers in the lithium space to gauge their thoughts Lithium was a market darling in 2022, ushering in a tsunami of newly minted explorers to the ASX – then the wave crashed. Now the beloved battery metal could be starting to swell again, with activity emerging in recent weeks. The price of the battery-metal has spectacularly devalued over the past few years due to oversupply and re-adjusting Western demand for electric vehicles. But now, the Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF has climbed more than 20% over the past month, whilst price reporting agency Fastmarkets on Tuesday assessed 6% Li2O – the benchmark for the spodumene concentrate mined by WA producers – at US$760/t. That's a violent increase from the June 23 low of US$610/t, underpinned by rising futures prices in China and improved buying interest from battery makers, as well as the closure of a number of Chinese operations on environmental grounds. In the same period, lithium carbonate has run from US$8050/t to US$8550/t. This change has flowed through to ASX miners. Kathleen Valley lithium mine owner Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR) has regularly been a barometer for speculative interest in the sector. It once ran from 3c to more than $3 at lithium's highs before crashing below 60c at its recent ebb. The Gina Rinehart backed stock has seen its share price climb more than 16% over the past five days to breathe down the neck of $1 once again. A tale of two countries It isn't always easy to glean clear answers from the market (furiously shakes Magic 8 Ball). But some of the most recent data has come out of two closely linked places, Africa's lithium hotspot of Zimbabwe and China. This month, Zimbabwe reported a 30% growth in lithium exports for the first half of this year in spite of a weak spot price. The Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe says the country shipped nearly 600,000t of spodumene concentrate between January and June this year, an increase from more than 450,000t during the same period in the year prior. China is the chief buyer of Africa's lithium, a source it has cultivated to garner control over a supply chain previously dominated at the raw material end by Australia and Chile. And it remains top dog in the EV industry by the length of the straight, producing more than 70% of the world's share in 2024 with an even stronger grip on battery production and battery chemical refining. Today, Chinese-owned companies commandeer about one quarter of the globe's lithium mining and two-thirds of battery grade lithium chemical capacity. Low lithium prices have suited the dominant battery players CATL and BYD, who have developed their own mines in China to help flood the market and, allegedly, keep a lid on prices. But the Chinese Government has become increasingly concerned with Neijuan, a phrase popularised by Weibo users to describe the negatives of the "rat race". In mining terms, it means authorities could crack down on sectors where competition is driving industrial losses. Whether that was behind the closure of Zijin subsidiary Zangge Mining's Qinghai operations, a key factor in recent commodity price increases, is a subject of speculation. Is this month's increase in the lithium price nothing but a dead cat bounce, or are we witnessing a return to glory days? While many explorers pivoted their attention away from the battery metal, Stockhead spoke to three companies who believe in the long term opportunity. What are you seeing on the ground floor as a lithium explorer in terms of market sentiment? Chariot Corporation (ASX:CC9) managing director Shanthar Pathmanathan: "I believe it's the beginning of a massive bull run in lithium, but it's important to be cost conscious. Africa has increased production from artisanal and small scale mines by 500% in the last three years whilst lithium prices crashed by 90%. African supply is now about 20% of world supply. "Moreover, the Chinese buyers seem to prefer African supply. The inside lane in lithium for the next year or so while prices are still recovering will likely continue to be the Africa-to-China supply route. Getting in on the inside lane means making money whilst others are not and potentially taking advantage of opportunities elsewhere. "I still see lithium as the great disruptor of the massive, multi-trillion dollar oil market and this recent crisis has given us the opportunity we needed to get positioned." Pursuit Minerals (ASX:PUR) managing director and CEO Aaron Revelle: "We're seeing a definitive shift in sentiment on the ground. The rebound in lithium carbonate pricing has re-ignited some soft investor interest, particularly in high-quality brine assets following on from the Rio Tinto acquisition of Arcadium and many watching how the new CEO of Rio will advance those assets. "There's more inbound interest, especially those looking to secure supply outside of China. Juniors with pilot scale production, strong grades, and a clear pathway to development are getting a second look. It's cautious optimism, but the tone has improved from earlier this year." Delta Lithium (ASX:DLI) managing director James Croser: "There's perhaps a glimmer of dawn on the horizon after a very long night. I want to believe that this uptick in sentiment is a collective realisation that the tide may be on the turn and the relentless adoption of new battery technologies and applications, and persistent double digit growth in most markets will in fact translate into improved market pricing in the long run. I mean, how can it not? But I've been wide awake since midnight waiting for that dawn, seen a couple of false ones and we need to be cautious that our optimism isn't clouding our vision." What potential catalysts are on the horizon that could create a boon in the lithium space? SP: "Interest rate cuts and more dovish monetary policy is what I'm looking at. I think Trump is bang on the money in that it needs to flow again. Easier access to money will mean households will have more money to spend on relative luxury items like EVs, although the price gap has diminished or reversed as of late with the advent of the Chinese EVs." AR: "Several key catalysts could trigger a strong re-rating across the lithium sector, such as a potential revival of EV subsidies in Europe or the US could direct significant capital toward EV supply chains in an effort to break China's dominance on processing. Rising investment in grid-scale battery storage, driven by the global rollout of renewable energy infrastructure and the ever growing rise of the AI sector is also emerging as another major demand driver. "In China, recent signs of supply-side discipline – including Zangge Mining's decision to halt lithium production – highlights efforts to stabilise prices, and any further pro-EV or economic support measures from Beijing would add upward pressure. "Finally, M&A activity remains a powerful catalyst; strategic acquisitions by automakers, battery manufacturers, or majors seeking to lock in supply are likely to drive a valuation reset across the developer end of the market." JC: "On top of consistent EV demand growth, I think renewables and the associated fixed battery storage requirements are the dark horse. Having batteries on your business/house with solar on the roof is akin to putting a water tank next to a windmill. It's obvious that one complements the other. People are just getting over the novelty of solar, wait until everyone works out that having battery storage is like keeping the solar on all night! "Politically, I think seeing serious downstream processing outside China by the Europeans/North Americans/Japanese will go a long way in breaking the pricing power that the Chinese now possess for lithium raw materials. That'll likely require government assistance at these prices, so I'll be looking for some firm government actions to back up the rhetoric and ultimately provide a broader customer base for the miners." How do you view the future of global lithium demand, and which countries will lead the charge as China dominates EV production? SP: "That will continue to be the trend. China is close to the great tipping point. One in two cars sold in China are EVs and they could move to close to 100% EV penetration soon. The USA EV sales will respond with more dovish monetary policy." AR: "China remains dominant in battery manufacturing and electric vehicle production, currently selling over 1 million EVs per month, a staggering pace that has helped push global EV adoption to a tipping point, with one in every four new vehicles sold now electric. "Whilst China leads today, we see a more diversified future emerging over the next 5–10 years. The US and Canada continue to invest heavily in scaling domestic EV and battery supply chains, with a growing focus on building out domestic critical mineral production and processing. Europe is similarly accelerating efforts to localise refining capacity and secure offtake agreements, aiming to reduce reliance on China amid tightening ESG and supply-chain transparency standards. "On the supply side, Argentina and Australia remain critical players with Argentina offering tier-1 brine resources, increased judicial and regulatory certainty, low-cost extraction potential, and faster development pathways. Demand for lithium isn't disappearing; it's shifting regionally. This transition is fuelling a new wave of investment, and competition across the global battery materials landscape." JC: "China doesn't look like it's giving up first place any time soon. They have really bet the farm on lithium and invested a huge amount of capital in the battery supply chain going back at least 10 years. "There's a long way to go before EVs inevitably overtake vehicles on the road, so I expect growth and innovation in the EV sector to continue apace. There's pretty strenuous competition going on between the new Chinese car manufacturers and the old car companies, with new models coming out all the time. Competition is good for consumers, so I expect the product offering to improve and strong competition to persist. Global EV penetration looks almost certain to continue to grow: the genie is well and truly out of the bottle, and it's a pretty cool genie with more torque and less moving parts." What are the key challenges and opportunities you foresee in the lithium market over the next 12 months? SP: "We could have a scramble for lithium supply if the Chinese market passes the tipping point. Car purchases are subject to the network effect where people tend to follow their neighbours. China is currently the only market that matters and they're at 50% EV penetration. "Chariot is well setup after this downturn. We have reacquired the Horizon property with a 10.2Mt LCE resource and taken a 66.667% stake in a magnificent portfolio of spodumene bearing projects in Nigeria in the most counter cyclical way possible." AR: "The lithium sector continues to face real challenges over the next 12 months with ongoing price volatility and a significantly tighter capital environment making it increasingly difficult for developers to raise the funds needed to progress projects compared to other commodities such as gold or copper. Negative sentiment around spodumene oversupply continues to cloud investor outlook, even though brine based projects remain comparatively low cost and economically robust even at current price levels of between US$8-10,000/t for lithium carbonate. "Despite these challenges, there are clear opportunities emerging. Juniors with pilot scale operations or near term development timelines, particularly in Argentina, are well positioned to attract offtake interest as buyers look to diversify. ESG aligned, low cost brine projects are gaining traction with Western partners, and any recovery in sentiment, or lithium demand could sharply re-rate quality assets that are development-ready. "Companies that come out with massive production targets above 20,000tpa of new material without the balance sheet to support it or are NPV chasing to try and look good in the market will struggle to gain investor interest. Investors can see the demand piece for lithium remaining intact with demand set to hit near 3 million tonnes by 2030, however it's capital discipline and realistic scalable projects that will win out long term." JC: "I feel a little relieved that Delta isn't trying to navigate this price trough as a producer. Our challenge at Delta is to position our business and manage capital effectively through the downturn, keep our projects ticking along and be ready to come out of the blocks when real improvement shows up."
News.com.au
23 minutes ago
- News.com.au
The next junior to make a move in the hot Murchison gold fields has emerged
Odyssey Gold is emerging as one of the deepest value gold plays in the Murchison goldfield Technical studies kicking off on ODY's 80% owned, 407,000oz Tuckanarra gold project Drilling under way after $4m raise backed by quality institutions With over 30 million ounces of historic production and two competing multi-billion dollar fiefdoms, few gold territories in the world have become as coveted as WA's Murchison. On one end, building its empire around the towns of Meekatharra and Cue, is Westgold Resources (ASX:WGX). To the south at Mt Magnet is Ramelius Resources (ASX:RMS). Between them, the mid-tier miners are among the most closely watched in the ASX gold space. But they don't have the ore to support the continued expansion and even filling of their milling capacity, a fertile environment that has enabled small gold miners and explorers in the region to thrive. The latest to really plant its flag is Odyssey Gold (ASX:ODY). Part of the Apollo Group of companies led by former Normandy Mining executive Ian Middlemas, ODY has been a sleeper in the heart of the Murchison for years. It acquired the 80%-owned Tuckanarra gold project for a song in 2020, when gold was floating around A$2500/oz. The boom of the past two years has doubled that price to over A$5000/oz, while Tuckanarra has grown into a 407,000oz open pittable project at 2.5g/t, 311,000oz of those found on existing mining leases. It even has a processing solution set up, with material likely to be trucked and milled through 20% minority JV owner Monument Mining's mothballed 260,000tpa mill at Burnakura, where plans are being drawn up to reopen and expand the plant to 750,000tpa. "At the moment there's about 7.5Mtpa of capacity within 120km of it and there's every chance that will go to 10Mtpa with some of the mill upgrades that are being planned in the area," Odyssey Gold managing director Matthew Syme said. "Most of those are literally on the highway." Where would you rather be? Value gap Or maybe it should be where the bloody hell are ya? Odyssey Gold has a substantial resource in the bank with 5000m of drilling on the way. Its mining plans at the moment are likely to involve cutbacks of oxide-rich pits, material highly desirable to plant operators because of its smooth, free-milling nature. Close to 100,000oz was mined by Metana Minerals in the late 80s and early 1990s, and processed at its nearby Reedy gold mine, now part of the Westgold empire. Technical studies are under way, with work ongoing to extend the share of indicated ounces in the Tuckanarra resource so a JORC-compliant scoping study can eventually be delivered. At a market cap of just $22 million, there's plenty of upside not yet included in the company's valuation, especially with gold sitting at over US$3400/oz (A$5200/oz). While gold juniors have historically been valued in the order of 10% of the in situ value of their resources, today juniors like ODY are trading at closer to 1%. "Normally speaking we're not gold bulls per se because we just take the gold price that's in front of us, but it's been fascinating to watch the increasing levels of excitement in the space," Syme said. "It really hasn't yet flowed right through to the junior explorer end in any meaningful way like it did in the 1980s and other bull runs. "I think there are signs that's just starting to happen. Junior gold mining companies like us have resources in the ground trading at 1-1.5% of the value of the mineral they own. It's easily the best exposure to gold in the world and gold is a pretty important investment category in the current environment. "You can make a compelling case for the gold price and especially the junior gold equities market to keep on going a lot stronger than what it even is so far." Big backers There are certainly institutions though who can see the forest for the trees. One of them, Melbourne's Collins St Asset Management, is heavily invested in WA's junior gold space and recently upped its stake in Odyssey on market from 8.14% to 9.15%. That came despite dilution from a $4m placement which will fund the current RC drill campaign and the technical study, looking at mining high-grade open pit resources at Tuckanarra through Burnakura. "Collins Street are very active in the area and they've expressed a view about the potential in the Murchison area and the potential for consolidation given the alignment of resources and milling capacity," Syme said. "It's interesting that as well as increasing their investment in their current round, we also started to see some other smaller institutional investors come onto the register. "I think we're just at that cusp of being appealing to institutions given the potential for a significant re-rate now that we're fully funded, actively exploring and presenting as a very compelling near-term development." The value proposition can be seen in full view down the road at New Murchison Gold (ASX:NMG). Its shares have lifted 70% to a market cap of $150m after that company began mining at the Crown Prince South gold project, which will be processed via a deal with Westgold. "That's a really interesting comparison. Obviously they've got a cracking deposit up there at Crown Prince, essentially 4g/t open pittable," Syme said. "But there are some good indicators there for what we are looking at with Tuckanarra. "For example, they converted more than 50% of their resources to reserves, that's a pretty good benchmark for us with the 407,000oz resource. "The other compelling thing there is the metrics for the market rating. They're trading north of $500 per resource ounce, we're at a tenth of that." Long-term potential While there is a keen focus is on the known resources at Tuckanarra which will factor into the mining studies, the potential to find additions at targets outside the existing Bollard, Cable, Highway Zone, Kohinoor, Bottle Dump, Lucknow and Maybelle deposits remains significant. "We did an aerial EM survey of the Tuckanarra area back in March and it highlighted a lot of the conductor targets there," Syme said. " The mineralisation at Tuckanarra is generally associated with pyrrhotite – sulphide replacement mineralisation. "Pyrrhotite of course is magnetic and conductive and so we get a pretty good signature from EM surveys. " Southern Geoscience highlighted 32 geophysical anomalies that we're now starting to work our way through and drilling those as we speak. "We've got a pretty high level of confidence about the EM as a targeting mechanism." There could be the potential to find ore sources at depth below the existing open pit resources as well. "Of course you never know, particularly in that Murchison environment, a lot of these deposits go hundreds of metres and even kilometres deep," Syme said. "Westgold and Co. have been mining for years there now. "Generally speaking the deposits we have are just the weathered, surface expression of primary fresh rock ore shoorts coming up from deeper. "Historically, the miners wanted to mine the high-grade quartz veins or the weathered material. "We know on all of those deposits ... there are very strong indications that those high-grade fresh rock leads keep going at depth." Between Tuckanarra and the separate Stakewell project, ODY controls roughly 30km of fertile BIF and greenstone belt between Meekatharra and Cue.
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Mercer Super reports security breach after Australia Post Melbourne GPO mail theft
A superannuation fund does not know how many members have been affected after mail was stolen from Australia Post in Melbourne's CBD. In an email sent on Wednesday, Mercer Super, which also operates Virgin Money Super, said the breach affected members who posted mail to its Melbourne GPO post box between July 1 and 17. Mercer Super said it did not know the exact number of members who had been impacted by the theft, but said customers who sent mail during that period should get in contact. The superannuation fund has more than 1 million members, according to its website. "If no information was posted to us in July, there's no need to take any action," it said in an email to members. It told customers to be alert for suspicious emails, calls or messages, and to not share personal or financial information unless certain of the source. The fund does not believe the incident has impacted members' accounts so far. "Currently there is no indication that any member's personal information has been published externally or sold as a result of this incident," the Mercer Super website said. The fund also said it had enhanced its security processes to further protect members, and has contacted the Australian Information Commissioner and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA). The offenders allegedly broke into the mezzanine area of the Melbourne GPO Box Room four times between July 6 and 17, an Australia Post spokesperson said. "The offenders were able to force entry into a back-of-house area used for sorting mail and distributing letters into PO Boxes on three occasions, and on the fourth, left immediately when deterred by additional security measures," the spokesperson said. "The offenders caused significant damage on entry into the facility, which was promptly repaired, and additional security measures were put in place after each break-in." The spokesperson said letters were not tracked, unlike parcels, and Australia Post has been unable to identify individual mail or boxes targeted by the offenders. Australia Post said it had increased security at Bourke St, including after-hours security in the Post Office Box Room. "Plans are well underway for this facility to move to a new, nearby custom-designed facility next month," the spokesperson said. No arrests have been made and Victoria Police says the investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
