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West Australian
11 hours ago
- Business
- West Australian
Boss Energy shares plunge on issues at uranium mine
The company behind Australia's first uranium mine in a decade has been hit by a huge share-price plunge after disclosing challenges at its South Australia operation. Boss Energy shares on Monday afternoon were down 42.2 per cent to a three-year low of $1.965 after the Perth-headquartered company made the announcement about its Honeymoon mine, 80km northwest of Broken Hill. Boss said that based on more than 12 months of resumed operations, it had identified "potential challenges" that could prevent Honeymoon from ever achieving its forecast production target of 2.45 million pounds of yellowcake a year. "We're confident that we'll get at least 1,600,000 pounds," chief executive and managing director Duncan Craib told analysts in a conference call on Monday. The issue is production drilling at 15 to 20 metres of spacing has found less uranium mineralisation than Boss had inferred from its 2021 feasibility study, which relied on drilling at 60 or 70-metre spacing. An independent review by experts will commence shortly to determine the extent to which this will affect assumptions from the early feasibility study, Boss said. The Honeymoon mine opened in 2011 but operations were suspended just two years later, after a plunge in the price of uranium. Boss bought the mine in 2015 and it resumed operations in 2024. "It really has been a tremendous achievement that since the start of commissioning in April (2024), we've produced over one million pounds of uranium to date," Mr Craib said. The chief executive, who is stepping down at the end of September, told analysts in response to a question that it was too soon to say how the mineralisation findings might affect Honeymoon's estimated mine life of 10-plus years. "The mine itself is off to a flying start," he said. It is profitable and Boss Energy has no debt, he added.
Perth Now
11 hours ago
- Business
- Perth Now
Boss Energy shares plunge on issues at uranium mine
The company behind Australia's first uranium mine in a decade has been hit by a huge share-price plunge after disclosing challenges at its South Australia operation. Boss Energy shares on Monday afternoon were down 42.2 per cent to a three-year low of $1.965 after the Perth-headquartered company made the announcement about its Honeymoon mine, 80km northwest of Broken Hill. Boss said that based on more than 12 months of resumed operations, it had identified "potential challenges" that could prevent Honeymoon from ever achieving its forecast production target of 2.45 million pounds of yellowcake a year. "We're confident that we'll get at least 1,600,000 pounds," chief executive and managing director Duncan Craib told analysts in a conference call on Monday. The issue is production drilling at 15 to 20 metres of spacing has found less uranium mineralisation than Boss had inferred from its 2021 feasibility study, which relied on drilling at 60 or 70-metre spacing. An independent review by experts will commence shortly to determine the extent to which this will affect assumptions from the early feasibility study, Boss said. The Honeymoon mine opened in 2011 but operations were suspended just two years later, after a plunge in the price of uranium. Boss bought the mine in 2015 and it resumed operations in 2024. "It really has been a tremendous achievement that since the start of commissioning in April (2024), we've produced over one million pounds of uranium to date," Mr Craib said. The chief executive, who is stepping down at the end of September, told analysts in response to a question that it was too soon to say how the mineralisation findings might affect Honeymoon's estimated mine life of 10-plus years. "The mine itself is off to a flying start," he said. It is profitable and Boss Energy has no debt, he added.
West Australian
16-07-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Apple to buy rare earths from Gina Rinehart and Pentagon-backed US producer MP Materials
Tech giant Apple has struck a $US500 million ($767m) deal to buy rare earth minerals from Gina Rinehart-backed MP Materials, the US producer that just last week secured backing from the Pentagon. The two companies will build a factory in Texas, with neodymium magnet manufacturing lines tailored for Apple products, the iPhone maker said overnight Tuesday in a statement. Apple said the spending on rare earths is part of its earlier pledge to invest more than $US500b in the US over the next four years. Shares of MP Materials surged as much as 18 per cent in New York to the highest intraday price since April 2022. Mrs Rinehart has an 8.5 per cent stake in Las Vegas-based MP Materials, which along with Perth-headquartered Lynas Rare Earths is the only rare earths producer of note with operations beyond Chinese borders. She also holds 8.2 per cent of Lynas' register. The world's dependence on China for rare earths permanent magnets that are essential for consumer tech, cars, wind turbines and fighter aircrafts, has become a flash point in the Asian nation's trade war with the US. After the Trump administration imposed 145 per cemt tariffs on China, boasting that it had the upper hand, Beijing turned the tables by essentially shutting down exports of the critical component. MP Materials operates the sole US rare earths mine at Mountain Pass in California. 'Rare earth materials are essential for making advanced technology, and this partnership will help strengthen the supply of these vital materials here in the United States,' Apple chief executive Tim Cook said in the statement. The increased production will support dozens of new manufacturing and R&D jobs, Apple said. The two companies will also work together to establish a rare earths recycling line in Mountain Pass and develop novel magnet materials and innovative processing technologies to enhance magnet performance, according to the statement. That facility will allow MP Materials to take in recycled rare earth feedstock and use it in Apple products. 'This collaboration deepens our vertical integration, strengthens supply chain resilience, and reinforces America's industrial capacity at a pivotal moment,' MP Materials CEO James Litinsky said in a separate statement. Magnet shipments from the MP Materials facility in Fort Worth, Texas are expected to begin in 2027 and ramp up to support hundreds of millions of Apple devices, the Las Vegas-based firm said. Investor euphoria over the deal flowed through to trade in Australia, with Lynas up 1.5 per cent to $10.17 amid a broad decline across the rest of the ASX200. Iluka Resources — which is building a rare earths processing plant near Eneabba — also shot up 4 per cent to $4.87. China curbs on rare earths have reverberated across global supply chains — Ford Motor and Suzuki Motor idled some production. Elon Musk said shortages were hurting his robotics business. And governments rushed to secure the few suppliers outside of China. Signs have emerged in recent weeks that the US and China are beginning to deliver on promises made in trade talks held in Geneva and London in the past two months. China agreed to resume shipments of rare earths — with exports surging in June — while the Trump administration has reversed some restrictions on technology exports to China, including some semiconductors from Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Still, in its biggest move yet to push back against China's weaponisation of rare earths, the Pentagon took a $US400m stake in MP last week to secure supplies of magnets critical for military and other applications. The deal came with $US1 billion in financing from JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs to fund a major new plant. While the export halt boosted prices and sparked fears of shortages, over the longer run western producers like MP Materials and Lynas have struggled to turn a profit due to weak prices and oversupply. Bloomberg
Sky News AU
26-06-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
Cash Converters, travel agents MTA cop business register fines
Cash Converters and travel agents MTA have been fined by the consumer watchdog over franchise registration failures. Both franchisors paid $16,500 fines following infringement notices from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. The consumer watchdog says failing to meet registration requirements causes a power imbalance. 'The Franchising Code of Conduct applies to franchising in Australia to help address some of the problems caused by the power imbalance in the franchise relationship,' ACCC deputy chair Mick Keogh said. 'A franchisor's failure to maintain up-to-date information on the register undermines transparency for prospective franchisees, and the reliability and integrity of the (Franchise Disclosure) Register.' NewsWire has contacted Cash Converters and MTA for comment. The federal Treasury oversees the Franchise Disclosure Register, which gives free information to anyone interested in a franchise operation. The ACCC received a $7m funding boost earlier this year to crack down on registry compliance. The consumer watchdog says the database is an important protector for small businesses. 'The requirement for franchisors to maintain accurate and up-to-date public profiles on the register ensures prospective franchisees and other stakeholders have clear and accurate information to help them make informed business decisions, including whether to enter into a franchise agreement,' Mr Keogh said. Perth-headquartered Cash Converters has about 74 franchisee-owned stores in Australia, and 79 shops are run by the corporation, the ACCC estimates. MTA, based on the Gold Coast, has an estimated 488 franchisees across the country. Originally published as 'Power imbalance': Cash Converters, travel agents MTA cop business register fines
The Australian
22-04-2025
- The Australian
Lindian Resources (ASX: LIN) hands Chinese pair over to police
Two Chinese nationals have been detained and charged with criminal trespass after they were discovered on the site of a major rare earths project in Africa controlled by Perth-headquartered Lindian Resources. Security guards employed by Lindian apprehended the two Chinese men with two local guides at Lindian's Kangankunde rare earths project in Malawi. The Chinese pair were handed over to police for questioning and charged. It is understood they were held in custody for 24 hours and then released on bail over the Easter break. They were due to appear in court on Tuesday. The incident comes with the US and China trading blows over the supply of strategically important rare earths used in military applications and in key industries like renewables and technology. Kangankunde is touted as one of the world's biggest high-grade rare earths deposits with low levels of impurities and radioactive minerals. Lindian has estimated it will cost just $US40m to bring the fully–permitted project, about 90 kilometres north of the city of Blantyre, into production. The first stage has a mine life of 45 years based on current estimates of the ore body and Lindian is proposing low-cost dry processing given the low levels of thorium and uranium in the deposit. An image captured by security at the Lindian Resources rare earths project in Malawi. In an incident report seen by The Australian, Lindian security supervisor Remmie Maseketsa said the four men had been detained on Thursday in a forest area well inside the boundaries of the Kangankunde mining lease. He said two of the men identified themselves as employees of a Chinese mining company. One of the Malawians was an interpreter and the other a mining consultant and long-time government employee. Police inspected the site before charging the Chinese and confiscating their passports. Mr Maseketsa said they had driven past 'no entry' signs and inside the Lindian-controlled perimeter. The company employs 14 full-time security guards and has been on high alert after a similar incident involving unauthorised access by Chinese mining interests. The Lindian security team has recommended installing boom gates at all roads leading into the lease area and stepping up patrols in the wake of the latest incursion. In the previous incident, geological samples were taken and the people apprehended were charged, but left Malawi before facing court. Lindian executive chairman Rob Martin spent the first week of March in Washington for talks about the future of the Kangankunde project. 'With the rising tensions between the US and China, we are not surprised with what occurred over the weekend,' he said. 'Kangankunde is one of the most strategic undeveloped rare earth assets in the world, with both countries understanding the significance of this project and what it will do when it comes online in 2026. 'The deposit has the potential to shift the balance of global supply and that makes it a potential disrupter to the current status quo.' China dominates global rare earths supply and has imposed export restrictions as part of an escalating trade war with Donald Trump's White House. The bans apply to permanent magnets that contain heavy rare earths crucial in guided missiles and jet fighters as well as in robotics. Mr Martin said Lindian took site safety and security extremely seriously: 'To find foreign nationals on an active unmapped haul road... is concerning,' he said. 'We applaud the Malawian government and the local authorities for their support and prompt action on this matter.' Read related topics: ASXThe Nationals
