Copper prices rise on news reports of a potential deal with Iran and Asian markets gain
MiFID II exempt information – see disclaimer below
Beowulf Mining* (BEM LN) – MarQ26 financial results
Galantas Gold* (GAL LN) – C$100m equity raise with strategic investors
Jubilee Metals Group (JLP LN) – Raising of US$1.5m by way of a convertible note
Kavango Resources* (KAV LN) – Kavango reshuffle board as Peter Wynter Bee steps aside
Talisman Metals (TLM LN) – Channel sampling results from Tirzzit, Morocco
Copper – prices rise to US$13,712/t on news reports of a potential deal with Iran and Asian markets gain
- Iran and the US reach an agreement to extend the ceasefire and lift restrictions on shipping pending President Trump approval according to Reuters.
- The agreement would extend the truce for another 60 days allowing transit of vessels through the strait, Reuters cites people familiar with negotiations.
- Codelco, the Chilean state copper miner is to move to value over volume as new chairman Bernardo Fontaine moves to offset reality of falling grades and production.
- The new focus on profit over production growth sounds good for Codelco but will likely lead to higher copper prices as the market struggles to keep pace with demand.
China is expected to keep adding to its gold reserves in a diversification drive (World Gold Council)
- “We expect central banks, including China’s, to continue increasing gold holdings, though the pace may vary,” the WGC said.
- China’s gold reserves hit 74.6moz at the end of April, +260koz on March.
- That marked the 18th consecutive month of increases.
Chinese retail and institutional investors are also driving demand higher with gold ETFs inflows amounting to US$9bn in the first four months of the year.
- That compares to $3.6bn in the second placed India.
- Switzerland and the UK reported $1.9bn each, while the US reported $1.3bn of outflows.
Iran – IRGC fires warning shots towards four ships near the Strait of Hormuz after the vessels allegedly attempted to cross without coordinating with Iranian forces (Mehr).
- US and Iran reportedly agreed on a 60-day ceasefire extension and a framework for nuclear talks in Doha earlier this week.
- US Vice President JD Vance said: “I think the Iranians want a deal, and they want to open the Straits of Hormuz. We want them to open the Straits of Hormuz.”
- Vance said that a deal was “not there yet” but “very close”. He said negotiators were “going back and forth on a couple of language points”, which include the “question of enrichment”.
- There are a couple of issues regarding the nuclear stuff: the highly enriched stockpile and the question of enrichment. So, you know, we’re going back and forth with them.”
- The reported framework would include unrestricted access through the Strait of Hormuz without tolls or Iranian intervention (Axios).
- The reported terms also include lifting the US naval blockade in proportion to restored shipping through the strait, an Iranian commitment not to pursue nuclear weapons, and negotiations during the 60-day period on Iran’s uranium stockpile, sanctions relief, and the release of frozen funds.
- Trump asked mediators to consider the proposal for several days before making a final decision with both sides reported to have delayed formal announcements (Axios).
- The Ayatollah, Mojtaba Khamenei has not approved the agreement and the Iranian negotiator Araghchi has not received approval from Iran’s senior leadership according to local sources.
- More than 50 access tunnels leading to Iran’s underground missile cities were cleared and repaired with satellite pictures showing heavy machinery removing debris and reopening entrances at multiple missile sites (CNN).
- Iranian air defenses intercepted a US drone near Bushehr (Tasnim). The US denies the claim.
Lebanon – Hezbollah are now using fibreoptic guided drones to attack the IDF (BBC).
- Israel looking to maintain freedom of action against Hezbollah within any future framework agreed with Iran (WSJ).
Anthropic raised $65bn in the series H funding at a post money valuation of $965bn
- “Since our series G in February, adoption has continued to grow across global enterprise customers, and our run-rate revenue crossed $47 billion earlier this month,” Anthropic said in a blog.
- The Company is expected to IPO later this year potentially.
- Valuation during the last round more than doubled from $380bn seen in February.
The passing of Willy Strothotte, ex Glencore CEO
- Willy Strothotte, who wrested control of Glencore from Marc Rich has sadly passed away aged 82
- Strothotte ran Glencore from 1993 to 2001 following the buyout of Glencore from Rich persuading Rich to step down in 1993 and pass control to the key traders.
- Ivan Glasenberg became CEO in 2002 with Strothotte remaining as Chairman of both Glencore and Xstrata till he stepped down in 2011 ahead of the Glencore IPO.
Coal mine gas explosion in China: https://www.itv.com/news/2026-05-23/at-least-82-killed-in-coal-mine-gas-explosion-in-china-local-media-reports
Guardian Metal Resources – Tungsten & Pilot Mountain mine : https://invest.investorshub.com/innovationreport/
| Dow Jones Industrials | +0.05% | at | 50,669 | |
| Nikkei 225 | +2.53% | at | 66,330 | |
| HK Hang Seng | +0.64% | at | 25,166 | |
| Shanghai Composite | -0.73% | at | 4,069 | |
| US 10 Year Yield (bp change) | +0.8 | at | 4.46 |
Currencies
US$1.1642/eur vs 1.1612/eur previous. Yen 159.30/$ vs 159.52/$. SAr 16.261/$ vs 16.441/$. $1.342/gbp vs $1.340/gbp. 0.716/aud vs 0.712/aud.
CNY 6.770/$ vs 6.783/$. Dollar Index 99.07 vs 99.31 previous.
Economics
US – Fed preferred measure of inflation climbed in April with both headline and core (ie ex energy) measures showing a step up in consumer prices growth
- PCE (%mom, Apr / Mar / Est): 0.4 / 0.7 / 0.5
- PCE (%yoy, Apr / Mar / Est): 3.8 / 3.5 / 3.8
- Core PCE (%yoy, Apr / Mar / Est): 3.3 / 3.2 / 3.3
Germany – Regional inflation numbers show a slight disinflation in May, albeit, in absolute terms most regions run at over 2.4%
Spain – May inflation numbers reiterate high headline price pressures, although, core measure that strips out energy costs came in also elevated
- CPI (%mom, May / Apr / Est): 0.1 / 0.7 / 0.1
- CPI (%yoy, May / Apr / Est):3.6 / 3.5 / 3.6
- Core CPI (%yoy, May / Apr/Est): 2.9 / 2.8 / 2.8
Precious metals:
Gold US$4,525/oz vs US$4,389/oz previous
Gold ETFs 98.5moz vs 98.5moz previous
Platinum US$1,923/oz vs US$1,903/oz previous
Palladium US$1,382/oz vs US$1,376/oz previous
Silver US$75.5/oz vs US$73.4/oz previous
Silver ETFs 793.0moz vs 793.1moz previous
Rhodium US$8,900/oz vs US$9,050/oz previous
Base metals:
Copper US$13,712/t vs US$13,565/t previous
Aluminium US$3,649/t vs US$3,633/t previous
Nickel US$19,045/t vs US$18,920/t previous
Zinc US$3,580/t vs US$3,524/t previous
Lead US$2,023/t vs US$2,006/t previous
Tin US$55,395/t vs US$54,560/t previous
Energy:
Oil US$93.2/bbl vs US$97.1/bbl previous
- Crude oil prices continued their downward trajectory on reports that the US and Iran planned to extend their ceasefire by 60 days and lift restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
- The EIA estimated w/w US inventory draws of 3.3mb to crude, 2.6mb to gasoline and 2.1mb to distillate stocks, with refinery utilisation surging 2.9% to 94.5% on 13.7mb/d of domestic output.
- Henry Hub prices gained on positive market sentiment towards cooling demand this Summer as the EIA reported a 92bcf (+93bcf expected) w/w storage build to 2,483bcf, with US inventories now 1% above last year’s level and 6% above the five-year average as LNG export capacity fell 7bcf w/w to 121bcf on 32 LNG departures (-2 w/w).
Natural Gas €47.3/MWh vs €47.5/MWh previous
Uranium Futures $85.1/lb vs $85.1/lb previous
Bulk:
Iron Ore 62% Fe Spot (Singapore) US$105.4/t vs US$105.2/t
Chinese steel rebar 25mm US$492.5/t vs US$491.6/t
HCC FOB Australia US$239.5/t vs US$240.0/t
Thermal coal swap Australia FOB US$138.0/t vs US$138.0/t
Other:
Cobalt LME 3m US$56,290/t vs US$56,290/t
NdPr Rare Earth Oxide (China) US$101,179/t vs US$102,835/t
Lithium carbonate 99% (China) US$25,184/t vs US$24,843/t
China Spodumene Li2O 6%min CIF US$2,570/t vs US$2,570/t
Ferro-Manganese European Mn78% min US$1,035/t vs US$1,035/t
China Tungsten APT 88.5% FOB US$1,665/mtu vs US$1,625/mtu
China Tantalum Concentrate 30% CIF US$233/lb vs US$233/mtu
China Graphite Flake -194 FOB US$415/t vs US$415/t
Europe Vanadium Pentoxide 98% US$6.0/lb vs US$6.0/lb
Europe Ferro-Vanadium 80% US$27.5/kg vs US$27.8/kg
China Ilmenite Concentrate TiO2 US$240/t vs US$240/t
US Titanium Dioxide TiO2 >98% US$2,809/t vs US$2,809/t
China Rutile Concentrate 95% TiO2 US$1,159/t vs US$1,157/t
Spot CO2 Emissions EUA Price US$65.1/t vs US$65.1/t
Brazil Potash CFR Granular Spot US$405.0/t vs US$405.0/t
Germanium China 99.99% US$3,825.0/kg vs US$3,825.0/kg
China Gallium 99.99% US$400.0/kg vs US$400.0/kg
Europe Molybdenum Oxide 57% US$30.0/lb vs US$30.0/lb
EV & Battery news:
US EV demand down as BESS demand strengthens
- US EV demand weakened significantly in early 2026, with ytd EV sales down 33% versus the prior year. In contrast, Germany recorded 33% EV sales growth over the same period, highlighting the divergence between the US and European markets. (Benchmark Intelligence)
- The slowdown is linked to increasing policy uncertainty in the US, particularly around future support for EV incentives and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provisions.
- US battery energy storage system (BESS) demand however, continues to expand rapidly despite weaker EV growth, with utilities and data centre operators driving increased deployment of grid-scale storage to support renewable integration and rising electricity demand from AI infrastructure.
- Manufacturing capacity additions remain substantial with announced gigafactory projects across North America still total several hundred GWh of planned annual capacity by the end of the decade, despite delays and some project reassessments.
- The US has a major imbalance between downstream battery manufacturing and upstream critical mineral supply and while cell production capacity is expanding quickly, domestic production of lithium, graphite, nickel and manganese remains insufficient to support long-term demand growth.
- Graphite remains one of the largest structural weaknesses in the US battery supply chain.
- China continues to dominate global natural and synthetic graphite refining as well as anode production capacity. Benchmark data suggests the US will remain heavily reliant on imported graphite materials through the 2030s.
| Overnight Change | Weekly Change | Overnight Change | Weekly Change | ||
| BHP | 2.9% | 4.3% | Freeport-McMoRan | 3.5% | 8.2% |
| Rio Tinto | 1.2% | 0.4% | Vale | 0.2% | 1.2% |
| Glencore | 0.2% | 0.2% | Newmont Mining | 0.9% | 0.8% |
| Anglo American | 0.2% | 5.3% | Fortescue | 2.4% | 3.8% |
| Antofagasta | 0.5% | 7.6% | Teck Resources | 1.1% | 5.2% |
Company news:
Beowulf Mining* (BEM LN) 7p, Mkt Cap £5m – MarQ26 financial results
- The Company released unaudited results for the March quarter.
- PAT -£564k (MarQ26: -£450k)
- Admin Expenses -£376k (MarQ26: -£414k)
- Closing cash £87k (DecQ25: £330k)
- The Company is in advanced discussions with a potential strategic investor.
- Discussions remain non binding and the team is hoping to reach a definitive agreement within the coming weeks.
- The Company highlighted that it will need to secure funding by the middle of June to progress its projects and provide working capital for its operations.
*SP Angel acts as Nomad and Broker to Beowulf Mining
Galantas Gold* (GAL LN) 30p, Mkt Cap £151m – C$100m equity raise with strategic investors
- The Company raised C$100m to progress exploration and development at the Indiana Gold/Copper Project and the Andacollo Gold Project, Chile.
- 181.8m units are being issued at C$0.55.
- Each unit includes one share and half a warrant (C$0.80 exercise price, 24m exercised period).
- Eric Sprott, Ocean Partners and Melquart subscribed for 14.6m (8% of the raise), 36.4 (20%) and 1.8m (1%) units, respectively.
- Three shareholders hold ~40% in Galantas post raise (Ocean Partners 13%, Eric Sprott 18%, Melquart 8%).
Conclusion: Completion of the previously announced capital raise (upsized from C$85m) supported by major shareholders secures funding to advance its two gold-copper assets in Chile, Indiana and Andacollo. The Company is aiming to fast track both projects into production aiming to become a multi-asset gold/copper producer in a tier one jurisdiction. Andacollo acquisition completion targeted for June 2026 followed by a PEA in 3Q26 with Indiana PEA due 2Q26.
*SP Angel acts as Broker to Galantas Gold
Jubilee Metals Group (JLP LN) 2.94p, Mkt cap £95m – Raising of US$1.5m by way of a convertible note
- Jubilee report the raising of US$1.5m by way of a convertible note to accelerate development of resources around the Molefe copper mine.
- The investor is reported to have been part of the team behind the development of Mantos Copper which later merged with Capstone Copper.
- The funding should help start copper production at the Sable refinery alongside detained resource drilling at Molefe which is expected to supply high-grade material to the Sable Refinery.
- Discussions continue for a further US$10m staggered investment.
Conclusion: The receipt of the first US$1.5m is good news and we look forward to further news on drilling at Molefe and on news of future copper production from the Sable refinery.
Kavango Resources* (KAV LN) 0.90p, Mkt Cap £40m – Kavango reshuffle board as Peter Wynter Bee steps aside
- Kavango Resources report the appointment of Donald McAlister as non-executive chairman and interim ceo while the group looks for a permanent ceo.
- Donald is well placed to run the group having served as finance director for Mwana Africa, Reunion Mining and Ridge Mining and as a NED at Kavango.
- McAlister is also a NED at Tertiary Minerals (Zambia).
- Peter Wynter Bee, who has led the company as Chairman in recent years is stepping down from 1st July.
- Peter has led the transformation of Kavango from exploration in Botswana to gold production and exploration in Zimbabwe employing >100 local miners and other staff.
- Kavango is now looking to develop a number of new mining opportunities and to significantly expand its operations near Bulawayo.
- Peter led the agreement to fully acquire the Nara Gold Project including 45 claims covering four mines with >90,000oz of estimated historic gold production.
- The Kavango team have identified a number of new structures at Nara within an estimated 200m wide shear corridor.
- Mr. Thamsanqa Mpofu is appointed as a new NED. Tham is currently chairman of Kavango Zimbabwe Holdings (Private) Limited and Kavango Mining (Private) Limited.
- Tham formerly worked in senior positions at 3M Company in Zimbabwe, BHP Minerals Zimbabwe Limited, Meikles Hospitality, and as Chairman of ZB Financial Holdings Limited.
- Tham is graduated in the UK and has in-depth knowledge of Zimbabwe’s business and economic environment.
- Mr. Lorenz Werndle is appointed as CFO and executive director from 20th July.
- Lorenz served as cfo at Blue Gold (BGL N) helping to lead Blue Gold’s reverse takeover, Nasdaq listing and initial funding platform.
- Werndle was previously head of corporate development at Mwana Africa Plc and head of business development at Lonrho Plc.
- Lorenz formerly advised mining companies on IPOs, fundraisings, and M&A transactions as a corporate finance professional at Ambrian Plc.
Conclusion: Peter Wynter Bee has dedicated much time, energy and expertise into the transformation of Kavango into a growing gold explorer in Zimbabwe. Donald McAlister will continue this work till the company finds a suitably expert person to lead Kavango into its next phase of gold development.
*The SP Angel Analyst has visited the Kavango mine sites and holds shares in the company.
Talisman Metals (TLM LN) 7.5p, Mkt Cap £4.7m – Channel sampling results from Tirzzit, Morocco
- Talisman Metals reports channel sampling results from its Tirzzit copper/silver project in Morocco.
- Highlighted results from the seven channel samples of outcropping mineralisation include:
- 2.65m at an average grade of 1.71% copper and 22.25g/t silver with the announcement confirming that the sample “ended in mineralisation”; and
- 0.94m at an average grade of 1.11% copper and 6g/t silver: and
- 1.63m at an average grade of 1.06% copper and 4.25g/t silver.
- CEO, Tim McCutcheon, said that the sampling had been “an opportunistic effort to get hard data on what the team noticed in the field, namely obvious outcropping mineralisation that could show a long target horizon” over a distance of 4.6km.
- He said that follow-up drilling work “after extending out the horizon … [is likely to include] … a drill programme on the project to show that the mineralization extends at depth and that it widens out in those areas”.
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Analysts
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Sales
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*SP Angel are the No1 integrated nomad and broker by number of mining brokerage clients on AIM according to the AIM Advisers Ranking Guide (joint brokerships excluded)
+SP Angel employees may have previously held, or currently hold, shares in the companies mentioned in this note.
| Sources of commodity prices | |
| Gold, Platinum, Palladium, Silver | BGNL (Bloomberg Generic Composite rate, London) |
| Gold ETFs, Steel | Bloomberg |
| Copper, Aluminium, Nickel, Zinc, Lead, Tin, Cobalt | LME |
| Oil Brent | ICE |
| Natural Gas, Uranium, Iron Ore | NYMEX |
| Thermal Coal | Bloomberg OTC Composite |
| Coking Coal | SSY |
| RRE | Steelhome |
| Lithium Carbonate, Ferro Vanadium, Tungsten, Spodumene, Ferro-Manganese, Graphite, Rutile | Asian Metal |
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