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The Hole Truth: Mining Investment Podcast

The Hole Truth: Mining Investment Podcast

By: Resources Rising Stars
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The Hole Truth: Mining Investment Podcast is a product of Resources Rising Stars, hosted by Paul Armstrong, a seasoned expert in the world of finance and resources. With more than 30 years of experience as a finance journalist under his belt, Paul brings a wealth of knowledge and insight to his conversations with some of the most prominent figures in the industry. Each episode of The Hole Truth: Mining Investment Podcast is a deep dive into the inner workings of those resources companies which are making things happen, quizzing those in charge about their projects, their prospects, the challenges they face and the opportunities they offer to investors. Whether you’re an investor, industry professional, or simply interested in the latest developments in mining, energy, and resources, The Hole Truth is the podcast for you. Join Paul and his guests to hear about the latest investment opportunities in the resources sector. Produced by Resource Media ———— The Hole Truth: Mining Investment Podcast is a product of Read Corporate. Please note that Read Corporate does not provide investment advice and investors should seek personalised advice before making any investment decisions.Copyright 2023 All rights reserved. Economics Personal Finance Politics & Government
Episodes
  • Killi Kills It with Iron Ore Acquisition - Hamish Halliday (ASX: KLI)

    Killi Kills It with Iron Ore Acquisition - Hamish Halliday (ASX: KLI)
    Jun 16 2026
    Killi Resources (ASX: KLI) has just acquired an exceptional iron ore project in Western Australia. It will produce iron ore which is very different from anything else produced in Australia. Killi Resources has just acquired an exceptional iron ore project in Western Australia. It will produce iron ore which is very different from anything else produced in Australia. This product will be in hot demand among the new generation of low-emission steelmaking facilities around the world. Guest Bio Hamish Halliday is a Non-Executive Director of Killi Resources Limited (ASX: KLI), a geologist with around 30 years of corporate and technical experience across the resources sector. He has been involved in the discovery and funding of multiple large-scale mineral projects across five continents. Halliday founded Adamus Resources, which he grew from a A$3 million float into a multi-million-ounce emerging gold producer, overseeing the discovery of the Southern Ashanti Gold Project in Ghana. He also co-founded a number of other successful junior mining companies, including Gryphon Minerals, Venture Minerals, Renaissance Minerals, Alicanto Minerals and Blackstone Minerals. At Killi, he is focused on advancing the Lodestone Iron Ore Project alongside the Richardson Street group and Chairman Nev Power, the former Fortescue Managing Director. Produced by Resource Media The Hole Truth: Mining Investment Podcast is a product of Read Corporate. Please note that Read Corporate does not provide investment advice and investors should seek personalised advice before making any investment decisions. Links The Hole Truth LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/the-hole-truth-podcast The Hole Truth YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLI4sZkSfEpPi_u7OrD7lQ-tZHbdy6EhCC&si=iOcGscff7kMSw8c7 The Hole Truth Website: https://resourcesrisingstars.com.au/the-hole-truth-podcast/ The Hole Truth Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theholetruthpodcast/ Company Website: https://www.killiresources.com.au/ Key Insights A Rare, High-Grade Magnetite Body Unlike Anything Else in Australia Killi's newly acquired Lodestone Iron Ore Project hosts a fully recrystallised, coarse-grained magnetite body that Halliday describes as a geological freak. Granites on either side have reworked the mineralisation so the silica–magnetite bonds break apart easily, with grains up to five millimetres across — roughly 100 times coarser than nearby banded iron formations such as Karara. It is more analogous to high-grade bodies seen in Canada, Sweden and South America than to typical Western Australian iron ore. Built for the Green-Steel, Electric Arc Furnace Market The project's key commercial point of difference is that its product can supply the new generation of low-emission steelmaking facilities, whereas most Western Australian iron ore cannot. Electric arc furnaces are where the industry's growth is concentrated, using gas as a reductant rather than coking coal and offering around 80% lower CO2 emissions. Only about 3% of seaborne iron ore is direct-reduction (DR) grade, creating a structural supply shortage that Killi aims to help fill — and Halliday points to Champion Iron spending around half a billion dollars to lift its product toward DR grade as evidence of the premiums on offer. Simple, Low-Cost Processing and Premium Product Because the ore is so coarse and breaks apart easily, Killi can produce a 68–69% Fe concentrate from a 250-micron grind — about ten times coarser than Karara — pointing to a simple processing circuit. The project delivers around 33–40% mass recovery, with concentrate grades targeted at 69–70% Fe at very low impurities. Halliday frames the investment case as clipping the margin at both ends: lower production costs and a higher price, which ultimately translates into stronger free cash flow. Standout Location with Existing Infrastructure Lodestone sits roughly 200 kilometres from the Port of Geraldton, which has spare capacity, with grid power, a sealed road and a rail line running straight to the port — Halliday notes you can stand on the discovery outcrop and see all of it. With no need to build anything beyond the mine gate, the capital required is far smaller than a typical magnetite development, opening the door to a modest, low-capital start-up to generate early cash flow. A Substantial Resource with Major Growth Upside Killi already has an inferred resource of 110 million tonnes, but that tests only about 20% of a magnetite system extending some 25 kilometres of strike. The company plans to start drilling within weeks and aims to quadruple the resource toward roughly half a billion tonnes over the next 12 to 18 months. Running metallurgy, engineering with Sedgman and offtake discussions in parallel, Killi is targeting a pre-feasibility study in the second half of next year and a final investment decision within two to two-and-a-half years. The acquisition is backed by an A...
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    19 mins
  • AusQuest in Search of Copper Glory in Peru - Graeme Drew (ASX: AQD)

    AusQuest in Search of Copper Glory in Peru - Graeme Drew (ASX: AQD)
    Jun 9 2026
    AusQuest has outlined a big copper footprint at its project in Peru. Extensive shallow mineralisation has already been defined. The question is, is there high-grade material below this? The company is just starting a deep drilling programme in the hope of finding the high-grade source, which could be a company maker. Guest Bio Graeme Drew is the Managing Director and Co-Founder of AusQuest Limited, with more than 40 years' experience in the mineral exploration industry in Australia and overseas. Prior to co-founding AusQuest, he held senior roles as an Exploration Manager with CRA Exploration (CRAE) and Rio Tinto Exploration in both Western and Eastern Australia. He has wide-ranging experience in the search for and evaluation of base and precious metals, including copper, gold, nickel, uranium, zinc and diamonds, and leads AusQuest's exploration strategy across its portfolio of porphyry copper, IOCG and base-metal projects in Peru and Australia. Produced by Resource Media The Hole Truth: Mining Investment Podcast is a product of Read Corporate. Please note that Read Corporate does not provide investment advice and investors should seek personalised advice before making any investment decisions. Links The Hole Truth LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/the-hole-truth-podcast The Hole Truth YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLI4sZkSfEpPi_u7OrD7lQ-tZHbdy6EhCC&si=iOcGscff7kMSw8c7 The Hole Truth Website: https://resourcesrisingstars.com.au/the-hole-truth-podcast/ The Hole Truth Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theholetruthpodcast/ Company Website: https://www.ausquest.com.au/ Key Insights Large, Near-Surface Copper Footprint Defined AusQuest's Cangallo Project hosts a copper (+/– gold) porphyry system extending more than 1,500 metres in length, several hundred metres in width and over 400 metres in depth, sitting within roughly 50 metres of surface. The 100%-owned discovery was made through the company's own RC drilling, with no prior drilling on the project, giving AusQuest full ownership of the upside. The Deeper Drilling Test — Smoke vs Fire With most drilling so far confined to the deeply weathered, oxidised top 300 metres, AusQuest is now starting a deeper diamond drilling program of approximately 5,000–6,000 metres (holes to 800–1,000 metres) to test whether a higher-grade hypogene source sits beneath the extensive shallow mineralisation. A meaningful intercept at depth could be a significant re-rating event for the company. Potential Near-Surface Starter Pit The shallow, low-grade oxide material (averaging ~0.25–0.3% Cu) may carry standalone value. Because it is leachable oxide with effectively no strip ratio, and is located near the coast in a low-cost desert setting close to infrastructure, AusQuest is undertaking metallurgical test work to assess recoveries and the potential for an economic open-pit, leachable resource. Strategic Location and Copper Tailwind Cangallo's coastal location around 8 kilometres from the Peruvian coast — close to the Pan-American Highway and power lines, away from agriculture and at low elevation — is a key value driver versus higher-altitude Andean peers. A rising copper price, with forecasts of US$15,000–16,000+ per tonne, adds further leverage to both the shallow resource and any deeper discovery. Compelling Risk/Reward at a Modest Valuation At a market capitalisation of around A$70 million, Drew argues AusQuest is undervalued relative to peers holding comparable oxide copper resources across the Americas. Having transitioned from greenfields explorer to a brownfields evaluation story, the company offers investors leverage to exploration success as the deeper drilling program gets underway.
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    18 mins
  • PMET Positioned to Capitalise on Lithium Resurgence | Ken Brinsden – PMET Resources (ASX: PMT)

    PMET Positioned to Capitalise on Lithium Resurgence | Ken Brinsden – PMET Resources (ASX: PMT)
    May 25 2026
    PMET is closing in on a key economic assessment of a huge lithium project in Canada. The project is set to be the fifth biggest budget main producer in the world. Meaning it is ideally placed to be a key supplier to North American and European markets looking to diversify from China. Guest Bio Ken Brinsden is CEO, President and Director of PMET Resources (ASX: PMT / TSX: PMET). He is a Mining Engineer with nearly 30 years of experience across surface and underground mining operations, spanning mine management, production, brownfield and greenfield development, and executive and board leadership across multiple commodities. Ken graduated from the Western Australian School of Mines in 1993 and has held roles at WMC Resources, Normandy, Central Norseman Gold Corporation, GoldFields, Iluka Resources and Atlas Iron. He joined Pilbara Minerals as Chief Executive Officer in January 2016 and was appointed Managing Director and CEO in May of that year, leading the company's transformation from a junior explorer into one of the world's leading lithium raw materials producers and achieving entry to the ASX 100. Ken is a member of the London Metal Exchange's Lithium Committee and is now based in Québec, where he is leading the development of the Shaakichiuwaanaan Project — the largest lithium pegmatite resource in the Americas. Produced by Resource Media ———— The Hole Truth: Mining Investment Podcast is a product of Read Corporate. Please note that Read Corporate does not provide investment advice and investors should seek personalised advice before making any investment decisions. Key Insights PMET's Shaakichiuwaanaan Project Is Positioned to Become One of the World's Largest Lithium ProducersLocated in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay region of northern Québec, the Shaakichiuwaanaan Project holds the largest lithium pegmatite resource in the Americas. PMET's completed CV5 Feasibility Study targets production of up to 800,000 tonnes per year of spodumene concentrate at full capacity, which would place it in the top five hard rock lithium operations globally — a scale Ken Brinsden compares directly to the industry benchmark, Greenbushes. Stationary Energy Storage and EV Trucking Are the Demand Forces the Market Is Underestimating Brinsden reveals that stationary battery energy storage now accounts for 40% of global lithium-ion battery demand — a figure unthinkable just 18 months ago. He argues the next wave is diesel replacement in commercial trucking, enabled by megawatt-scale charging and larger battery packs, and that the compounding effect of cheaper cells across new applications means the market will continue to be surprised by the pace of demand growth. Shaakichiuwaanaan Is a Rare Triple-Commodity Critical Minerals Asset Beyond its world-class lithium endowment, the Shaakichiuwaanaan property hosts the world's largest known pollucite-hosted caesium deposit — located in the CV13 pegmatite — as well as one of the largest tantalum resources globally. Caesium is used in oil and gas drilling fluids, industrial catalysts and pharmaceuticals; tantalum is in strong demand for electronics, defence and aerospace. Brinsden explains how both co-products will contribute meaningful cost credits when the expanded feasibility study is released. Volkswagen's PowerCo and Koch Technology Solutions Provide Strategic Validation at Scale In a first for the Volkswagen Group, the automaker has taken a direct equity stake in PMET and signed a 10-year lithium spodumene offtake agreement through its battery subsidiary PowerCo. PMET has also launched a relationship with Koch Technology Solutions — a major US industrial conglomerate — focused on advancing value-added caesium chemicals production from Shaakichiuwaanaan, deepening the project's integration into North American critical minerals supply chains. Government Backing From Canada and Germany Underpins the Path to Mine Authorisation PMET has received letters of support from Export Development Canada and Germany's KfW IPEX-Bank as it advances through the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment process. Brinsden sees Canada's drive to diversify its supply chains — particularly in the context of shifting geopolitical dynamics and its deepening ties with Europe — as a powerful structural tailwind for Shaakichiuwaanaan as it targets a final investment decision in the second half of 2027.
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    22 mins
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