Blog
A contrarian viewpoint on the rising gold price
Given I regularly wrote about the greenshoots emerging for juniors during the long downturn, it is only fair that I take a contrarian standpoint while the sector enjoys the greatest period in its history Don’t get me wrong, I am not predicting the end of the gold...
From Colorado to Perth: The Global Pulse of Mining and Investment
I’m filing this editorial from Denver; Colorado having spent the last few days at the Mining Americas Forum in the US state There were plenty of Australian companies at the event, and even more at the preceding Beaver Creek Precious Metals Summit, also in Colorado....
Economic reform roundtable: Productivity, approvals and the impact of AI
The September issue of Paydirt went to print as the Australian Federal Government launched into its economic reform roundtable in Canberra, billed as the most important meeting since the Hawke Government’s National Economic Summit in 1983. The Hawke summit is now...
Ball in Australia’s court to strengthen ties with Africa
As old alliances and economic ties are redrawn or torn up, Australia has a chance to improve relations with Africa. And the Federal Government could do worse than lean on its mining sector to provide support. Australian-African relations have never been described as...
Brownfields exploration continuing to reap the best returns for gold diggers
I don’t want to sound dramatic, but there have been times over the last few years when I wondered if the exploration industry model as we know it is broken and set for the biggest change in a generation. Commodity prices have rarely been higher. Gold is the obvious...
Are we on the cusp of a golden age of discovery?
I don’t want to sound dramatic, but there have been times over the last few years when I wondered if the exploration industry model as we know it is broken and set for the biggest change in a generation. Commodity prices have rarely been higher. Gold is the obvious...
Labor wins just the tonic for Australia’s resources industry
It might feel counterintuitive to say, but the resounding victories for the ALP in state and federal elections this year may be the best outcome the Australian mining industry could’ve hoped for At the West Australian level, the Cook Government and its Minister of...
Much of Paydirt’s editorial focus this year has been on the copper sector
This hasn’t been a deliberate strategy, merely following where the news is and there have been few times in living memory when the Australian copper space has been so busy. While some of the steam has come out of the price, there remains confidence in the longer-term...
The long anticipated junior gold revival has finally arrived, now the impetus is with the companies themselves to take advantage with bold plans
I would say the 2025 junior gold sector can be divided into roughly four categories: companies reworking old projects, those bringing smaller projects to bear quickly, groups looking to develop plus-100,000 ozpa standalone projects and explorers with longer-term...
Has there ever been greater disparity between the market and wider public discourse when it comes to commodities?
If you only read the mainstream headlines and listened to the soundbites of politicians the world over, you’d think critical minerals such as lithium and rare earths were at record prices. The last month alone have seen US President Donald Trump and Ukraine...
Resources sector awaits potential ramifications of Trump’s return
I’d set myself a challenge of not writing about Donald Trump in this month’s column. Unfortunately, as you are about to read, I failed miserably. The velocity with which the US President is enacting his goals has taken the world by surprise and the sense of...