Melbourne commuter chaos looms for months as Metro Tunnel nears completion
Passengers on three different train lines will have to switch at either of two different stations as the first trains carrying passengers through the new tunnel are opened to the public.
Speaking to media on Saturday, Transport Infrastructure Minister, Gab Williams, said the amount of disruptions owing to the state's massive infrastructure projects was too long to list.
'You've probably already seen the media release with an outline of many of the disruptions that will be taking place over the winter break, because we have a huge winter of work,' she said.
'So I won't go through all of them. I will choose to single out a few, but in short, we are ensuring you know the final stretch and opening, getting ready to open, the Metro Tunnel project and of course as well the West Gate Tunnel.'
On June 21, the train-carrying Metro Tunnel will run a 'dress rehearsal', however the tunnel hasn't yet been signed off to transport passengers.
On this one rehearsal day, passengers on the Sunbury, Cranbourne and Pakenham lines will have to switch trains at Caulfield or Footscray stations. The empty trains will then continue on through the tunnel as a sort of dry run.
There are two AFL games in Melbourne on that Saturday, being contested by four Melbourne-based teams. Ms Williams said staff will 'be out in force' at the stations where passengers have to get off the train to tell people where to go, on top of the usual announcements ringing out.
This June 21 trial marks the first in a string of major transport disruptions over the next six months. Final works on the West Gate Tunnel will cause lane closures on outbound arterial routes later in the year.
Sections of the Eastern Freeway will be shut during the weekends in August and buses will replace trains on the Hurstbridge line in July.
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The Australian
3 hours ago
- The Australian
The ASX's best undeveloped mines, according to Argonaut
Argonaut's latest Best Undeveloped Projects list was launched this month Companies listed in the guide have historically done well, with cumulative gains for key picks of 212% over more than a decade Gold, uranium, copper and critical minerals deposits all among the 25-strong list of key picks and special mentions In a world of AI, quants and passive investing, there are smoke signals to be found that active management and stock picking still matters when it comes to choosing outperformers. Look no further than the Best Undeveloped Projects list out of Perth brokers Argonaut, the tome from the Wild West that puts guard rails around which future mines have the best prospects for success. This year's list is now out, presenting 25 projects yet to enter construction that have the potential to become significant mining operations. Of those, 18 make the main list with another seven in the special mentions category. It's impossible to predict the future with perfect accuracy, but recent history suggests the list can be a good guide for value creation. Argonaut has drawn up the list each year since 2014. In that time there have been four down years and seven up years for its key picks, with average growth of 14%. A cumulative investment would have netted 212% for key picks and 94% for special mentions over that period, against just 61% of the ASX 200 and 123% for the small resources index. Last year was a strong one for Argonaut's key picks, notching their third best performance in the past decade with average share prices 38% higher. Special mentions underperformed small resources (10% vs 12%), though that came off a massive 58% run in 2023. The standout performer in 2024's list was New World Resources (ASX:NWC), up 235% after a bidding war resulted in its $243 million cash takeover by Kinterra Capital – the prize its high-grade Antler copper project in Arizona. It would be hard to repeat a success like that, with De Grey Mining also a major mover after its scrip takeover by Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST) to end the speculation over who would eventually get to develop the 11.2Moz Hemi gold project. With that in mind, we felt it was worth a squiz at this year's book to see which projects Argonaut thinks are the real deal this year. The list Before we go onto the list itself, it's worth noting what criteria Argonaut's stock pickers use to determine their top selections, giving a sense of what professional analysts look for when they talk about a standout asset. Geared towards low cost, high margin opportunities, the projects assessed by Argonaut must be development stage, somewhere between a scoping study and pre-commercial production, have an internal rate of return upwards of 25% (large miners typically will develop anything above 15% depending on mine life), profitable through all market conditions and commodity price cycles and highly likely to achieve a project valuation north of $100m within 24 months. To make the list the project owner must also have a valuation of less than $5bn – no boring, index tracking mega caps here. This year's book is a long one. So we'll roll up the key picks here: Argonaut's key picks for best undeveloped projects. Pic: Argonaut Running through the 18 key picks, and you'll be surprised to see gold doesn't totally dominate the ledger – these projects are supposed to work in all commodity cycles after all. Copper gets two nods, courtesy of AIC Mines' (ASX:A1M) Jericho and FireFly Metals' (ASX:FFM) Green Bay. Unloved nickel and resurgent platinum group metals get some love in Centaurus Metals' (ASX:CTM) Jaguar project in Brazil and Chalice Mining's (ASX:CHN) Gonneville in WA. Zinc, rare earths, niobium and rutile all get one mention, with lithium and uranium bagging two a piece. It's not everything, but in a sign of the times, gold assets still make up the largest single portion of the list, with six of the 18 names aiming to develop gold assets. Those include large producers Greatland Resources (ASX:GGP), Perseus Mining (ASX:PRU) and Capricorn Metals (ASX:CMM), who are all looking to build new mines in the coming years at Havieron, near Greatland's Telfer mine, Nyanzaga in Tanzania and Mt Gibson in WA, respectively. But there are small caps on the card also: Magnetic Resources' (ASX:MAU) Lady Julie deposit in WA's Laverton gold district, Predictive Discovery's (ASX:PDI) Bankan in Guinea and WIA Gold's (ASX:WIA) Kokoseb in Cote d'Ivoire are all included, with each shaping as potential M&A targets. "An improved gold market has fuelled increased exploration across the space, resulting in the emergence of new greenfield and near-mine discoveries," Argonaut said. "We include nine gold projects, with five located in Western Australia and the remainder across the Africa region. "We remain firmly committed to our belief that decarbonisation will play an increasingly important role in the global economy. Future facing metals such as lithium, rare earth elements, copper, niobium and uranium are all represented in our project selections." Special mentions include projects that could progress to Argonaut's main list. Pic: Argonaut Three gold stocks feature on the special mentions, including Brightstar Resources (ASX:BTR) and its soon to be wholly consolidated Sandstone project, where the acquisition of neighbour Aurumin (ASX:AUN) would pump up its inventory from 1.5Moz to 2.4Moz gold. Tim Goyder's Minerals 260 (ASX:MI6) and its ripe to be mined Bullabulling mine near Coolgardie also makes the grade along with Diggers and Dealers best emerging company award winner Turaco Gold (ASX:TCG) and its Afema deposit in Cote d'Ivoire. Rare earths and niobium plays Northern Minerals (ASX:NTU) and Encounter Resources (ASX:ENR) are on the bill, with African uranium opportunities Aura Energy (ASX:AEE) and Bannerman Energy (ASX:BMN) cracking a mention. Projects to watch There's a lot to pore over, but we've decided to take a look through some of the key picks and special mentions for a few that piqued our interest. Aura Energy - Tiris Aura Energy's Tiris is among the most advanced uranium assets on the ASX, with first production expected in 2027. The project lies in the West African country of Mauritania, an off the radar locale for ASX investors which nonetheless is home to major mining operations, especially in gold and iron ore. Tiris would be its first uranium mine, with Argonaut's John Scholtz suggesting its 162Mt at 215ppm resource (76.6Mlb) could underpin production of 1.7Mlbpa at all in sustaining costs of US$37.07/lb. "A DFS on the project was completed in 2021 and has subsequently been updated in 2023 and had a FEED study in 2024 highlighting robust economics. AEE is now focused on funding and is expected to do an FID in the near-term. The project is fully licensed," Scholtz said. "Due to current market conditions delaying an FID, AEE's current target for delivering production is early CY27 rather than their initial estimates in the FEED. Using a 50/50 blend of spot prices and Argonaut forecasts the NPV of Tiris is A$585m." That compares very favourably to Aura's current market cap of $138m. Magnetic Resources - Lady Julie Magnetic's Lady Julie North 4 discovery has grown from 200,000oz to 1.94Moz in just two years, with Argonaut's Patrick Streater predicting another update could take the resource there to 2.25Moz. That would add further value to an asset where a feasibility study in July outlined a nine-year mine life producing 114,000ozpa, including 140,000ozpa between years three to eight. Argonaut has modelled a 10.5 year mine life at 110,000ozpa, with pre-production capex of $375m including working capital, with an initial open pit to be supplemented by an underground from the third year of ops. "MAU presents both as an attractive standalone development project, whilst also being a compelling M&A target for existing producers in the region looking for a large high-grade ore feed," Streater said. The attraction for nearby majors is its locale. Magnetic sits within 15km of both Genesis Minerals' (ASX:GMD) Mt Morgans mill and Gold Fields' Granny Smith, both of which have long been regarded as underfed. When deposits outside Lady Julie are included, the broader Laverton project's resource runs up to 2.32Moz, making it one of the largest undeveloped gold bases in the hot WA Goldfields region. "MAU continues to progress the Lady Julie project down a standalone development route with a sufficient mining inventory now built to cover pre-production capital costs," Streater said. "However, the existing processing infrastructure in the region across various producers makes MAU a compelling M&A target, which could instead be acquired as a bolt-on project for a nearby producer. The LJN4 open pit includes a large high-grade ore reserve of 14.3Mt at 1.6g/t for 726koz, which would be an attractive high-grade feed with scale to supplement existing mill ore feeds or displace lower-grade material." Patriot Battery Metals - Shaakichiuwaanaan Is lithium still sufficiently exciting at spodumene prices of under US$1000/t to warrant best project inclusion? Argonaut still sees Ken Brinsden's Patriot as "globally significant" as the largest hard rock lithium deposit in North America, running at 141Mt at 1.39% Li2O. It bolstered the investment case last month by reporting the world's largest pollucite hosted caesium deposit also existed on the site, including a high-grade component of 163,000t at 10.25% Cs2O with lithium and tantalum credits. An exploration target of 146-231Mt at 1-1.5% Li2O means converting drill metres to resources could put the project in league with Pilbara Minerals' Pilgangoora, MinRes and Albemarle's Wodgina and the Greenbushes JV in WA for scale. A feasibility study is due at the end of September. Predictive Discovery - Bankan A DFS recently outlined a 12-year operation producing 250,000ozpa at an all in sustaining cost of just US$1057/oz. Hosting a 2.95Moz reserve, Bankan is one of the largest discoveries made in West Africa in recent years, with the grant of an exploration permit viewed by Argonaut's Patrick Streater as a key catalyst for the project, expected to cost US$463m to bring into production by 2028. While wrangling from Guinea's Government over licences at other projects is potentially throwing some storm clouds over the junta-run jurisdiction, the award of the exploration permit could be a trigger for M&A. That seems the logical outcome for PDI, which has Perseus, Lundin and Zijin all on its register as significant shareholders. "We expect the Lundin Group/Zijin to be the most likely owners. Under PDI's current development timeline, assuming PDI brings Bankan into production, the first gold is targeted for early CY28," Streater said. Brightstar Resources - Sandstone Brightstar is already a small scale gold producer, using toll treatment to deliver between 35-40,000ozpa from a string of gold mines across the Menzies and Laverton gold districts. An expansion there, using its own plant infrastructure, could enhance that to 70,000ozpa later this decade. But Alex Rovira's firm's big opportunity to grow into a 200,000ozpa miner lies in the forgotten Sandstone gold field. Over the past two years, the firm has delivered on a plan to consolidate the district – the fourth pillar of the Murchison province alongside the Ramelius Resources dominated Mt Magnet and Westgold controlled Cue and Meekatharra – via aggressive M&A. The latest gambit is its agreed merger with Aurumin, which will take the total inventory to 2.4Moz. FID is due in 2027 with production to start late in 2028 on present ambitions. 100,000m of drilling is planned this financial year. Argonaut's Hayden Bairstow has a spec buy rating and $1.60 valuation on 40c BTR. The broker's 3Mtpa production scenario for Sandstone carries a $200m capex estimate, with average gold production of 105,000ozpa with costs of $3000/oz for the first five years. A PFS and ore reserve are due in 2026. Sovereign Metals - Kasiya Kasiya hosts the world's largest natural rutile resource of 1.8Bt at 1%, with 1.4% natural graphite a co-product kicker. Natural rutile is the world's cleanest and most desirable source of titanium dioxide feedstock, with supplies expecting to head into decline over the course of this decade. Rio Tinto has already read the tea leaves, picking up a 19.9% equity stake in the company, which is expected to deliver a DFS on the Malawi-based project in Q4 2025. "Rio Tinto (Not Covered/No Rating) holds a 19.9% equity stake in SVM and we anticipate they will ultimately pay a market premium to takeover SVM. The DFS expected in 4QFY25 remains as a key catalyst," Argonaut's George Ross said. Argonaut has a $1.691bn NPV attached to the project, slightly below Sovereign's optimised PFS estimate. The number is pre-tax, with the application of a 15% Malawian resource rent tax still uncertain. The project has already attracted the interest of international offtakers, Ross noted. "The project will produce two critical mineral co-products, rutile and graphite, at a low carbon cost. Kasiya's rutile concentrate is considered a premium product with good particle size and low deleterious elements," he said. "Because of its quality, Kasiya's rutile is suitable for use as both a titania feedstock and in the high value welding sector. SVM has entered into non-binding MOUs with three major rutile market participants: Mitsui, Chemours and Hascor." At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Sovereign Metals, Brightstar Resources, Aura Energy and Magnetic Resources are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article. The broker's opinions are not those of Stockhead.
SBS Australia
6 hours ago
- SBS Australia
Trump to meet with Zelenskyy after no deal reached at Alaska summit
Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts . Ahead of the high stakes meeting with Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump said he would know within two minutes of meeting the Russian leader whether it would be a success. It took almost three hours before the leaders emerged from the meeting behind closed doors. It was the first face-to-face meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Putin since 2019, with the Russian leader ostracised by Western leaders since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. After their meeting, Mr Trump and Mr Putin emerged to speak before reporters in Anchorage, but they took no questions. "I believe that we had a very productive meeting. There were many, many points that we agreed on - most of them. I would say. A couple of big ones that we haven't quite got there. But we have made some head way. There is no deal until there is a deal. I will call up NATO in a little while. I will of course call up President Zelenskyy." Mr Trump later told Fox News that he rated the meeting a 10 out of 10 - even though he revealed no details of the points of agreement and disagreement. "There is not that much. There is one or two significant items (of disagreement). But I think they can be reached. Not it is really up to President Zelenskyy to get it done. And I would also say the European nations. They have to get involved a little bit. But it is up to President Zelenskyy. And if they like, I will be at the next meeting. They are going to set up a meeting between President Zelenskyy, President Putin and myself, I guess. Not that I want to be there, but I want to make sure that it gets done. We have a pretty good chance of getting it done." It is a change in the tone Mr Trump had a few weeks ago when he issued a August 8 deadline for Mr Putin to show a genuine commitment to a ceasefire - or face stronger sanctions. At the post-meeting press conference, Mr Putin was keen to cast the meeting as a success for him - in receiving the invitation, but also on the prospect of a Russian-US economic reset. "I expect that today's agreement will be the starting point - not only for the solution of the Ukrainian issue. But will also help us bring back business and pragmatic relations between Russia and the US." He says he has not shifted in his position on the full-scale invasion in Ukraine. "We're convinced that in order to make the settlement lasting long-term, we need to eliminate the primary roots, the primary causes of the conflict. And we have said it multiple times, to consider all legitimate concerns of Russia and to reinstate a just balance of security in Europe - and in the world on a whole." And at the end of the press conference, Mr Putin was eager to secure another meeting with the US President. Donald Trump: "Thank you very much Vladimir." Vladimir Putin: "Next time in Moscow." Donald Trump: "Oh, that's an interesting one! I will get a little heat on that one but I could see it possibly happening. Thank you very much Vladimir. Thank you all! Thank you!" Vladimir Putin: Thank you so much." Matthew Sussex is a fellow at the Australian National University's Strategic and Defence Studies Centre. He says there was a lot of theatre and optics involved in the high stakes visit - and Mr Putin got what he wanted. "Yes, it's certainly a win for Vladimir Putin. The optics of it were that, you know, he came to American territory, but American territory in Alaska, which of course previously was part of the Russian Federation and there was a lot of media talk in Russia and billboards going up saying, you know, Alaska is Russian and we will take that back. So he got a photo opportunity with Donald Trump. So it makes him look, look respected and valued and making the American president travel all the way to Anchorage to meet him. And at the same time, he basically dodges those sanctions that Trump had threatened." Mark Cancian is a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC. He says despite the convivial language between Mr Trump and Mr Putin, the Alaska summit was planned haphazardly from start to finish. "The press conference was startling - even bizarre - in the sense that the meeting was expected to last maybe six hours and broke up after about three. Then the press conference was called very abruptly. The journalists race into the room. The parties come on stage and speak their piece. Putin starts off and Trump responds, and then they trip off after a couple of minutes, they take no questions and Putin gets on his airplane, flies away. And I don't think anyone quite expected a result like that. On the other hand, the words spoken were very friendly. Both Putin and Trump were encouraging about the future, but vague. And this is clearly the first step on, you know, what could be a long journey." He says negotiations to end wars can take a long time to finalise, but there is a positive for Ukraine in that the worst outcome was avoided. "Another encouraging thing was Trump saying that the Europeans and Ukraine, President Zelenskyy, had to be part of this agreement, and that had not come through quite clearly again about a week ago. The concern is that the pressure will go on to Zelenskyy to give up territory, to make an end to the conflict and get it over with as Trump would say. The Ukrainians are very reluctant to give up territory." Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he has been briefed on the Alaska meeting in a phone call with Mr Trump. The call also ended with an invitation for him to come to Washington DC on Monday (18 August local time). He says he has accepted the invitation and looks forward to discussing "all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war".
News.com.au
9 hours ago
- News.com.au
How rate cut could impact Melb house prices in coming weeks
Experts are forecasting the Reserve Bank's latest rate cut could deliver bonuses worth tens of thousands of dollars to some Victorian home sellers' pockets in coming weeks. It's expected many buyers will race to secure a home following the RBA's 0.25 percentage point rate cut on Tuesday. Apollo Auctions Australasia general manager and master auctioneer Greg Brydon said a lot of homeseekers were hoping to purchase sooner rather than later. 'Buyers will say to themselves, 'Even if I pay $5000, $10,000, $20,000 more than I wanted to, at least I won't have to compete with a new flood of buyers in the next four to six weeks,' Mr Brydon said. With pre-approved home loans generally expiring within a standard three-month time frame, buyers approved for a loan after the latest rate cut would have a bit more money to play with, he said. But Mr Brydon added that if the traditionally-busier spring market was flooded with new stock, there could be less competition among buyers – resulting in a potential scenario where they would not necessarily need to spend more to secure a property. Ray White Victoria chief auctioneer Jeremy Tyrrell said Melbourne home prices 'are slowly coming back and increasing'. 'We've seen a lot of investors from interstate starting to put their eyeballs back on Melbourne at the moment,' Mr Tyrrell noted. He said last week's rate cut would boost confidence among both buyers and sellers. 'I don't think we'll see the full effects of that in the this week immediately, but I think as people start to take full advantage of those interest rate cuts – I'd say the next two to four weeks – we should start to see an impact of buyers certainly having slightly deeper pockets and new entrants to the market with confidence to buy,' he said. With Victorian sale stock levels down 10 to 15 per cent since winter 2024, he is expecting to see more listings pop up as the weather warms up. 'I believe a lot of people have been holding back and waiting for those interest rate cuts and spring,' Mr Tyrrell said. 'And I think those two coming together, we should start to see an influx of property, but at the same time, we'll start to see an influx of buyers with more confidence.' According to PropTrack, Victoria recorded a preliminary 77.5 per cent clearance rate from 476 early auction results this week. About 1028 homes across the state are slated to go under the hammer next week.
