Real wages grow to 3.4 per cent as household consumption softens
'Real wages growing means that it will help support consumer spending growth and overall economic activity,' Ms Deda told Sky News host Ross Greenwood.
'We have seen over the last period that household consumption has been pretty soft due to the cost of living expenses.
'Although the recent rate cut in February has helped alleviate some of those cost-of-living expenses.'
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Telstra warns of new wave of scams on encrypted messaging apps
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Resources Top 5: Magnetite Mines identifies REE as potential iron ore value add
MGT will undertake low-cost follow-up work to test a REE find in South Australia Further antimony has been identified at the Reynolds Range project in the NT First phase drilling is underway at RML's Horse Heaven gold-antimony project Your standout small cap resources stocks for Tuesday, August 19, 2025 Magnetite Mines (ASX:MGT) While retaining primary focus on the development of the Razorback Iron Ore Project in South Australia's northeast, Magnetite Mines has uncovered near-surface, clay-hosted rare earth mineralisation right beside the large Ironback Hill magnetite deposit. The rare earths, which grade between 356ppm and 1,153ppm total rare earth oxides (TREO), represent a potential value-add for the iron ore and the company will now undertake low-cost follow-up work to test the find. As a result of the find, which was picked up after re-assaying limited clay-rich samples from archived RC drill samples, MGT hit a 12-month high of 29c, a 308.5% improvement on the August 18 close. 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'Accordingly, we have tasked our experienced in-house geology team to provide an assessment of mineral prospectivity on our existing ground. 'This announcement provides the first response from that assessment with the identification of rare earth element mineralisation at Ironback Hill, as detected by analysing existing samples from a previous Magnetite Mines drilling campaign. 'We are excited by this early-stage indication of rare earths mineralisation at Ironback Hill and are planning low-cost follow up exploration work to determine if a wider program of work is warranted.' iTech Minerals (ASX:ITM) Antimony is becoming more important for iTech Minerals alongside gold at the Reynolds Range project in the Northern Territory and the identification of more zones of the critical mineral has seen shares increase 150% to a 2025 high of 8.5c. Two high-grade antimony zones overlooked by previous gold explorers have been identified in recent mapping and rock chip sampling. Most historical drill holes were not assayed for antimony or did not test the new zones. The zones at the Sabre and Falchion prospects each extend more than 300 metres and when combined with historical drill results, iTech believes they are at least 14 metres thick. Rock chips have assayed up to 30.6% antimony at Sabre and up to 15.9% at Falchion. These zones bring the total number of high-grade antimony systems at Reynolds Range to three and validate iTech's belief that the project has a significant endowment of the increasingly valuable critical mineral. With both new zones open along strike and at depth, drilling has the potential to increase the scale of the discovery. 'While one high-grade antimony rock chip existed within historical exploration data at Reynolds Range, there was no indication of continuity or extent of mineralisation,' managing director Mike Schwarz said. 'iTech has now identified the source of the high-grade antimony as coming from >300m long veins at both the Sabre and Falchion prospects. 'These veins have been tested with very few drill holes that were analysed for antimony, presenting immediate drill targets for our upcoming drilling program later this year.' iTech is undertaking site visits to potential drill sites over the next few weeks to collect data and assess logistics to assist with planning of the upcoming drill program. iTech has already obtained heritage clearances to drill at the proposed prospects and will now seek government drilling approvals. Drilling will focus on testing the depth extent of antimony mineralisation beneath the highest-grade outcrops which have not been tested by historical drill holes at the Sabre and Falchion prospects. Drilling is expected to begin in late October or early November this year. With first phase drilling underway at the Horse Heaven gold-antimony project in central Idaho, Resolution Minerals reached 6.3c, a lift of 26% on the previous close. The program will comprise 3000m of diamond core drilling over nine holes with an average depth of 300m per hole and will test mineralisation trends at depth and along strike at the Golden Gate target. There is also potential to expand the campaign to 6000m as RML looks to confirm historical shallow drilling results at Golden Gate and assay for antimony and tungsten, which weren't sampled in prior drilling. Horse Heaven has strong gold, antimony, tungsten and silver mineralisation in two known highly prospective mineralised corridors, and further potential in several emerging targets that include a past-producing antimony and tungsten mine. The project is directly adjacent to Perpetua Resources' Stibnite Antimony & Gold Mine and the geological model is a direct analogue to Stibnite, bearing a strong resemblance to its A$3 billion neighbour. The company is also looking to start a stream sediment sampling program, which will be completed in September or October this year, to the east of Golden Gate. Metal Bank (ASX:MBK) An assessment of the development potential of the shallow Kingsley and Homestead deposits could lead to fast-tracked gold production at the Livingstone project near Meekatharra in WA. As a result Metal Bank improved by 60% to a daily high of 1.6c. In March 2025, the Livingstone gold resource increased 75% to 2.81Mt at 1.36g/t for 122,500oz with 30% in the indicated category. At-surface and near-surface resources at the Homestead and Kingsley deposits are within trucking distance to existing processing centres for potential toll-treating. There is also considerable scope for resource growth at Livingstone with several exploration targets untested across 395km2 of granted exploration licences and drilling being planned. Over in Saudi Arabia, MBK continues to advance its exploration strategy with local funding options being considered ahead of the next exploration phase on the Wadi al Junah copper-zinc-gold-silver project. At Livingstone 'we have multiple catalysts to unlock value for shareholders through near-term production utilising nearby third-party processing infrastructure and further exploration,' executive chair Ines Scotland said. Sierra Nevada Gold (ASX:SNX) After identifying an opportunity to retrieve gold from tailings at the New Pass project in Nevada and generate early cash flow, Sierra Nevada Gold continues assessing processing options. Sampling earlier this year returned high-grade gold at four historic tailings dams, opening the window for SNX to tap into a new and potentially lucrative revenue stream. If feasible, this would help fund a plan to bring New Pass back into production in a bullish environment for gold and US mining. With the restart in mind, the company is progressing underground mining options for the accessible high-grade ore within the Superior Mine. Permitting to allow for re-opening the mine is underway and the company is ready to spring into underground drilling once permits are received. 'Reprocessing the tailings has potential to generate revenue in conjunction with the planned trial mining and bulk testing program,' SNX executive chairman Peter Moore said.
