What the new Apple Perth City store has that others don't
After a 15-year residence on Hay Street, the city's flagship store has relocated to the ground level of the former Commonwealth Bank Building, intersecting Forrest Place and Murray Street Mall.
Deirdre O'Brien, Senior Vice President of Retail & People, told The West the move was driven by the company's mission to deliver local customers the best available products and services.
'When we decided to reopen this store, it's really about being able to bring the transformative benefits of Apple innovations to even more customers in the community and further elevate a world-class shopping experience,' she said. The Apple store in Perth's CBD is moving into the city's main mall. Credit: Justin Benson-Cooper / The West Australian
The development represents somewhat of an anniversary celebration, with the iconic brand's first official bricks and mortar residence in Perth opening on June 26, 2010.
Its second Perth store opened at Westfield Booragoon — then Garden City — in September 2012.
With a focus on convenience, community, and delivering collaborative experiences through passionate personnel, Ms O'Brien said Apple Perth City would offer local customers services that are yet to be rolled out anywhere else in the country.
'In a first for Australia, Apple Perth City features a new space where customers can interact with Apple Watch guided by one of Apple's knowledgeable Specialists,' she said.
'In another first for Australia, we're also introducing Apple Pickup at a dedicated counter, which makes it even easier for customers to place an order online and pick up products when it's most convenient for them.
'And for customers wanting to unlock new tips and tricks on their favourite device, they can sign up for a free Today at Apple session hosted at the dedicated tables for a more personal experience.'
Commuters might have noticed recent updates to the building's facade, with the store's exterior displaying dark green wallpaper to compliment an Apple-shaped light fixture hanging from a central arch as it points to its official unveiling date.
Ms O'Brien said the brand's move to the heritage building is no coincidence, with every inch of the new space designed to celebrate the company's varied clientele, and stay true to its commitment to sustainability.
The city store will run on 100 per cent renewable energy, with the shop's interior transformed to reflect modern design features while nodding to the building's history.
'Our team meticulously restored and mended heritage fabric throughout the building, including the marble tiling, ceilings, and plaster columns, to create a truly unique space for customers to shop,' Ms O'Brien said.
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The Australian
4 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.
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.
News.com.au
11 hours ago
- News.com.au
Deputy Opposition Leader Dheran Young officially opens new Mandorah Marine Facilities
The new Mandorah marine facilities have officially opened, with the Northern Territory's Labor Opposition celebrating it as a 'proud day for the community'. The new ferry terminal, ferry pontoon, car park, boat trailer park and boat ramp opened to the public on Saturday, with SeaLink ferry services already operating from the new pontoon. Construction for the $85 million marine project started in May 2024 under the former Labor Government, the NT News previously reported. More than 90 per cent of subcontractors were Territory businesses, and over 400 people worked on the project, according to a statement. Deputy Opposition Leader Dheran Young said the project represented a 'significant investment' in community infrastructure that would benefit residents of Wagait Beach, Belyuen and visitors 'for years to come'. 'It was a proud day for the community, with the new facilities making travel safer, more accessible and more reliable for locals, visitors and workers,' the statement said. According to the statement, the new facilities were fully compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act, improving access for people with disability, parents with prams, and anyone needing mobility assistance. Two breakwater structures provided protection from sea swells, while upgrades to parking and passenger facilities improved convenience and comfort. Mr Young also thanked the project's builder, SMC Marine, for their role in delivering the new facilities. The former Mandorah Jetty will no longer be used for ferry services, with all passengers now boarding and disembarking at the new pontoon. The old jetty can still be used for fishing.
