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Rapid Expands NSW Silver Portfolio with Tooloom Acquisition

Rapid Critical Metals has made a strategic move to expand its New South Wales silver footprint, announcing the acquisition of an 80% controlling interest in the Tooloom Silver Project. The 121km² project area covers a historical silver district with over 80 workings, located approximately 100km northeast of Rapid's existing Webbs Silver Project.

Rapid sees strong exploration upside at Tooloom, with historical drilling returning high-grade silver intercepts and numerous untapped high-grade surface samples. The company plans to immediately commence an exploration program, including a LiDAR survey, further surface sampling, and geophysical surveys to refine drill targets. Rapid believes Tooloom has the potential to become an important complement to its existing silver assets.

GR Engineering Secures $68M Northparkes Project

GR Engineering Services Limited has been awarded a $68 million engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the Northparkes Coarse Particle Flotation Project in New South Wales. The project, located 300km west of Sydney, is expected to increase copper recovery and improve energy efficiency at the Northparkes operations.

GR Engineering's Managing Director, Tony Patrizi, commented that the company is pleased to be working again with Evolution Mining, following the successful completion of the Mungari Mill Expansion Project. He sees this contract award as a strong endorsement of GR Engineering's proven process design record and EPC delivery capability.

Orora Flags Earnings Impact from Middle East Conflict

Orora has provided a trading update for FY26, highlighting the impact of the ongoing Middle East conflict on its Saverglass business. The company now expects Saverglass FY26 underlying EBIT to be approximately €52m to €59m, down from previous guidance of broadly in line with FY25 EBIT of €79.2m.

The reduction reflects both direct and indirect impacts of the Middle East conflict. The direct impact relates to operational and financial impacts at the Ras al Khaimah facility in the United Arab Emirates, while the indirect impact is a combination of lower volumes and a greater than anticipated negative mix shift. Orora has decided to transition the RAK facility to a closed-loop 'hot' operation, with production shifting to Mexico.

Bendigo Bank Announces Strategic Partnerships

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank has announced the second phase of its Productivity Program, which includes entering into two new strategic partnerships to evolve its operating model and drive innovation for customers.

The bank has signed a seven-year technology service partnership with Infosys to significantly improve its IT service delivery capability, and a six-year business operations partnership with Genpact to bring deep expertise in process optimization and delivery. These partnerships are expected to support the bank's ability to meet the rapidly evolving needs of customers and stakeholders, while allowing it to focus on its core strengths.

The operational efficiencies delivered through this change are expected to support the bank's previous guidance of business-as-usual expenses being no higher than inflation through the cycle. However, the bank also expects to incur upfront transition costs of approximately $85 million to $95 million, the majority of which will be incurred in FY27.

Alkane Maintains FY2026 Production Guidance

Alkane Resources has reported strong quarterly gold production of 45,776 ounces of gold equivalent (AuEq) for the March 2026 quarter. The company's balance sheet remains robust, with $374 million in cash, bullion and listed investments.

Importantly, Alkane has maintained its FY2026 production guidance of 160,000 to 175,000 AuEq ounces at an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of A$2,600 to A$2,900 per AuEq ounce. The company's operations have not been interrupted by diesel supply issues, with Alkane having contracts in place with diesel suppliers for regular fuel deliveries.