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New Hope Corporation Ltd Reports Solid Operational Performance Despite Lower Earnings

New Hope Corporation Ltd (ASX: NHC) has reported its FY26 half-year results, highlighting a period of solid operational performance despite facing lower coal prices and earnings.

The company's saleable coal production increased by 0.4% to 5.5Mt, demonstrating the resilience of its low-cost assets. However, underlying EBITDA decreased by 58.5% to $214.8 million, and net profit after tax fell 84.0% to $54.3 million compared to the previous period.

The decrease in earnings was driven by lower realised coal prices, increased prime overburden movement, and lower non-regular gains. New Hope's average realised sales price, excluding hedging, was $137.8/t, a 20.4% decrease from the prior period.

Despite the challenging market conditions, the company maintained a disciplined approach, which enabled the Board to declare a fully franked interim dividend of 10.0 cents per ordinary share.

Looking ahead, New Hope is focused on remaining a resilient, low-cost coal producer and continuing to execute its organic growth plans. The company expects saleable coal production to increase as Bengalla Mine returns to its 13.4Mtpa ROM coal production rate and New Acland Mine continues to ramp up, including accessing the Manning Vale West pit in the final quarter of 2026.

Pacgold Delivers Promising Drill Results, Commences Heap Leach Pad Crushing

Pacgold Limited (ASX: PGO) has announced further promising drill results from the White Dam Gold Project, with the resource drilling program at Vertigo 95% complete and assay results supporting an anticipated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) upgrade.

Several drillholes have intersected strong gold and copper mineralization in the upper strata bound lenses above the main MRE zone, indicating potential for additional tonnes in an upgraded MRE. The company plans to commence drilling at the Hannaford Pit MRE in mid-April, followed by the White Dam North MRE in June.

In addition to the exploration progress, Pacgold has reached a critical milestone in restarting operations, with the commencement of heap leach pad crushing. The company expects to achieve the target throughput of approximately 350tph by mid-April, with plans to leach 50,000T packages of re-crushed material initially before ramping up to 100,000T cells in late Q3.

Meeka Metals Upgrades Murchison Processing Plant to 800ktpa

Meeka Metals Ltd (ASX: MEK) has announced the commencement of a processing plant upgrade at its Murchison Gold Project, installing an ore sorting facility to unlock an additional 200,000 tonnes per annum of milling capacity.

The $6 million capital investment is expected to effectively double the head grade of Andy Well underground ore by separating the higher-grade material for immediate processing and the lower-grade ore for later processing. This upgrade is anticipated to deliver a meaningful increase in annual gold production, with commissioning targeted for the September 2026 quarter.

The company continues to assess options for further processing capacity expansion, including expanding the existing crushing and grinding circuit or constructing a new larger 2-3Mtpa standalone processing plant.

Peak Processing Expects Strong Q4 Beverage Production Growth

Peak Processing Limited (ASX: PKP) has provided an operational update, highlighting strong momentum in its beverage production volumes, with Q4 FY26 production expected to reach ~1.4 million units.

This represents a 28% quarter-on-quarter growth from Q3 FY26, driven by recently executed agreements, including a 250% expansion of the manufacturing agreement with St. Peter's Beverages and an expanded agreement with Electric Brands. The company's operational execution has also improved significantly, with OTIF (On-Time-In-Full) delivery performance increasing from 53% to 99.75% in February 2026.

In addition to the beverage business, Peak continues to support contract manufacturing across several regulated cannabis categories, further diversifying its revenue base.

Elixir Energy Highlights Taroom Trough as Significant Gas and Condensate Resource Play

Elixir Energy Ltd (ASX: EXR) presented the key attributes of the Taroom Trough in Queensland as a major energy supply opportunity at the Euroz Rottnest Conference.

The Taroom Trough is located in close proximity to the Wallumbilla Gas Hub and the East Coast gas market, with substantial flows of low-impurity gas and oil already recorded by Elixir and other operators. The play has an independently certified multi-TCF resource base, and the gas quality meets pipeline specifications, translating to low development costs.

Elixir is the largest net acreage holder in the play, with validation from other operators including Shell and Omega. The company is fully funded to deliver company and basin-defining catalysts in 2026, including the completion of appraisal drilling, horizontal well evaluation, fracture stimulation, and production testing.