The uranium and rare earth sectors drove the day's narrative, with Yellow Cake reporting a sharp rise in the value of its physical stockpile and Mkango unveiling an ambitious US expansion blueprint for its magnet-recycling arm. Elsewhere, Empire Metals advanced its Western Australian titanium project toward piloting, Kefi's Saudi joint venture cleared a key gold-project hurdle, and a clutch of smaller explorers reported drilling and funding progress.
Yellow Cake's uranium inventory value rises in third quarter
Yellow Cake (AIM:YCA) told investors its physical uranium stockpile climbed 10.8% in value over the third quarter, reaching $2,181.6 million at 30 September from $1,969.7 million three months earlier. The London-listed investment company, which holds triuranium octoxide to give shareholders direct exposure to the uranium price rather than mining or processing risk, saw its shares add 3.38% to 534.5p as the update landed. The gain tracked a rising spot market: uranium ended the quarter at $89.50 per pound, up 5.5% from $84.85 at the end of June, having strengthened through July and August before easing slightly in September.
Longer-dated price indicators moved in the same direction, with the three-year forward price up 3.0% to $104.00/lb, the five-year forward up 2.8% to $111.00/lb, and the long-term price up 2.1% to $96.00/lb since June. Yellow Cake's holdings grew from 23.21 million lb to 24.37 million lb of U3O8 after an 11 August delivery of 1.16 million lb from Kazatomprom to the Orano storage facility in France, completing the exercise of its 2026 purchase option under its ten-year framework agreement at $86.15 per pound for $100 million total consideration. Estimated net asset value per share rose 5.0% over the quarter to £6.66, and stood at £6.65 as of 26 October, based on the latest holding valued at a spot price of $89.85/lb plus $41.7 million of cash and other net current assets. The company also continued its share buyback programme, purchasing a further 467,976 shares during the period.
"The third quarter of 2026 highlighted the continued strength of the uranium market and Yellow Cake's market position, with spot prices rising 5.5% to US$89.50/lb and longer-term price indicators advancing across the board," said Andre Liebenberg, Chief Executive.
The update reinforces Yellow Cake's standing as a liquid, transparent proxy for the uranium price at a moment when utilities are increasingly competing for term supply. With its NAV discount narrowing alongside a rising spot price and the buyback providing an accretive offset to dilution, the company's balance sheet now looks materially stronger than it did three months ago, bolstered further by the completed Kazatomprom delivery, which locks in additional pounds at a price below the current spot level.
Empire Metals to begin pilot-scale testwork at Pitfield next month
Empire Metals (AIM:EEE) will start pilot-scale metallurgical testwork on bulk ore samples from its Pitfield Titanium Project in Western Australia next month, a step the company frames as critical groundwork for an eventual pre-feasibility study. Shares in Empire Metals rose 1.96% to 31.15p on the announcement. The testwork will use existing laboratories in Perth rather than a purpose-built pilot plant, a route the company says avoids construction delays and upfront capital spend.
The programme will run in two phases, with Strategic Metallurgy's laboratory handling mineral separation from late November or early December, testing extraction and refining circuits intended to validate the company's proprietary processing route toward commercial-grade titanium dioxide products. The work follows June's resource upgrade, which lifted Pitfield's estimate to 8.16 billion tonnes grading 4.3% TiO2 for 349 million tonnes of contained TiO2 and delivered the project's first Measured Resource category. "The imminent commencement of pilot-scale testwork, the first stage of our piloting programme aimed at validating the recently developed 'Empire Process'," said Shaun Bunn, Managing Director at DRA Global Limited.
Validating the Empire Process at pilot scale is the gating step between a resource of globally significant size and a project investors can underwrite economically. Positive results would de-risk the path to a pre-feasibility study and strengthen the case that Pitfield's titanium can be processed into saleable product without conventional beneficiation routes, a distinction central to Empire's investment pitch.
Mkango unveils pre-feasibility study for HyProMag USA expansion
Mkango Magnetic Materials (AIM:MKA) published a pre-feasibility study setting out a US expansion strategy that could quadruple its planned American rare earth magnet capacity, carrying an estimated incremental post-tax net present value of up to $2.06 billion. Shares jumped 12.6% to 29.5p, the day's standout mining move, as the market digested the scale of the ambition. The study, conducted by PegasusTSI and BBA USA, evaluates three additional production plants in South Carolina, Nevada and a second Texas site, backed by a centralised Central Texas Hub, alongside HyProMag USA's first plant at Northlake, Texas, which is already in detailed engineering with Phase 1 commissioning expected in mid-2028.
Combined, the expanded platform targets total salable material output of roughly 6,000 metric tons a year by 2034, including roughly 4,474 tonnes beyond Northlake's own capacity. "This Pre-Feasibility Study confirms the opportunity to establish a significant domestic rare earth magnet manufacturing platform in the United States," Julian Treger, Chief Executive of CoTec. Will Dawes, CEO, added: "The Study indicates the scalability of the HyProMag business model and provides a framework for disciplined growth in the United States using HyProMag USA's first plant in Northlake."
The study positions Mkango's recycling-based model as a credible domestic alternative to mined rare earth supply chains at a time when Western governments are actively seeking to reduce reliance on Chinese magnet material. Converting this pre-feasibility blueprint into funded, under-construction plants will be the next test of execution, but the scale of the NPV uplift gives Mkango a materially stronger platform from which to court strategic and government capital.
Kefi's Saudi joint venture approves Jibal Qutman Stage 1 development
Kefi Gold and Copper (AIM:KEFI) said its Saudi Arabian joint venture, Gold and Minerals Company, has approved development of Stage 1 of the Jibal Qutman Gold Project, though progress still hinges on a mining licence from Saudi Arabia's newly appointed Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources. Kefi shares slipped 0.61% to 0.656p despite the milestone. The AIM-listed developer holds a 13% interest in GMCO, with Saudi industrial conglomerate ARTAR holding the remaining 87%.
GMCO has sanctioned an approximately $87 million capital development programme for the project, known as JQ1, with construction expected to begin in the fourth quarter. It marks GMCO's first development commitment across its Saudi portfolio, which holds aggregate mineral resources of roughly 4.0 million ounces of gold equivalent spanning the Jibal Qutman and Hawiah projects. "The conditional approval of the development of Jibal Qutman Stage 1 is an important milestone for GMCO and for KEFI's interests in Saudi Arabia," the company said, adding that its Ethiopian and Saudi pipeline presents "a pathway to a beneficial interest in a combined 205,000 oz gold and gold equivalent production."
The approval gives Kefi a tangible construction timeline in Saudi Arabia for the first time, diversifying the investment case beyond its Ethiopian Tulu Kapi project. The remaining licensing step is procedural rather than technical, but until it clears, the market is likely to treat JQ1 as conditional progress rather than a confirmed catalyst.
New Frontier Minerals expects A$303,000 R&D tax refund in November
New Frontier Minerals (LSE:NFM) said it expects to receive an A$303,000 research and development tax incentive refund in November, providing a near-term cash injection for the explorer. Shares rose 9.09% to 0.3p on the news.
The refund relates to eligible exploration and development spending claimed under Australia's R&D tax incentive scheme, offering the company a non-dilutive source of funding to support its ongoing work programme without the need to tap equity markets in the interim.
Conroy Gold hits deepest gold intersection yet at Clontibret
Conroy Gold and Natural Resources (AIM:CGNR) reported its deepest gold intersection to date at the Clontibret project in Ireland, extending the known mineralisation at depth. Shares fell 4.52% to 7.4p despite the drilling result.
The deeper intercept adds to Conroy's understanding of the vertical extent of gold mineralisation at Clontibret, a key input as the company continues to build out the resource base ahead of future development decisions on the project.
Fulcrum Metals secures £1 million to fund pilot facility commissioning
Fulcrum Metals (AIM:FMET) has secured £1 million in funding to support commissioning of its pilot facility, giving the company near-term cash to progress its processing technology toward demonstration scale. Shares eased 2.98% to 5.7p on the day.
The funding is earmarked specifically for bringing the pilot plant into operation, a step management regards as central to proving out its processing approach and generating data to support wider commercial discussions.
GreenRoc completes Phase III drilling at Amitsoq graphite project
GreenRoc Strategic Materials (AIM:GROC) has completed Phase III drilling at its Amitsoq graphite project in Greenland, advancing the resource definition work at the site. Shares dipped 1.37% to 3.65p.
Completion of the drilling phase moves GreenRoc a step closer to updating its resource estimate for Amitsoq, a project central to the company's ambitions in the European graphite supply chain.
Kendrick's latest Teufelskuppe holes all return rare earth intercepts
Kendrick Resources (LSE:KEN), trading at 5.25p, said all of its latest drill holes at the Teufelskuppe project returned rare earth intercepts, reinforcing the continuity of mineralisation across the target.
The consistent intercepts across the full set of holes strengthen confidence in the scale and continuity of the rare earth mineralisation at Teufelskuppe as Kendrick works toward a more complete picture of the deposit.