Author: Fiona Craig

Tharisa (LSE:THS) delivered a strong improvement in financial performance for the six months ended 31 March 2026, with revenue increasing 28% to US$359.4 million and EBITDA rising sharply to US$104.3 million. Net profit after tax more than doubled to US$46.6 million, while earnings per share advanced to 15.8 US cents. The group also generated robust operating cash flow of US$96.4 million and invested US$103.5 million in capital expenditure, including ongoing development work at the Karo Platinum project.

The mining group said its operations maintained an exemplary safety record, reporting negligible lost time injury rates across its major assets. Tharisa added that expanded underground development activities at the Tharisa Mine, alongside continued progress at Karo Platinum, reinforce its long-term growth ambitions and multi-generational mining strategy. Supported by the stronger trading backdrop and confidence in the business outlook, the board approved an increased interim dividend of 2.5 US cents per share. The company also confirmed it has until 31 December 2026 to comply with updated JSE governance requirements that disallow an executive chairperson structure.

More about Tharisa

Tharisa is a vertically integrated mining company focused on platinum group metals and chrome concentrates. Its core assets include the Tharisa Mine in South Africa and the Karo Platinum project in Zimbabwe, both of which are geared towards supplying critical minerals used in stainless steel manufacturing, emissions reduction technologies and the global energy transition.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has officially outlined plans to float on the US stock market, giving public investors the opportunity to buy and trade shares in the aerospace giant.

The company develops rockets, operates the Starlink satellite broadband network, and also controls Musk’s controversial artificial intelligence business xAI.

Trading under the ticker symbol SPCX, the initial public offering (IPO) is expected to become the largest listing ever seen on Wall Street and could launch as early as next month.

The deal could also push Musk — already the world’s richest individual — into trillionaire territory due to the size of his stake in SpaceX.

SpaceX has placed its valuation at around $1.25tn, meaning Musk’s controlling ownership could be worth upwards of $600bn.

Last year, the Tesla chief became the first person in history to surpass a personal fortune of $500bn.

A successful public debut for SpaceX could now lift his overall wealth above the $1tn threshold.

IPO filing exposes SpaceX financial performance

The filing gives investors one of the most detailed snapshots yet of SpaceX’s finances.

In 2025, Space Exploration Technologies — the company’s formal corporate name — generated revenue of $18.6bn (£13.8bn) while recording a net loss of $4.9bn.

During the first quarter of this year, the business reported sales of $4.7bn but posted another net loss, this time totaling $4.3bn.

Company filings show total assets of $102bn, including rockets, launch systems, and equipment, alongside debt liabilities of $60.5bn.

Ruth Foxe-Blader, managing partner at US venture capital firm Citrine Venture Partners, told the BBC “it’s not shocking for a project like this to be loss making, even at the point of IPO”.

She added that the anticipated flotation remained “extremely exciting”.

“SpaceX is just an absolutely sprawling, enormous project with so many different selling points, and so many points that really point to the future.”

Legal disputes and mounting scrutiny

SpaceX disclosed that it expects to incur more than half a billion dollars in legal expenses tied to numerous active claims and lawsuits.

Among the cases are “multiple lawsuits” accusing Grok — the chatbot created by xAI — of being used to generate sexualized deepfakes involving real women and girls.

Musk has previously stated that he intends to fold xAI into SpaceX and continue his artificial intelligence ambitions under the aerospace company.

The group also owns X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, which Musk acquired in 2022.

Other legal matters outlined in the IPO filing include patent infringement allegations, accusations related to noncompliance with European Union content moderation rules, music copyright claims, and lawsuits tied to data breaches.

AI expansion and OpenAI rivalry

The filing also disclosed financial details surrounding a newly signed partnership between SpaceX and AI rival Anthropic, the developer behind Claude.

Under the agreement, Anthropic will pay $15bn annually for access to data centres located in the southern United States that support Musk’s xAI operations, which were recently brought under SpaceX ownership.

Despite controversy surrounding Musk’s AI ventures, SpaceX’s launch operations and Starlink business continue to dominate their sectors, maintaining a sizable advantage over rivals.

The IPO filing was released just days after Musk lost a closely watched legal fight against OpenAI and chief executive Sam Altman.

Musk had alleged that Altman breached a non-profit agreement by turning the ChatGPT creator into a commercial business after Musk had contributed millions of dollars in funding.

Jurors unanimously rejected the claims, ruling that Musk waited too long to file his 2024 lawsuit and that the legal deadline had expired.

During the proceedings, Musk acknowledged that xAI remained much smaller than OpenAI, which is also widely expected to pursue a public listing in the near future.

Political backlash and safety concerns

SpaceX is preparing for another launch of its Starship mega rocket later this week, although the company has also faced criticism over worker safety conditions at several sites.

Musk himself has attracted criticism for his right-wing political views and his close ties to US President Donald Trump, whom he accompanied on a visit to China last week.

The testing programme was designed to determine the most effective processing approach for a planned 50tpd carbon-in-leach gold plant, while also evaluating options for future expansion.

Kavango Resources (LSE:KAV) has completed a metallurgical testing programme on ore samples taken from the Hillside Gold Project in Zimbabwe, delivering encouraging results for the proposed processing operation.

The programme focused on identifying optimal processing parameters and plant design specifications for a 50-tonnes-per-day carbon-in-leach (CIL) gold plant currently under development, with additional consideration given to potential future upgrades in capacity.

Testing across different blends of Nightshift and Bill’s Luck ore produced strong metallurgical recovery rates, with laboratory recoveries exceeding 95% and expected operational recoveries estimated at between 90% and 93%.

Results showed that gold from the Nightshift deposit was entirely non-refractory, while ore from Bill’s Luck contained 91% free-milling gold.

Further analysis identified very limited coarse gold content and low concentrations of elements such as native carbon minerals, copper and zinc, which can negatively impact gold recovery as “gold robbers”.

The programme also included gravity recovery testing using centrifugal concentrators, with recoveries ranging from 50% to 90%.

Gold concentrates were found to be suitable for standard intensive leach processing technologies, delivering recoveries of up to 98% after 24 hours.

According to the company, reagent usage and energy consumption remained within standard operating ranges throughout the testwork.

Kavango carried out the programme alongside Solo Resources and Maelgwyn Mineral Services, while SGS South Africa completed mineralogical analysis and assessments under ISO and South African National Accreditation System-accredited standards.

Eight composite ore blends were prepared to reflect the anticipated feed material for both the 50tpd processing plant currently under construction and a proposed future upgrade to 250tpd capacity.

Among the samples tested, composites C and D achieved laboratory recovery rates of 97% and 96%, respectively.

Gravity recoverable gold testing using three-stage and five-stage processes determined that an optimal grind size of 75 microns delivered the best performance.

The company also completed intensive leach reactor testing in preparation for the possible addition of an elution circuit, with results demonstrating strong leaching efficiency.

Kavango Resources interim CEO Peter Wynter Bee said: “The team is extremely encouraged by these excellent metallurgical testwork results. All processing parameters are considered to be within a normal range, with no excess grinding or reagent consumption requirements.

“This gives us the confidence to continue building the resource base at our Hillside projects, with the goal of increasing gold production via future increases in processing capacity.”

More about Kavango Resources

Kavango Resources is a mining exploration and development company focused on projects in Zimbabwe and Botswana. The company is advancing gold exploration and production initiatives at the Hillside Gold Project while also pursuing opportunities in base and precious metals across southern Africa.

Oil prices moved lower on Wednesday as traders reacted to signs of progress in diplomatic talks between Washington and Tehran, while improving tanker movements through the Strait of Hormuz also eased supply concerns.

By 04:44 ET (08:44 GMT), Brent crude futures for July delivery had fallen 2.5% to $109.25 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures declined 1.9% to $102.35 per barrel. Both benchmarks had already posted losses of roughly 1% in the previous session.

Hormuz tanker activity boosts confidence on supply flows

According to Reuters, citing LSEG and Kpler shipping data, two Chinese-flagged oil supertankers successfully exited the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, encouraging hopes that energy shipments through the key maritime route could begin returning to more normal levels.

The South Korean-flagged tanker Universal Winner was also departing the narrow channel near Iran’s southern coastline, which has effectively remained closed to tanker traffic since the outbreak of the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran in late February.

U.S. President Donald Trump told lawmakers on Tuesday evening that the Iran war could end “very quickly.” Trump had earlier indicated that he delayed a planned strike against Iran because negotiations with Tehran appeared to be advancing.

Vice President JD Vance also expressed optimism, saying Iran seemed interested in reaching an agreement.

Iran’s latest peace proposal reportedly called for a halt to military operations across all fronts, the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the region and compensation for wartime damages, according to Iranian state media. Washington has so far rejected earlier proposals, maintaining that ending Iran’s nuclear programme remains a critical requirement for any deal.

Traders focus on upcoming U.S. inventory figures

Attention is now shifting toward official U.S. oil inventory data for additional insight into supply conditions amid ongoing global disruptions.

Figures released by the American Petroleum Institute showed a larger-than-expected draw of 9.1 million barrels last week, compared with market expectations for a decline of 3.4 million barrels. API figures are often viewed as a leading indicator for the official U.S. government inventory report due later on Wednesday.

U.S. stockpiles are believed to have declined significantly in recent weeks as exports increased to help offset supply disruptions in overseas markets. Trump has also authorised the release of 172 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to reduce the impact of supply shocks linked to the Iran conflict.

Gold prices remained broadly stable on Wednesday as investors balanced concerns over rising bond yields and a stronger dollar against optimism that diplomatic progress could eventually ease the conflict between the United States and Iran.

At 05:15 ET (09:15 GMT), spot gold traded little changed at $4,480.57 an ounce, while gold futures fell 1.6% to $4,482.80 an ounce.

Higher Treasury yields weigh on gold sentiment

Analysts at Phillip Capital warned that an increase in oil prices linked to the Iran conflict could spark renewed global inflationary pressure and potentially push central banks toward further interest-rate hikes.

Government bond yields have risen sharply in recent days as investors reassessed inflation risks. The yield on the 30-year U.S. Treasury bond — widely regarded as a benchmark for long-term economic expectations — climbed to levels last seen during the global financial crisis nearly twenty years ago. Bond prices generally move inversely to yields.

Rising interest rates tend to reduce demand for non-yielding assets such as gold. Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar remained close to a six-week high, increasing the cost of bullion for foreign buyers.

Investors are also looking ahead to the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s April meeting later on Wednesday for additional guidance on the future path of U.S. monetary policy.

Diplomatic hopes continue to support markets

Despite ongoing geopolitical tensions, markets remain hopeful that Washington and Tehran may eventually negotiate an end to the conflict that has persisted for more than two months.

U.S. President Donald Trump told lawmakers on Tuesday evening that the Iran war could end “very quickly.” Trump also said earlier this week that he had delayed additional military strikes against Iran following requests from three Gulf nations.

Vice President JD Vance also struck a positive tone, saying Iran appeared interested in reaching an agreement.

Reuters separately reported that two Chinese oil supertankers exited the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, citing vessel-tracking data from LSEG and Kpler. The South Korean tanker Universal Winner was also leaving the strategically important passage near Iran’s southern coast, which has been largely closed to tanker traffic since the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran escalated in late February.

Oil prices declined as traders grew increasingly optimistic that energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz may gradually recover. Even so, Brent crude prices remain significantly higher than levels recorded before the conflict began.

“The prospects for U.S.-Iran negotiations remained uncertain, with Iran insisting on its core demands and Trump signaling a possible renewed strike on Iran,” said Neil Welsh, Head of Metals at Britannia Global Markets, in a note.