PERTH, June 25, 2026, 06:05 AWST
- Mineral Resources finished at A$65.86, up 1.4%. The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.24%.
- The stock finished Wednesday 119.5% above the A$30 five-day VWAP trigger tied to 200,000 chair options. The gross spread on that was A$8.1 million.
Mineral Resources Limited (ASX:MIN) was up almost 120% over the exercise price for Chair Mal Bundey’s first batch of options as brokers lined up orders ahead of Thursday’s ASX open. Full trading was set for 09:59:45 Sydney time.
MIN finished at A$65.86 on Wednesday, gaining 1.4%. The S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.24%. That puts MIN ahead of the benchmark by 1.16 points. About 1.32 million shares changed hands, more than its usual 1.07 million.
Bundey’s initial tranche is 200,000 options that vest July 1 if the stock’s volume-weighted average price for the five sessions to June 30 is at least A$30. The exercise price per option is A$25.40. At Wednesday’s close, the stock traded A$40.46 above the exercise price, lifting the value of the tranche to about A$8.09 million.
The stock would need to drop 54.4% from where it closed on Wednesday just to reach A$30. The actual threshold is set using a five-day VWAP instead of a single day’s close. Future tranches are set higher, with hurdles at A$35 and A$40 in 2027 and 2028.
MIN’s first hurdle comes after shares bounced back. The stock is still down 6.96% in the last week, but sits roughly 226% higher than its 52-week low of A$20.18 from June 25 last year.
The test comes as the CEO search goes on. Bundey said in a June 22 presentation that succession is “a co-ordinated and professional process, not an event.” The board said it wants an internal pick but is still looking outside as well. Darren Killeen, who became chief operating officer in May after 17 years at MinRes, ran the design, build and commissioning of Onslow Iron. Company Announcements
MinRes is sticking with tighter debt targets than those in the first option. Its policy is to keep at least A$1 billion in liquidity and net debt under 2x EBITDA through the cycle. As of May, MinRes had an A$800 million revolver and reported it was in compliance with covenants at the last test.
MIN climbed Wednesday while China’s battery-grade lithium benchmark dropped 0.63% to 157,500 yuan a tonne. The benchmark has fallen 14.05% in a month, but is still up 161.63% from a year ago.
Rio Tinto Limited (ASX:RIO) says lithium is set to be its fastest growing division as the company builds out capacity. Jérôme Pécresse, who runs Rio’s aluminium and lithium business, told Reuters: “It’s a market that is trying to find itself, in a way.” Reuters
MinRes isn’t just about lithium. For FY26, the group is guiding for 17.1 million to 18.8 million tonnes in attributable Onslow iron ore shipments. On lithium, it’s forecasting 160,000 to 180,000 dry tonnes of SC6-equivalent from Mt Marion, and 220,000 to 240,000 tonnes out of Wodgina.
The A$8.1 million number isn’t actual cash or a locked-in gain. It just comes from subtracting the exercise price from Wednesday’s share price, times 200,000 options. The options only vest if the five-day measurement through June 30 is met.
