SYDNEY, June 26, 2026, 07:01 AEST
- South32 finished at A$3.920 on June 25, dropping 3.44%. Volume was 21.7 million shares.
- The stock is down 20.2% from its 52-week high on June 3, tracking the 17.0% drop in LME cash aluminium from June 3 to June 24.
- S&P/ASX 200 Materials index was headed for a six-session drop of almost 10% by Thursday afternoon.
- South32 will release its June-quarter report on July 20.
ASX trading had yet to start at the dateline. The Australian share market trades between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Sydney time on business days.
South32 Ltd (ASX:S32) goes into Friday with a clearer signal than the broader miner group. The stock’s drop is tracking more with aluminium than with manganese right now.
The stock ended at A$3.92 at 16:36 on June 25, slipping 3.45% for the session and off 8.62% in the past week, delayed Intelligent Investor data showed. Shares are now 20.16% under the June 3 high of A$4.91.
Official LME cash aluminium ended at $3,150 a metric ton on June 24, falling 17.0% from $3,797 on June 3, according to Westmetall’s LME table. The dates do not line up exactly—June 24 for aluminium, June 25 for South32’s last ASX close—but the swings line up for trading desks.
Manganese prices were unchanged at 31.25 yuan per mtu on June 25. That’s down 6.02% for the month, but still 6.47% higher than a year ago, data from Trading Economics showed.
South32’s recent move to cut its FY26 Australia Manganese production outlook by 6% to 3.0 million wet metric tons puts the manganese business in focus. In April, the miner flagged higher water, wet-season rain and Cyclone Narelle for hitting operations.
S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index kept sliding, off 2.5% at 1:39 p.m. Thursday, heading for its sixth drop in a row, according to Market Index. That left the index down 10.0% over that stretch. South32 traded 3.7% lower at A$3.91.
ASX selling picked up after a “renewed slide in key commodity prices”, IG’s Tony Sycamore said Thursday, saying the stronger U.S. dollar weighed on the materials sector. IG
South32 is now focused on cash conversion instead of tonnes. Hillside Aluminium sales dropped 16% in the March quarter with one shipment delayed to June. Cannington was set to work through inventory after rail links reopened. Mozal Aluminium still had stock on hand after the smelter was put on care and maintenance in March.
South32 CEO Graham Kerr said in March the balance sheet is “well placed to manage short-term volatility.” Net cash climbed $121 million to $96 million that quarter. This was after $158 million spent on growth at Hermosa. SHARENET
Hermosa remains the longer-term story for valuation. Back in April, South32 said Taylor’s growth capital is now seen at about $3.3 billion. First production is pushed to the second half of FY28, with nameplate capacity not until FY31. Kerr said Taylor “continues to demonstrate its quality”. Investegate
Market prices reflect that drop. Intelligent Investor data put South32 shares 8.0% under the A$4.26 level seen after the April 30 Hermosa update, despite the company announcing the Taylor deposit now has an initial operating life of about 33 years.
South32’s February half-year numbers explained why the aluminium impact is getting harder to overlook. According to Reuters, rising commodity prices—copper, silver, aluminium—pushed profits past estimates. The company also got a boost from restarting Australia Manganese. Shares jumped up to 5% on the day.
South32 stuck with its plan to put Mozal on care and maintenance after it couldn’t get cheap power, according to the same Reuters report. Kerr said the plant was “definitely heading for care and maintenance” as key inputs were nearly gone. Reuters
South32 plans to release its June-quarter numbers on July 20. The company’s full-year FY26 results come out August 27.
