PERTH, June 25, 2026, 03:04 AWST
- South32 ended the session at A$4.06, dropping 1.9% with 29.5 million shares traded.
- Reference contracts for aluminium dropped 4.3% on June 24, while zinc lost 2.4%, according to .
- South32 is putting $3.3 billion into Hermosa in Arizona. The timeline for Taylor remains a big test.
South32 Ltd slipped 1.9% Wednesday, changing hands between A$3.97 and A$4.10. Trading volume came in at nearly double the usual 15.9 million shares. BHP eased 0.7% and Rio Tinto dropped 1.2%.
South32 fell 4.9% in the past week, ending at A$4.27.
The company didn’t get much backing from metal prices. On June 24, Shanghai Metals Market said aluminium dropped US$49.89 to US$3,052.24 a tonne. Zinc was down US$51.42 at US$3,154.33.
Materials stocks took a hit, IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said, with a “hawkish Fed outlook” pushing up yields and the dollar. Hawkish refers to favouring higher rates. IG
South32 didn’t post a new exchange release to its official site on Wednesday. The company’s most recent filing on the list is a substantial holding change dated June 16.
The main open item for South32 is still the Taylor zinc-lead-silver project at Hermosa. In April, South32 bumped its estimate for growth capex by around US$1.1 billion, bringing the new total to US$3.3 billion to build the mine. Chief Executive Graham Kerr said, “First production is expected in H2 FY28 and nameplate capacity by FY31.” So the company plans to start output in the back half of the 2028 financial year, with full capacity by FY2031.
Another shaft delay at Taylor could push cash flow further out. South32 trimmed its Australia Manganese output outlook for fiscal 2026 to 3 million wet metric tons after heavy rain and a cyclone hit production. The miner also flagged possible higher freight and raw-material costs.
South32 will release its June-quarter operating report on July 20. The company’s full-year results arrive August 27.
