Gold merger steals the show as small-cap materials names struggle to hold gains

• Genesis and Vault agreed to merge, creating a A$12.66 billion Australian gold group.
• Many of the biggest weekly moves were falls, even where companies released upbeat drilling, funding or study updates.
• Rare earths stayed busy, with reserve growth, processing wins and new district-scale targets across several names.
• Funding and construction progress remained a key dividing line between developers moving ahead and those still searching for capital.