Eminence Minerals has cut its FY2026 loss and raised its pro forma cash position to about A$5.4 million after selling the Mata da Corda titanium project. The portfolio is now centred on Hamersley iron ore and Brazilian rare earth exploration, but heritage litigation, ungranted tenure and future funding needs remain material constraints.
- FY2026 net loss reduced to A$1.29 million
- Pro forma cash increased to approximately A$5.4 million
- Hamersley resource unchanged at 108.5Mt grading 58% Fe
- Campo Grande drilling expanded across Brazilian targets
- Hamersley drilling remains dependent on a reserved court decision
Portfolio Reset Leaves Two Core Assets
Eminence Minerals Limited (ASX:EMA) has used FY2026 to shed non-core projects and concentrate its exploration portfolio around the Hamersley Iron Ore Project in Western Australia and the Campo Grande Rare Earth Project in Brazil. The company also lodged applications for the proposed Tayra Rare Earth Project after year end, although those applications provide only priority of assessment and do not yet establish tenure.
The financial effect is visible in the balance sheet. Eminence reported a net loss of A$1.288 million for the year ended 30 June 2026, down from A$3.157 million a year earlier, while cash at year end stood at A$1.285 million. The reduction in losses reflected lower exploration, consulting and employee costs, alongside a A$445,580 gain from the disposal of the Alturas Antimony Project. That improvement was partly offset by a A$213,773 revaluation loss on shares received from the sale.
Asset Sales Rebuild the Funding Position
The more consequential liquidity change came after year end. Eminence completed the sale of Mata da Corda for US$2.0 million in cash, which it says represented approximately A$2.88 million, after classifying the Brazilian titanium project as held for sale at 30 June. Combined with the June placement, the company reported a pro forma cash position of approximately A$5.4 million.
That figure is not entirely free of conditions: a further 13,726,710 shares from the placement, worth about A$0.618 million, and 6,222,223 shares to directors and management, worth about A$0.280 million, remain subject to shareholder approval. Eminence remains pre-revenue and explicitly states that further financing will be required to develop its projects, although directors said the available funding and ability to reduce discretionary spending supported preparation of the accounts on a going-concern basis.
Brazilian Rare Earth Work Moves Into the Field
Campo Grande is now the company’s principal exploration focus. The project covers approximately 1,690 square kilometres in Bahia and is prospective for ion-adsorption clay rare earths, with earlier work reporting surface samples of up to 17,346 parts per million TREO and a standout drill intercept of 12 metres at 3,691 parts per million TREO from three metres. Those results are exploration results, not a mineral resource estimate.
The company commenced an auger campaign during the June quarter and later expanded it to include up to 70 holes at the Northeast Target and 67 holes at the South Target, with a second drilling crew being mobilised. Results from samples sent to the SGS GEOSOL laboratory were expected in September or October, subject to turnaround times. Early drilling was not uniformly encouraging: 12 holes at Targets 1 and 2 met shallow refusal on paragneiss bedrock, and nine failed the company’s sample acceptance criteria, leaving no geochemical data for those holes.
Hamersley Value Still Depends on Heritage Decision
Hamersley retains a JORC-compliant Inferred Mineral Resource of 108.5 million tonnes at 58.0% iron, unchanged during the year. Eminence wants to conduct Phase 1 infill drilling to improve resource confidence and support metallurgical testwork, but the program remains tied to the outcome of judicial review proceedings concerning the refusal of a Section 18 Aboriginal heritage application.
The Supreme Court of Western Australia hearing concluded in December 2025 and the decision remained reserved when the annual report was signed on 29 September 2026. The company has advanced arguments including unreasonableness, procedural unfairness and uncertainty, but the report acknowledges there is no assurance the review will succeed or that a favourable remittal would result in consent. Until that uncertainty is resolved, the project’s 108.5Mt resource remains a substantial balance-sheet asset with a practical development path that is not yet available to the company.
The next tests are therefore operational rather than accounting-driven: whether the Hamersley decision permits drilling, whether Campo Grande assays validate the company’s rare earth targets, and whether Brazil grants the Tayra applications. At the same time, Eminence must convert its improved cash position into exploration progress without reopening the funding question too quickly.
Bottom Line?
Eminence has bought itself more financial flexibility through asset sales, but the value of its remaining portfolio still depends on approvals, exploration results and disciplined cash use.
Questions in the middle?
- When will the Supreme Court deliver its decision on the Hamersley heritage judicial review, and what drilling access will follow?
- Will Campo Grande assay results support the company’s ion-adsorption clay rare earth exploration model?
- How long can the approximately A$5.4 million pro forma cash position fund exploration before additional capital is required?