From this AFR today (link here):

'The nation’s biggest superannuation fund, AustralianSuper, is once again a substantial shareholder of Chris Ellison’s Mineral Resources, advising the market it now owned more than 5 per cent of the company after selling down its shares last year.

“Since the new chair started in May there has been improved governance, more rigorous capital allocation processes and increased disclosure,” AustralianSuper said in a statement.'

I am a MIN bull, but what a load of fluff. The company lost all three members of its ethics committee within a few months (established to, as the name suggests, keep CE in line), and also onboarded a Chairman with no mining experience that would presumably continue to act as a puppet for CE. There has been no real visible improvement in that regard since AusSuper left the building (with the exception of some positive Onslow updates, a stable IO price and rising lithium prices, of course). This to me (I allege) has nothing to do with ethics and all to do with an improved operating environment for MIN -- particularly noting next quarter, should prices remain as they are, they will likely spit out plenty of cash and repay some debt. Or am I being too cynical?!

MIN recently announced it will receive the $200m contingent payment from MSIP in early November, as part of the private haul road transaction.

The payment is nice, but not the focus -- achieving sustained nameplate capacity at Onslow is good validation for holders. This takes the total received to 1.3b.

Those that were brave enough to buy under $20 have been handsomely rewarded. Say what you want about the man, but he knows how to hustle.

I made some recent notes for MIN, duplicated (below) for those interested.

• The perfect storm – recent market sell-off likely due to a combination of factors: low Iron Ore and lithium prices, concerns around China demand for iron ore, lots of debt and the business being in a CapEx cycle, despite the concerns around them.
• At time of writing, MIN’s market cap was 5.95b. MIN’s Mining Services recently delivered 550m of EBITDA in FY24. This is a fantastic business – steady cash flows not impacted by Iron Ore cyclicality. Onslow will be serviced by their Mining Services division, so EBITDA should be increasing -- and materially -- over the next 24 months. This division ALONE justifies the current share price / market cap for me.
• Their lithium, iron ore and gas ventures are less fantastic, although the recent Onslow project has enhanced their competitive advance re: Iron Ore production.  
• MIN was previously a high-cost producer of iron ore, that would ramp up and down to suit market conditions (when they could make a buck). Onslow changes this – despite being joint-owned (with MIN owning majority) production costs have more than halved. This changes the game for MIN.
• Iron Ore costs dropped below $US90 recently. Management recently said that Onslow provides them with the ability to stomach a $US65-$70 iron ore price and still make 20% return on invested capital.
• Yes, there is significant debt, but my bet is plenty of investors don’t understand this debt properly. Are they in danger of defaulting? Don’t think so. Will they go broke? Definitely not. Repayment of the debt is attractive – not a cent to be repaid until 2027 (how on earth did Ellison swing this?!) and lots of assets on the balance sheet.
• Onslow hits full capacity next year – will provide meaningful cash flows that will curb current market concerns.  
• Grey clouds above our heads short term. But those that can stomach the volatility will likely make market-beating returns (and then some) at these levels – a classic contrarian purchase. I am happy to sit tight and wait.