Diversified miners Q1-23 reported results review

The start of 2023 has seen animal spirits awaken among major mining companies. The acquisitions of Turquoise Hill and OZMinerals were completed smoothly and many smaller deals in pre-production copper and nickel assets were announced. Glencore's merger attempt for Teck marked the first major bid of this cycle. More companies indicate they are looking at larger transactions. Metals prices have been relatively stable in Q1. Particularly in contrast to coal. But the precipitous drop is unlikely to continue - metallurgical coal prices may have already bottomed out while thermal coal is close to support. While metals demand fails to materialise at the levels anticipated, the big risk is prices losing support of positive sentiment around China reopening.