May was another volatile month for metals and equities, though the S&P/ASX 200 Resources index actually closed slightly ahead for the month.
A number of companies have potential catalysts ahead this month.
Northern Star Resources is due to release the results of mill expansion studies at KCGM in Kalgoorlie.
Canaccord Genuity last week estimated capital costs of A$600 million to $1 billion, but the larger case could take annual production to more than 900,000 ounces.
Gold developer Bellevue Gold is due to report the results of optimisation studies at its namesake project as construction advances.
Red 5 should achieve first gold production from its large King of the Hills gold mine after commissioning recently got underway.
Strike Resources should also join the producer ranks with first ore from its Paulsens iron ore project due on ship this month.
After achieving first nickel production last month, Mincor Resources is set to achieve first cashflow from its restarted Kambalda operations.
Liontown Resources has until Monday to finalise a lithium offtake agreement with carmaker Tesla after this week extending the termination date.
It comes as the company is set to make a final investment decision for the Kathleen Valley lithium project this month.
Fresh from raising $50 million, Predictive Discovery has flagged a resource upgrade at its 3.65 million ounce Bankan gold project in Guinea.
Elsewhere in Africa, Mako Gold says maiden resources for its Tchaga and Gogbala prospects, part of the Napie gold project in Cote d'Ivoire, are on track for mid-June.
The company has a strategy to identify a multimillion-ounce deposit on the Napie project.
The maiden resource for Alicanto Minerals' polymetallic Sala project in Sweden is also due this month.
EcoGraf is working on finalising an expansion study for its 60,000 tonne per annum Epanko graphite project in Tanzania.
Sovereign Metals said today that an updated scoping study on its Kasiya rutile project in Malawi, incorporating the latest resource upgrade, would be out in the "coming weeks" as the company embarked on a 12,000m infill drilling campaign to underpin the planned prefeasibility study.
MetalsTech is set to release a scoping study for its Sturec gold project in Slovakia.
On the IPO front, one of the larger listings of the year, Leo Lithium, will debut later this month with an expected market capitalisation of more than $700 million.
Other companies to list this month include Nordic Nickel, Uvre, Kingsland Minerals, Southern Palladium, Cavalier Resources, Summit Minerals, Coolabah Metals, OD6 Metals, Sarytogan Graphite, MetalsGrove Mining and Chalkos Metals.
On the events front, Resources Rising Stars returns to the Gold Coast next week for the first time since 2019.
The conference features keynote presentations from John Hewson and Hedley Widdup, as well as company presentations from the likes of Sandfire Resources, Chalice Mining and Develop.
The following week, the Australian Gold Conference will be held in Sydney, which will feature a number of keynote presentations from industry leaders, including Owen Hegarty.
Finally, the nominations for the 2022 MNN Awards opened today. Readers can nominate companies and individuals across four categories: Deal, Explorer, CEO and Emerging Leader of the Year.
