Key Highlights

  • Chilwa Minerals (ASX:CHW) closed at $0.465 on 12 November 2026, down 12.26% over the session.
  • Assays from the MPYDD009 hole returned 57 metres grading 0.315% niobium oxide from surface.
  • Three diamond rigs are working on site, with infill drilling due to finish before the end of 2026.

Chilwa Minerals Limited (ASX:CHW) shares closed at $0.465 on 12 November 2026, down 12.26% over the trading session, while the S&P/ASX 200 closed at 9,146.80, lower by about 6.40 points or roughly 0.07%. Chilwa is an exploration company focused on the Nakombe niobium and yttrium rare earth target. Its latest update, dated 30 October 2026, reported ICP-MS assays from two drill holes, and the share price move on 12 November is not tied to that announcement.

Niobium and Rare Earth Assays

On 30 October 2026, Chilwa reported that laboratory assays from hole MPYDD009 returned 57 metres grading 0.315% niobium oxide from surface, including 14 metres at 0.426% from 43 metres. The whole 385.4-metre hole averaged 0.192% niobium oxide. Hole MPYDD015, the southernmost hole on the target, returned 22 metres at 0.243% from 349.5 metres, and the company said this confirmed continuity across 270 metres of strike.

Rare earths are elevated in both holes, with yttrium making up about a quarter of total rare earth oxide in MPYDD015. Niobium is accompanied by tantalum and gallium, with MPYDD009 returning 174 parts per million tantalum and 61 parts per million gallium in the upper 57 metres.

Drilling Programme and Resource Plans

Chilwa said an infill programme of six holes on the southern Nakombe target was under way and was expected to finish before the end of 2026. Three diamond rigs are active on site to support a maiden mineral resource estimate, which the company says is provisionally planned for a later date. Mineralisation remains open at depth, to the east and north, and drilling will resume on the Nakombe North target in 2027.

Sector Context

Chilwa operates in the niobium and rare earths segment, where Demand is linked to steel production and to magnets used in technology and clean energy applications. Explorers in this area often rely on assay results to build confidence in a target before a resource can be estimated. The S&P/ASX 200 was little changed on 12 November, so the decline in Chilwa shares was stock-specific.

Risks and Limitations

Assays from a limited number of holes do not yet establish the full size or grade of the deposit, and the maiden resource estimate is still to be completed. Metal prices for niobium, rare earths, tantalum and gallium can change significantly, which would affect the Economics of any future project. The company will need funding for drilling, metallurgy and resource work.

What to Watch Ahead

Investors will be watching the completion of the six-hole infill programme before the end of 2026, the timing of the maiden resource estimate, and the progress of the Nakombe North drilling in 2027. Any further assay results from the diamond rigs will also be followed closely.

Final Word

Chilwa's latest assays show continuity and grade across a wider section of the Nakombe target, and the infill programme will be the next test of that. The share price fall on 12 November came without a new announcement that day.