AuKing Mining Limited (ASX: AKN) has agreed to acquire 100% of the issued shares in Malawi-incorporated Green Exploration Limited (GEL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Tusker Minerals Limited (ASX: TSK, formerly DY6 Metals). The transaction, announced to ASX on 18 August 2026, delivers AuKing four exploration licences and consolidates its position in one of Africa’s better-defined critical minerals districts.

The deal follows AuKing’s Machinga Heavy Rare Earths acquisition announced earlier in August 2026. Machinga is held by GEL, so the revised structure sees AuKing acquire the licence holder itself rather than the licence alone. Purchase consideration for Machinga is unchanged, and GEL is intended to become a 100% subsidiary of AuKing.

What AuKing is acquiring

GEL holds four exploration licences:

• Machinga Heavy Rare Earths and niobium, southern Malawi
• Salambidwe Rare Earths (EL 0518), approximately 24.9km², southern Malawi on the Mozambique border
• Ngala Hill Copper and PGE (EL 0510), approximately 16.4km², roughly 35km south-south-west of Blantyre
• Karonga Copper (EL 0782/24), approximately 36km², about 440km north of Lilongwe

Three of the four sit in southern Malawi, within operational reach of AuKing’s existing base at Zomba and its Tundulu rare earths project. That geographic clustering is the commercial logic of the transaction. One field team, one logistics chain and one set of government relationships now cover four projects rather than one.

The Chilwa Alkaline Province context

Salambidwe and Tundulu both sit within the Mesozoic Chilwa Alkaline Province, the geological setting that hosts Malawi’s best known rare earths occurrences. The same suite includes the Kangankunde and Songwe Hill carbonatite deposits, two of the more advanced rare earths projects on the continent.

Salambidwe itself is not a carbonatite. It is a ring complex roughly 6km in diameter, dominated by syenites and nepheline-syenites with a core of agglomeratic rocks. Mineralisation is interpreted as REE and Nb/Ta enrichment in accessory mineral phases associated with riebeckite-bearing syenite. Anomalous radiometrics across the complex reflect thorium and uranium, which AuKing notes as a supporting indicator for REE occurrence.

The distinction matters. Salambidwe is a different deposit style to Kangankunde and Songwe Hill, and geological proximity to established deposits does not guarantee a comparable outcome. AuKing makes that point explicitly in its release. What the province does provide is a well understood exploration model, established analytical and logistics pathways, and a jurisdiction that has already permitted and progressed rare earths projects.

Salambidwe: grade, heavies and niobium, with no drilling to date

Salambidwe has a long exploration record and no drill holes. That combination is the core of the opportunity.

Historical rock chip results reported by Globe Metals and Mining (ASX: GBE) include:

• 2010 sampling: sample I4050 returned 2.05% TREO; sample I4053 returned 7,924ppm Nb₂O₅
• 2012 sampling: SARX0018 returned 1.14% TREO with 5,994ppm Nb₂O₅; SARX0019 returned 1.24% TREO with 4,934ppm Nb₂O₅

The heavy rare earth ratios are the more interesting number for anyone tracking the magnet and defence supply chain. The 2010 sample I4053 reported an HREO to TREO ratio of 33.2%, and I4050 reported 9.3%. The 2012 highlight samples returned HREO of 2,410ppm and 2,742ppm against TREO of 11,415ppm and 12,462ppm respectively, ratios above 20%. Niobium, tantalum and zirconium are present through the same samples, with I4053 also returning 27,582ppm ZrO₂ and 153ppm Ta₂O₅.

Work by DY6 Metals in 2024 extended the footprint. A total of 514 soil and rock chip samples were collected across a 50km grid, paired with 45 line-kilometres of airborne electromagnetic and radiometric surveying. That program was designed specifically to close off or extend anomalous zones left open by Globe. The result was two substantial trends: an eastern zone approximately 1,700m long and nearly 1,000m wide near its northern limits, and a western trend demonstrated to be more than 2km long.

No drilling has ever been undertaken at Salambidwe. AuKing intends to compile and validate the Globe and DY6/Tusker datasets, reprocess and invert the 2024 airborne survey, complete a gap analysis, then follow up with targeted mapping and sampling ahead of a maiden drilling program.

Machinga: the heavy rare earths anchor

Machinga remains the near-term focus. AuKing has flagged high-resolution drone magnetic, radiometric and LiDAR surveys as first activities, integrated with historical and recent structural interpretation, to refine extensions to the known REE-Nb system and define targets for follow-up RC and diamond drilling.

Held alongside Tundulu and Salambidwe, Machinga gives AuKing three rare earths projects in a single district, at different stages of maturity and with different deposit styles. That is a meaningful pipeline for a company of AuKing’s size.

Ngala Hill: a palladium-rich copper and PGE target

Ngala Hill is an outcropping ultramafic chonolith with widespread Pd-Pt-Au-Cu mineralisation that is palladium-rich. The arcuate intrusion measures approximately 2.4km by 0.7km. Three zones of mineralisation have been defined: the Main Zone, striking parallel to the spine of Ngala Hill for around 2km; a Massive Sulphide Zone comprising a laminated 10cm outcropping sulphide band with associated quartz breccias; and the Western Sill.

Historical trenching results are strong for a surface program:

• 1999, Phelps Dodge: 64m at 1.41g/t PGE+Au and 1,430ppm Cu
• 2000, Placer Dome: 12m at 3g/t PGE+Au, and 70m at 1.12g/t PGE+Au including 8m at 3.3g/t PGE+Au

Historical diamond drilling did not repeat those trench grades. The single Phelps Dodge hole failed to reach the main mineralised zone, and the subsequent Placer Dome holes returned no significant intersections. The correlation between copper and PGE values seen in weathered trench material was not observed in core, and copper and nickel values in fresh rock were materially lower than in saprock and saprolite samples.

AuKing’s position is that this is a targeting problem, not a geological dead end. No electromagnetic survey has ever been run over the prospect to target higher-grade massive sulphide, and aeromagnetic data show a significant magnetic high associated with the mineralised zone that reportedly extends several kilometres beyond the outcrop. Planned work comprises reinterpretation of historical trenching and drilling data, structural mapping and modern geophysics including EM where appropriate.

Recent reconnaissance sampling by DY6/Tusker, reported in November 2024, returned 2.5g/t 2PGE+Au in a pyroxenite sample hosting microscopic interstitial sulphides, with a quarter of the sample population returning 0.2g/t 2PGE+Au. Sample NGE011 returned 3.5% Zn with 0.7% Cu in meta-pyroxenite.

Ngala Hill is proximal to the Nacala rail and port corridor and to grid power, which is relevant to any future development scenario.

Karonga: early stage copper

Karonga is a greenfield opportunity with very limited historical exploration. Preliminary reconnaissance sampling reported by DY6/Tusker in March 2025 identified elevated copper grades, with malachite and azurite coexisting with sulphide minerals in the quartzite units. AuKing plans reconnaissance mapping and systematic surface geochemical sampling to assess the extent of the anomalism.

Transaction terms

Consideration payable by AuKing on completion:

• A$50,000 cash
• A$250,000 in fully paid ordinary AKN shares, being 10,000,000 shares at an issue price of $0.025, subject to 12-month voluntary escrow
• A$500,000 in performance shares, being 20,000,000 securities at $0.025, tied to Ngala Hill drilling milestones
• A further A$50,000 cash on or before three months after completion

All shares are to be issued under the Company’s existing capacity under ASX Listing Rule 7.1. These terms are in addition to those payable under the Machinga transaction announced on 4 August 2026.

The performance shares convert only on announcement of any two drill intercepts at Ngala Hill exceeding one of the following thresholds within three years: 20m at ≥1.5g/t 3E; 15m at ≥2.0g/t 3E; 10m at ≥2.5g/t 3E; or any intercept containing ≥1.0g/t 3E together with ≥0.5% Cu over at least 20m. Conversion is calculated as $0.025 divided by the 90-day VWAP, capped at one ordinary share per performance share.

The structure is worth noting. Cash consideration on completion is A$100,000 across two instalments. The bulk of the value transfers only if Ngala Hill delivers drill results at commercially meaningful widths and grades. Completion is conditional on both AuKing and Tusker receiving confirmation from ASX that full quotation re-compliance under Chapter 11 will not be required, and on any other applicable regulatory approvals.

Copper spinout

AuKing has flagged a proposed copper-based spinoff combining Ngala Hill and Karonga with its existing copper project interests. The stated objective is to unlock further value for AuKing shareholders. For a company holding rare earths, copper, PGE, uranium and tin assets, separating the copper portfolio into a dedicated vehicle is a logical response to the valuation drag that diversified junior explorers typically carry.

The portfolio after completion

On completion, AuKing’s project interests will comprise:

• Tundulu Rare Earths Project, southern Malawi
• Machinga Heavy Rare Earths Project, southern Malawi
• Salambidwe Rare Earths Project, southern Malawi
• Ngala Hill Copper and PGE Project, southern Malawi
• Karonga Copper Project, northern Malawi
• Koongie Park Copper-Zinc-Silver Project, Western Australia (49% joint venture with Cobalt Blue Holdings Ltd)
• Mkuju Uranium Project, southern Tanzania
• Big Wilson Tin-Tungsten Project, north-western Tasmania

AuKing has stated it is fully funded to commence exploration immediately at Machinga and across the other GEL project interests, with funding drawn from existing cash reserves.

Managing Director Paul Williams said the acquisition provides AuKing with a unique opportunity to expand its critical minerals portfolio in Malawi, and that the Company intends to commence exploration on the Green Exploration assets immediately following completion.

What to watch

1. ASX confirmation that Chapter 11 re-compliance is not required, the key condition precedent
2. Completion of the GEL acquisition, proposed for later in 2026
3. Drone magnetic, radiometric and LiDAR surveys at Machinga
4. Reprocessing and inversion modelling of the 2024 Salambidwe airborne survey, and definition of maiden drill targets
5. EM surveying at Ngala Hill and the drill program that determines whether the performance shares convert
6. Further detail on the proposed copper spinout

Important information. This article is general commentary based on AuKing Mining Limited’s ASX announcement of 18 August 2026 and is not investment advice. It does not consider your objectives, financial situation or needs. Exploration is high risk and none of the projects described hosts a JORC compliant Mineral Resource.

The historical exploration results referred to above were reported by parties other than AuKing, including Tusker Minerals Limited (formerly DY6 Metals Limited), Globe Metals and Mining Limited, and ERM Australia Consultants Pty Ltd trading as CSA Global. AuKing has not independently validated those results and does not adopt, endorse or report them as JORC 2012 compliant. Confidence in the historical results may be reduced following further evaluation or exploration work.

References to nearby or analogous projects, including Kangankunde, Songwe Hill and Tundulu, are provided as geological context only. Such discoveries or geological similarities do not guarantee that AuKing will achieve any similar success in delineating a JORC compliant Mineral Resource on its own projects, if at all.

The information relating to historical exploration results at Salambidwe, Ngala Hill and Karonga is based on information reviewed by Mr Ian Hodkinson, a member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists and a consultant to AuKing Mining Limited.