The Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX: YAL) share price is in focus today after the NSW Independent Planning Commission approved the Hunter Valley Operations (HVO) Continuation Project, extending mining at the HVO site until 2045—a key milestone for the company and the region.

What did Yancoal Australia report?

• NSW Independent Planning Commission approval for the HVO Continuation Project
• Project extends the Hunter Valley Operations mine life to the end of 2045
• HVO employs around 1,570 mine workers
• Six-year regulatory process included extensive community and stakeholder engagement
• Project aligned with State and Federal legislative and environmental standards

What else do investors need to know?

The State-level approval marks a significant step but isn’t the final hurdle. Yancoal’s Hunter Valley Operations still requires Federal environmental approval from the National EPA by the end of 2026.

Throughout the approval process, HVO worked closely with regulators, adapting its design to meet rigorous environmental and net-zero standards. The company acknowledges the ongoing support from its workforce, local suppliers, and the Hunter Valley community.

What did Yancoal Australia management say?

CEO of Yancoal Mr Sharif Burra said:

The HVO Continuation Project enjoyed support from the vast majority of submissions made during the IPC public hearing. Support was also voiced by local and State Government representatives. We are optimistic the final elements required can be secured, allowing HVO to operate the next 19 years to the benefit of our workforce, local business partners, regional community, shareholders, customers and the NSW economy.

What’s next for Yancoal Australia?

Yancoal is now focusing on securing Federal environmental approval before the 31 December 2026 deadline. The company will continue working with the National EPA to finalise the necessary requirements.

Securing full approval would bring long-term operating certainty for the HVO mine and provide ongoing benefits for Yancoal’s workforce, partners, and the wider Hunter Valley region.

Yancoal share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, Yancoal shares have risen 13%, outperforming the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), which has declined 1% over the same period.

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The post Yancoal shares in focus after Hunter Valley mine approval appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Laura Stewart has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips. This article was prepared with the assistance of Large Language Model (LLM) tools for the initial summary of the company announcement. Any content assisted by AI is subject to our robust human-in-the-loop quality control framework, involving thorough review, substantial editing, and fact-checking by our experienced writers and editors holding appropriate credentials. The Motley Fool Australia stands behind the work of our editorial team and takes ultimate responsibility for the content published by The Motley Fool Australia.

The high-yield ASX dividend stock APA Group (ASX: APA) is one of the top picks out there for passive income, in my opinion. I’d rather own shares of it than receive the Age Pension.

Australia’s Age Pension is one of the most generous in the world. It’s great that retirees have that safety net, but I like the idea of income coming into my bank account from assets I own myself.

APA is one of the biggest energy businesses on the ASX. Its main asset is a network of gas pipelines that spans the country. It also owns gas power stations, gas storage, gas processing, solar farms, wind farms, and electricity transmission.

Australia needs energy for residential and business usage, so APA plays an important role in Australian society. It actually transports half of the nation’s gas usage, so it’s an essential part of the national energy picture.

Let’s take a look at how an investor could use the high-yield ASX dividend stock to match the Age Pension.

Passive income guidance

I view APA as one of the most impressive passive income businesses on the ASX because of how consistently it has increased its payout. Of course, past dividend growth is not a guarantee of future dividend growth.

APA has increased its annual distribution for 22 years in a row. That’s the second-longest payout growth streak for a business on the ASX.

The business has provided distribution guidance that will take it to 23 years of consecutive growth.

APA management expects the business to hike its payout to 59 cents per security. At the time of writing, that represents a forward distribution yield of 5.6%, which I think is an excellent starting point and extremely competitive against the best term deposit rates right now.

Its earnings and cash flow are growing thanks to inflation-linked revenue, new energy projects being built and completed, and acquisitions.

Equal the Age Pension

Australian retirees recently received a payment increase, which is great news during this period of higher inflation and cost of living.

The maximum Age Pension that a single Australian can receive is $1,237.70 per fortnight. That translates into an approximate annualised figure of $32,180.

If an investor wanted to receive $32,180 of annual income from the high-yield ASX dividend stock from its projected FY27 payout of 59 cents per security, that investor would need to own 54,543 APA Group shares.

Of course, diversification is an important element of investing for passive income. I wouldn’t have 100% of my portfolio invested in APA shares; I’d spread it across a number of ASX shares that can generate returns.

The post 54,543 shares of this high-yield ASX dividend stock pay an income equal to the Age Pension appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Apa Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

S&P/ASX 300 Metal & Mining Index (ASX: XMM) shares are up 1.1% to 8,346.6 points on Wednesday.

Over 12 months, ASX mining shares have soared 29% while the S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO) has fallen 1%.

The mining index reached a record high of 9,326.9 points on 26 August. 

Higher demand for metals and minerals due to the green energy transition and strong commodity prices has contributed to the 29% rise.

This week, brokers have indicated continued confidence in several ASX mining shares by renewing their buy recommendations.

The brokers have also given each stock a 12-month price target, indicating where they think the valuation will go.

Let’s take a look.

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)

The BHP share price is $61.21, up 1% today.

Over the past month, this ASX 200 iron ore share has fallen 8%.

Morgan Stanley renewed its buy rating on BHP shares on Monday.

The broker has a 12-month price target of $68.

This suggests a potential 11% upside ahead.

Galan Lithium Ltd (ASX: GLN)

The Galan Lithium share price is 31 cents, up 3.3% today.

This ASX lithium share has fallen 23% over the past month.

Canaccord Genuity reiterated its buy rating on Galan Lithium shares on Monday.

The broker has a 12-month price target of 80 cents.

This implies potential capital gains of 158% ahead.

Minerals 260 Ltd (ASX: MI6)

The Minerals 260 share price is 88 cents, down 2% today.

Over the past month, this ASX 200 gold share has risen 1%.

Bell Potter reaffirmed its buy rating on Minerals 260 shares with a 12-month target of $1.45.

This suggests a potential 64% upside ahead.

Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN)

The Mineral Resources share price is $52.63, up 0.5% today.

This ASX 200 mining share has fallen 19% over the past month.

UBS renewed its buy rating on the stock with a $74 target.

This implies potential capital growth of 40% over the next year.

South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)

The South32 share price is $5.04, up 0.3% today.

Over the past month, this ASX 200 mining share has fallen 2%.

Citi renewed its buy rating on South32 shares yesterday.

The broker has a $6 target, implying a potential 19% upside ahead.

Champion Iron Ltd (ASX: CIA)

The Champion Iron share price is $3.11, up 1.1% today.

This ASX iron ore share has fallen 12% over the past month.

UBS reiterated its buy rating on Champion Iron shares with a price target of $4.15.

This implies a potential 34% upside ahead.

AIC Mines Ltd (ASX: A1M)

The AIC Mines share price is 88 cents, down 2.8% today.

This ASX copper share has risen 9% over the past month.

Morgans reiterated its buy rating on AIC Mines shares with a price target of $1.20.

This implies potential capital gains of 36% ahead.

The post 7 ASX mining shares with 11% to 158% upside ahead: experts appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Citigroup is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BHP Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.