James Bay Minerals Joins Our Portfolio

• Commentary: New Portfolio Addition on Monday at ~ 10AM AEDT... its JBY. Gold and silver roaring back. Lets see what the experts think: Pierre Lassonde, Rick Rule and Eric Sprott.
• Quick Takes: LYN, L1M
• This week in our Portfolios: AL3, EIQ, L1M

Disclosure: S3 Consortium Pty Ltd (the Company) and Associated Entities own 1,979,167 JBY shares at the time of publishing this article. The Company has been engaged by JBY to share our commentary on the progress of our Investment in JBY over time. 1,791,667 shares are subject to shareholder approval

We are announcing a New Portfolio addition on Monday at 10am AEDT.

We think gold and silver are going to be one of the big stories of 2025.

And we have been having success this year with “more advanced” resources projects.

Especially in precious metals.

This company is acquiring a project with a 1.18Moz gold and 7.6Moz silver resource in the coming days.

With plenty of exploration upside...

It’s located in Nevada, USA.

The company is James Bay Minerals (ASX:JBY).

It’s from the same team behind our 2024 Small Cap Pick of the Year - Sun Silver.

(Sun Silver, also precious metals in Nevada, rose from 20c to hit a high of $1.18, it's now at ~70c)

We will be sharing our full JBY Investment Memo and commentary on Monday at around 10am AEDT.

The gold price has been roaring up over the last 10 days.

A solid comeback after two weeks of weakness following an unexpected orderly US election.

There is often a post election “honeymoon period” where peak hope and optimism about the future are in full effect.

We saw that happen in the two weeks after the election result...

Gold and silver prices came off.

A couple of geopolitical flare-ups later and the world was reminded of the growing global uncertainty the new US administration will be dealing with.

Gold and silver shot right back up.

Our plan was to add another gold/silver stock, taking advantage of the post US election precious metals price weakness.

But gold and silver's rapid comeback over the last 10 days caught us by surprise - we didn’t expect them to come back so hard and so quickly.

Famous mining investor and creator of the “Lassonde Curve”, Pierre Lassonde, thinks a Trump Presidency is the best thing that could happen for gold and his gold investments (more on why later in this note):

“The Trump election is the best thing that could have ever, ever happened to gold, I am so pumped you have no idea, the next four years are going to be the best four years of my life.” - Pierre Lassonde

So we are adding JBY to our Portfolio just as gold looks like it’s going to move right back towards new all time highs.

The acquisition of their Nevada gold project is scheduled to complete immediately following the company’s shareholder meeting this coming Friday.

We have been positioning our Portfolio over the last 12 months in anticipation that gold and silver will continue their upwards runs during 2025.

We think precious metals were only just getting started in 2024.

Here are some of the highlights from our precious metals stocks in the last 12 months:

• Sun Silver (ASX: SS1): Touched an all time high of ~$1.18, up 582% from our Initial Entry Price of 17.3c. We are expecting big things from SS1 in 2025, especially if the silver price rips.
• Mithril Silver and Gold (ASX: MTH): Was the best performing stock on the ASX in September - up ~362%. The stock is currently up 325% from our Initial Entry price of 10c, and was as high as 715%.
• Titan Minerals (ASX: TTM): recently hit new 52 week highs of ~63.5c.
• BPM Minerals (ASX: BPM): Was up ~200% off the back of a new gold discovery at its project in WA - more drilling starting very soon.
• Kaiser Reef (ASK: KAU): touched ~23c, up from our Initial Entry Price of 15c.

Past performance is not and should not be taken as an indication of future performance. Caution should be exercised in assessing past performance. These products, like all other financial products, are subject to market forces and unpredictable events that may adversely affect future performance.

So with a good start for gold and silver in 2024, we think 2025 is going to be a big year for gold and silver stocks.

Which is why we are adding JBY to our Portfolio on Monday.

Preview: Reasons we Invested in JBY

1. JBY has the same team and backers as our 2024 Small Cap Pick of the Year SS1.
2. JBY is acquiring a 1.18Moz gold and 7.6Moz silver resource with exploration upside.
3. High grade component of 796,200oz gold at 6.53g/t open all directions
4. Near term 3,500m drilling program, leading into a resource upgrade.
5. Right next door to a mine operated by Barrick and Newmont.
6. We had success in Nevada with SS1. This project is similar - but is going for gold.
7. We like the gold macro thematic for 2025 and beyond.
8. Clean, tight cap structure, large director holdings and no options.
9. Well-known retail stock with potential to re-rate.
10. A portfolio of lithium assets as a “side bet” if (when?) the lithium price returns.

On Monday we will share our full JBY Investment Memo including a detailed review of the reasons why we Invested in JBY, objectives we want to see JBY achieve, risks we have identified and accepted and our Investment plan.

In the meantime, here is the latest JBY Investor deck that talks about their new gold project.

What’s happening with gold and silver?

Our favourite investment thematic for 2024 has been precious metals.

But we think precious metals are only just getting started...

Our view is that 2025 will be the year they really get going.

This week we have been listening to some of the most successful investors in the mining industry to find out their views on gold and silver:

• Pierre Lassonde - Canadian fund manager that basically invented mining royalty funds. He made his name by turning a $2M investment into $1BN (coincidentally on a gold project in... Nevada)
• Rick Rule - Chairman of US Sprott Holdings and its $1.59BN resources fund.
• Eric Sprott - Invested over $1BN in different mining companies.

Pierre Lassonde on gold as a Trump Trade

“The Trump election is the best thing that could have ever, ever happened to gold, I am so pumped you have no idea, the next four years are going to be the best four years of my life.” - Pierre Lassonde.

Not sure, but we think he might be excited about gold...?

Pierre Lassonde is best known for putting together one of the great mining royalty deals with his company Franco-Nevada, turning $2M into over $1BN.

The Canadian mining billionaire is also the creator of the “Lassonde Curve” and has a wealth of knowledge investing in mining over many decades.

(We’ve seen him speak in person at the PDAC conference in Toronto earlier this year)

The first royalty deal that he did was with a mine in Nevada along the Carlin Trend that ended up being Barick’s Goldstrike deposit.

When he first acquired that royalty, the deposit was small and had plenty of exploration upside.

Decades later it became a centrepiece of the $49BN Barrick business.

Our New Portfolio Addition, JBY is also located in Nevada, and we are hoping it can take its project from where it is today, to something a lot bigger over the coming years.

(SS1 is also in Nevada, in fact SS1 is also on the Carlin Trend)

In this interview, Lassonde talks about the gold markets and his reasons why Donald Trump being elected is incredibly positive for the gold price:

(Watch the full video here)

Key takeaways: on precious metals as a “Trump Trade”:

• Gold is effectively a balance against the US dollar.
• Trump's policies, in particular tax cuts, tariffs and deportations, will be inflationary.
• Re-shoring manufacturing in the US will be more expensive than anticipated (for the US and its economy).
• This all leads to a rise in the gold price.

Other interesting takeaways:

• Lassonde recounts his origin story with the Franco-Nevada royalty investment
• Bitcoin/crypto can’t be bought in China, so gold is still their safe haven asset.
• Gold has strong cultural significance to the giant populations in India and China

Rick Rule on gold as a long term insurance policy

“Gold is like buying insurance. I don’t buy gold because I think it is going to $10,000 per ounce, but in case it goes to $10,000 per ounce”.

Often doing the podcast and media rounds, Rule was the Chairman of US Sprott Holdings and the largest shareholder of the $1.59BN fund.

Here, he talks about the US election (before the results) and why gold and silver are strong long-term bets:

Key points: what is the long term case for gold:

• The current US debt is at a level where it is likely that the country will inflate their way out of the situation. This is good for gold.
• Foreign central banks are hedging against US treasuries - which is why they are buying gold.
• Gold has always held its purchasing power. If you believe that the US dollar will lose its purchasing power over the long run, then gold is a good bet.
• For silver stocks, “the big money is likely ahead”. This is due to the nature of precious metals market cycles. When the generalist investor starts to get comfortable with gold, they will move to silver, which will move much further and much faster than gold.

Eric Sprott's thoughts on the market and gold

“If precious metals went up as much as they did in the last two bull runs, we have a long way to go in terms of gold and silver.”

Kirkland Gold is the company where Eric Sprott made his billions of dollars, maintaining his position in the Canadian gold mining company through a series of mergers and exploration.

In 2017, he founded the Sprott Family Mining Office and, since that time, has invested over $1BN in over 175 mining companies around the world.

Over 90% of his fund is gold and silver, and he is a big supporter of the mining industry.

In this interview, he talks about his investment journey (note: gold opinions start from about the 15-minute mark):

(Watch the full video)

Key takeaways:

• Gold, and in particular silver, is good insulation against the potential ‘bubble’ spurred by big 7 NASDAQ tech companies and COVID-19 government spending.
• When investing in stocks, it may take the market a lot longer to catch up to your investment thesis than you want (we have all been there).
• Sprott values gold as $ in the ground. It's his belief that bigger mining companies are asleep to potential acquisitions in the smaller end of the market, which means that junior mining stocks could be considered “cheap”. At these prices for gold he says that “anyone with an ore body should be looking like it is economic”.
• As an investor in resources companies the reward for a find is big. This is why he prefers resource stocks, because a successful discovery can be very profitable.

So three high profile mining personalities are bullish on precious metals.

We are looking forward to seeing what 2025 brings for gold and silver.

And our gold and silver Investments

Keep an eye out on your inbox on Monday for our full launch article for James Bay Minerals (ASX: JBY) and their new gold project in Nevada.

What we wrote about this week

Lightning Minerals (ASX: L1M)

Our $7M capped exploration Investment Lightning Minerals (ASX:L1M) has lithium exploration ground in between ~$600M LRS and ~$2.2BN Sigma Lithium in Minas Geriais, Brazil.

L1M just discovered spodumene at its lithium project in Brazil’s Lithium Valley.

This discovery was made while the L1M team was walking the ground to identify potential drill targets for their Q1 2025 initial drill campaign.

They literally stumbled onto a small scale "artisanal mine” that some locals had been digging.

Inside they found “large, elongated spodumene crystals up to 50cm in length” in the walls.

On-site analysis of the crystals resulted in up to 4.04% Li2O grades.

(Note that on site analysis is not as accurate as a lab assay result from drilling. L1M will still need to drill test this project to determine grade and extent of the lithium)

We break down the news here:

Read: ⛏️ L1M discovers 4.04% lithium in unknown artisanal mine. Drilling soon.

EchoIQ (ASX: EIQ)

Echo IQ (ASX:EIQ) has an FDA cleared, AI-powered algorithm that helps detect heart diseases.

A top US cardiology hospital, the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, has just agreed to integrate EIQ’s technology into its practice.

Beth Israel is a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School and ranked in the top 1% of all hospitals in the US for cardiology.

This deal has landed literally just weeks after EIQ successfully obtained FDA clearance.

Read: 🫀 EIQ signs first hospital deal just weeks after successful US FDA approval

AML3D (ASX: AL3)

Our 2024 Tech Pick of the Year AML3D (ASX:AL3) just secured $30M in a big cap raise that was roughly 1⁄3 of the company’s market cap.

AL3 said that it has “been guided to expect significant growth in US demand following the award” of a US $951M contract to Blue Forge Alliance (partner of the US Navy).

The US Navy is now officially demanding that their parts suppliers use metal 3D printing technology.

Sounds pretty good to us as AL3 Investors.

This raise puts AL3 in a very strong position to capitalise.

Read: 🚢 US Navy Now Demanding 3D Printed Parts, Or Else...

Quick Takes 🗣️

LYN's drilling starting in one week

L1M identifies lithium targets in Brazil

Macro News - What we are reading & listening to 📰

Gold:

Gold Price: Goldman Says ‘Go for Gold’ as Central Banks Buy, Fed Cuts in ‘25 (Bloomberg)

• Bank reiterates forecast for jump to $3,000 an ounce next year
• Trump’s policies may augment metal’s bull case, Goldman says

Lithium:

Lithium shares, MIN ASX: Mineral Resources, IGO to lead rebound, says Morningstar (AFR)

• Morningstar labels Mineral Resources and IGO as “materially undervalued” lithium stocks despite lithium prices hitting multi-year lows, citing a strong long-term demand outlook.
• It forecasts a recovery in lithium prices by 2025, positioning the sector for a potential rebound as supply cuts and growing EV demand restore market balance.

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Have a great weekend,

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