Pick of the Year. New One Coming Soon

Our new “Pick of the Year” is coming soon.

So far in 2022 we have made just four new Investments in our Next Investors Portfolio.

We have made four Investments in our Catalyst Hunter Portfolio and just one in our Wise-Owl Portfolio.

Occasionally we call a new Investment a “Pick of the Year”.

A “Pick of the Year” is a company that we have usually been following closely for a long time and has an outstanding management team and project, in a strong macro theme.

It’s a small cap stock that we are most excited about to perform well over the coming years during our standard Investment time frame.

We haven’t yet called a “Pick of the Year” in 2022.

It’s already September, and soon we will be releasing a “Pick of the Year” for 2022.

Sometimes a “Pick of the Year” goes well quickly, sometimes they can take a while to get moving - it's really up to the company management to successfully deliver the business plan.

Our Investment time frames are generally at least 3 to 5 years.

We have six categories where we might choose a “Pick of the Year”

• Small cap
• Energy
• Tech
• Biotech
• Catalyst Hunter - early stage companies
• Wise Owl - later stage companies

We won’t necessarily choose one “Pick of the Year” per category each year...

For example we didn’t select a Tech “Pick of the Year” in 2020 and didn’t select an Energy “Pick of the Year” in 2021.

After months of work and due diligence we expect to release a “Pick of the Year” in at least three of the above categories before the end of 2022.

With one potentially as early as this week.

Here is how the past “Picks of the Year” in each category have performed:

Remember the above performance is not an indicator of how any future “Picks of the Year” will perform - there are a lot of variables in the stock market.

After many months of research we are looking forward to soon sharing our first “Pick of the Year” for 2022.

Speaking of stocks that are having a good run...

A stock to watch next week:

We first announced our Investment in rare earths explorer Lanthanein Resources (ASX:LNR) on our Catalyst Hunter Portfolio back in February.

LNR is finally about to start drilling for rare earths that are critical for the clean energy transition.

$57M capped LNR shares a tenement border AND similar geology with successful rare earth explorer HAS (capped at $550M) and is just ~30km away from internet chat room favourite DRE (capped at $320M), who recently surged on a new rare earths discovery.

LNR has the same outcropping rocks that host HAS and DRE’s rare earths discoveries.

After some initial delays, 3 weeks ago we wrote that LNR had almost completed its heritage survey and could finally start the drilling we had been waiting for since February.

Since then, LNR’s price has started a little run on the back of (we suspect) two bits of impressive news from it’s neighbours:

• 8 days ago: Australia’s richest man Andrew Forrest threw $150M into LNR’s next door neighbour HAS (source)
• 2 days ago: DRE went into a trading halt and is expected to come out on Monday with “exploration results” - we are hoping DRE can deliver a big result that brings even more attention to $57M capped LNR.

So the key thing we are watching out for on Monday is the release of drilling results from DRE, which if they exceed market expectations could put more attention on our Investment in earlier stage LNR, who is due to start drilling an day now.

We will be watching with interest over the coming weeks and months and are hoping LNR can start to catch up to its bigger peers in the region (with a bit of its own exploration luck of course).

See our LNR Investment Memo

Progress Trackers

New trackers released this week:

Elixir Energy (ASX: EXR) is developing a natural gas project and a green hydrogen project in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia on the doorstep of energy hungry China. And, as announced this week, has acquired a natural gas asset in Queensland.

See our EXR Progress Tracker

Dimerix (ASX: DXB) is working towards Phase 3 trial and first interim results which are expected during the first half of next year. We are tracking the progress the company has made in our DXB Progress Tracker. You will see all the prep-work it takes to deliver a Phase 3 trial result, and how much DXB has achieved to date.

See our DXB Progress Tracker

In our Grand Gulf Energy (ASX:GGE) Progress Tracker we show how GGE acquired the project back in September 2021 when helium prices were only US$200/mmcf through to it now being on the cusp of putting its project into production (pending a successful flow test) with helium now priced at US$2,000 to US$3,000/mmcf.

See our GGE Progress Tracker

TechGen Metals (ASX: TG1) this week delivered a 68m intercept of gold mineralisation from surface at its NSW gold project, INCLUDING sections of high grade gold. The result fits firmly inside our “Bullish Case” expectations, with grades across a lengthy intercept thickness of 23m (including 13.8g/t) clearly exceeding the 2g/t we hoped to see. See our Progress Tracker to see how TG1 got to this point.

See our TG1 Progress Tracker

Existing Progress Trackers:

PRL - Click here for our PRL Progress Tracker

NHE - Click here for our NHE Progress Tracker

88E - Click here for our 88E Progress Tracker

IVZ - Click here for our IVZ Progress Tracker

SGA - Click here for our SGA Progress Tracker

GAL - Click here to see our GAL Progress Tracker

TMR - Click here to see our TMR Progress Tracker

LNR - Click here to see our LNR Progress Tracker

🗣️ Quick Takes

Here are this week's Quick Takes:

BOD - BOD to acquire Aqua Phase following placement

BOD - Transformational acquisition and capital raise

EMN - Last tranche of investment from EIT Energy is in

FOD - FOD to benefit from Brazilian OJ supply chain squeeze?

IVZ - Updated investor presentation

IVZ - First look at IVZ’s ‘String of Pearls’

IVZ - $25M raised, Mukuyu-1 now fully funded

IVZ - Exploration rights granted - Basin margin well confirmed

IVZ - Prospective resource for the 'Basin Margin' prospect?

IVZ - Final preparations underway for maiden drilling program

LCL - Ausenco appointed to lead PEA of Quinchia Gold Project

LNR - Siteworks commenced for maiden rare earths drill program

MAN - Drilling for copper-gold in the NT

TG1 - Exploration luck in its corner, TG1 drilling for copper in WA

TMR - Additional $3.9M raised to fund drilling programs

VN8 - Full year results comment

⏲️ Upcoming potential share price catalysts list

Catalysts expected in the near term:

• LNR is commencing drilling for rare earths along strike from Hastings Technology Metals. (memo)
  • Update: Site works commenced for access and drill site preparations ahead of RC drilling scheduled to start “early September”.
• GGE is drilling its maiden helium well in Utah, USA (memo).
  • Update:Confirmed workover rig mobilised and is rigging up to flow test Jesse#1A to determine gas flow rates and confirm helium concentrations. The next helium exploration well is planned for Q4 2022 so we should soon see if GGE can go from helium explorer to producer.
• IVZ to drill its giant gas prospect in Zimbabwe - we have been waiting two years for this event (memo).
  • Update: $25m private placement completed to fund drilling of Mukuyu-1 and Baobab-1 wells. Mukuyu-1 drilling slated to commence in early September. Baobab-1 will target East Africa Rift “String of Pearls” play following Mukuyu-1.
• GAL commenced its latest round of drilling at its Callisto PGE discovery in WA.
  • Update:: Massive sulphides discovered in diamond drilling and RC drilling has extended the discovery west (assays to pending to confirm grades). GAL is 25% through its ~2,000m diamond drilling campaign and 40% through its RC drilling program.
• PRL Joint development agreement with Total Eren (memo)
  • Update: No material news this week.
• KNI is drilling its cobalt targets in Norway (memo).
  • Update: No material news this week.
• BPM has completed drilling at its lead/zinc prospect in the Earaheedy Basin, close to Rumble Resources’ recent discovery (memo)
  • Update: No material news this week.
• PFE is drilling its polymetallic (Hellcat) project (memo)
  • Update: No material news this week.

📰 This week on Next Investors

Elixir Energy (ASX: EXR)

Amid the ongoing global energy crisis, our energy Investment Elixir Energy (ASX: EXR) is working to deliver energy solutions on three fronts.

This week it announced the acquisition of a natural gas asset in Queensland, adding to its natural gas project and its green hydrogen project in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia.

📰 Read our full Note from Tuesday for the latest on EXR: Clean energy and natural gas in the Gobi desert

Galileo Mining (ASX: GAL)

On Monday Galileo Mining (ASX: GAL) announced it had intersected massive sulphides in diamond drilling at its Callisto discovery.

This compares to the disseminated sulphides found in previous drilling including the discovery hole. News of massive sulphides is significant as they are typically the host rock for easy to process, high grade mineralisation.

GAL also reported that RC drillholes also extended the discovery further west.

📰 For all the details see our latest Note: GAL Hits “Massive” Sulphides - Here’s Why It Matters

In our other Portfolios 🧬 🦉 🏹

🧬 Finfeed

Dimerix (ASX: DXB)

Our biotech Investment, Dimerix (ASX: DXB) has recently announced two new trials are now in the pipeline and have huge addressable markets (US$18BN and US$2.5BN).

We shared our views on these two new trials as we look ahead to the Phase 3 trial interim results which are expected in the first half of next year - this is the key catalyst we are looking for.

We think this catalyst is analogous to an Oil and Gas drilling event and we shared our learning from our DXB Investment as well.

📰 Read our full Note for more: Pre-result build up? The “big catalyst” in 2023

🏹 Catalyst Hunter

TechGen Metals (ASX:TG1)

Earlier in the week our micro cap exploration Investment TechGen Metals (ASX: TG1) put out assays from its drilling program at its NSW gold project.

TG1 with the first ever drillhole at the project, hit 68m of gold at an average grade of 1g/t including a high grade interval measuring 23m at 2.02g/t gold.

Peak grades across the hole were ~13.8g/t and more importantly, all of the mineralisation was from SURFACE.

TG1 still has six more assay results to come from its gold project but has already started drilling its copper project in WA.

📰 Read our full Note: High grade gold in TG1’s first drillhole AND gold from surface - Hits our Bull Case

Grand Gulf Energy (ASX:GGE)

This week our 2021 Catalyst Hunter Pick Of The Year Grand Gulf Energy (ASX: GGE) announced that its drill rig had arrived on site and that preparations were underway to re-enter the Jesse #1A well.

This is the same well GGE announced a new helium discovery at a few months ago.

GGE currently has the following three bits of information needed for it to be able to declare a discovery that can produce commercial quantities of helium:

1. ✅ A proven helium structure
2. ✅ Commercial helium grades - Higher than our 0.4% expectations (GGE’s grades were between 0.44 and 0.65%)
3. 🔄 No flow rate YET - GGE preparing to do this now.

GGE will now re-enter the well with the ultimate aim of producing a commercially viable flow rate.

📰 Read our full Note: Rig Ready. GGE to Test Flow Rate on US Helium Discovery

Have a great weekend,

Next Investors