RML: $25.1M raised… and we just got back from a site visit - here’s what we learnt

Disclosure: S3 Consortium Pty Ltd (the Company) and Associated Entities own 19,294,863 RML Shares and 24,038,460 RML Options at the time of publishing this article. The Company has been engaged by RML to share our commentary on the progress of our Investment in RML over time. This information is general in nature about a speculative investment and does not constitute personal advice. It does not consider your objectives, financial situation, or needs.

A $5B critical minerals fund.

$7.5B set aside for critical minerals grants.

$1B to critical minerals projects from the Department of Energy.

... and we think more to come.

The US is spending BIG on domestic projects to shore up supply chains for critical minerals like antimony, tungsten and rare earths.

One place the US government is looking at is a small town just outside of Boise, Idaho.

There, the $2.8BN capped Perpetua Resources is getting ready to restart the mine that provided 90% of the antimony to the US war effort in WW2. Production is scheduled to start in 2028.

Our Investment Resolution Minerals (ASX:RML) has ground directly next door to Perpetua Resources.

This ground has historical mines, and impressive gold hits - does the mineralisation stem from the same intrusion that generated Perpetua’s $2.8BN resource?

RML is drilling right now, testing for critical minerals tungsten and antimony... as well as gold and silver.

(gold and silver should see another bump with the Fed cutting rates over night)

RML just came out of a trading halt this morning after raising $25.1M in fresh capital at 5c per share, giving it a big cash runway to aggressively explore its asset.

RML is also expecting to be listed on the NASDAQ.

A NASDAQ listing just as drill results start to come in could mean more eyeballs on RML.

All of this while Perpetua hosts a grand opening with US government officials, Department of War generals, investors, media and analysts all heading into town on Friday.

This is what the locals told us about while we were in Idaho this week.

RML’s NASDAQ listing is being prepared by US based investment bank Roth Capital - who were early backers of Perpetua and should know the right investor base who is looking for a Perpetua 2.0...

We Increased our Investment in RML today primarily because we are hoping it can become Perpetua 2.0.

(We also noticed John Hancock’s Family Office, Astrotricha Capital SEZC and RML’s directors also participated in the raise)

This week we sent one of our analysts to RML’s site to visit the Horse Heaven projects as well as Perpetua’s Stibnite operations - keep reading to see the full site visit write up.

But first, some context on who RML’s direct neighbour Perpetua Resources is and what RML is trying to do.

Perpetua is the USA ‘national champion’ in antimony after receiving more than US$80M in grants and direct investment from the US Department of War.

Perpetua also received a US$2BN debt termsheet from the US Export-Import bank - which if executed into a binding debt commitment, should cover most of the development costs of Perpetua’s project:

(Source)

Perpetua has a 6Moz gold and 8Moz silver resource estimate, however it’s the critical metal antimony that is of most interest to the US government.

Antimony is a critical military metal used for various defence applications like missiles, tanks and ammunition.

Right now, the US has no domestic supply of antimony and China controls ~85% of antimony processing capacity globally.

Perpetua is set to be USA’s largest antimony producer when production is scheduled to begin in 2028.

RML has the same mineralogy as Perpetua, and the working theory is that RML’s mineralisation could have come from the same geological intrusion...

RML just raised $25.1M to aggressively find out if this working theory is true.

RML is drilling right now with 5 holes done from a total ~12 hole campaign as it goes about testing the theory.

RML already put out a batch of visuals from the drilling and confirmed that “Textures observed in the drill core are very similar” to the geology observed at Perpetua Resources next door.

Including “quartz veins associated with fine grained sulphides”, which is exactly what Perpetua’s resources giant gold-antimony deposit is hosted in.

It appears that RML’s on-site geologists are seeing the right type of rocks - now we just need to see lab assays that back those visuals up to see if RML can emulate a discovery fundamentally similar to Perpetua’s.

RML’s project has historically:

• Produced antimony during World War 1
• Produced more antimony during World War 2
• Produced more antimony in the 1960s
• Produced tungsten between the 1950-80s, AND
• Drilling in 1986, 1987 and 1994 hit gold intercepts as thick as ~85.34m at average grades of 0.937g/t gold.

RML’s project also has a historic non-JORC gold resource estimate of 261,000 ounces.

All of these factors mean RML isn’t really drilling blind here (so hopefully the drilling delivers).

Here is the first hand account of our analyst’s visit to the site this Tuesday...

What I saw on my visit to RML’s Horse Heaven project in Idaho

Idaho may be known as the Gem State, but driving in the mountains from Boise to Cascade feels a lot more like pine country.

I was here to visit RML’s Horse Heaven project right next door to $2.8BN Perpetua Resources’ Stibnite project that will soon be under development.

There was a feeling of excitement in the lodge in Cascade - I was told that this Friday is the “grand opening” of Perpetua Resource’s Stibnite mine.

US government officials, Department of War generals, investors, media and analysts are all descending on this small mountain town.

(The bar manager at the lodge is stocked with local wines in anticipation of what is likely to be their busiest day of the year).

Perpetua’s Stibnite project is roughly a 30 minute drive from where RML is drilling right now.

Here is a big map that I drove past showing the scope of the Yellow Pine mining district:

The Yellow Pine Pit (one of three deposits discovered by Perpetua Resources) was one of the most important mines for US national security.

During WW2 it provided 90% of the antimony and 50% of US tungsten towards the war effort and its operations were advanced under the Strategic Minerals Act of 1939...

We’ve now come full circle with $2.8BN capped Perpetua Resources scheduled to restart the mine in an effort to support the US critical minerals supply chains.

The pit, along with the other two mineral deposits, sit along a geological faultline parallel to where RML is drilling right now.

The theory is that the mineralisation on Perpetua’s ground is sourced from a deep lying intrusion between two fault lines.

RML’s exploration theory is to see if the same intrusion hosts a similar deposit to Perpetua’s on its ground.

If it's correct, and drilling proves out this theory, RML could be worth many multiples of its current market cap.

Here is RML’s technical lead explaining the theory to me in the sand:

RML’s goal is to become “Perpetua Resources 2.0”, by making a mineral discovery at its Horse Heaven project and proving out a gold, silver, antimony and tungsten resource.

First stop, base camp at Yellow Pine

I got up early the day of the site visit for the two hour drive from Cascade to Yellow Pine.

Yellow Pine is a small mountain town where all of the drill contactors were lodged:

For the site visit I was hosted by Alan Roberts, RML’s technical & geological advisor for the project.

(Basically, he is the running point for the drilling program).

Spending the day with Alan, I gained much respect for drill operators working in remote areas..

(Instead of my typical days chained to a desk, throwing pot shots at ASX explorer announcements)

When he was in charge of the drilling program for Gold Canyon Resources at the Springpole Project, now First Mining, Alan spent three years in a tent through multiple Canadian winters to drill out 5.5M ounces of gold.

(Hopefully he can bring some of that gold hunting experience to RML over the coming months).

RML was drilling when I was there, with 2 holes in the assay lab, 3 back at camp being logged and sampled and a 6th being drilled.

(by the time of publishing hole 6 has been complete and a 7th hole is underway, source)

Here is the drill rig turning at hole 6:

The drill rigs are turning 24/7 to drill as many holes in the Phase 1 program before RML pauses drilling for hunting season.

RML has mentioned that it was targeting a finish to drilling by October 1st, in anticipation of the hunting season (source).

After Phase 1, RML will look to publish a maiden JORC resource estimate over the project, before returning to site for more drilling next season.

The goal of this drilling is twofold:

• Prove out a maiden tungsten / gold resource estimate,
• Provide evidence for intrusive mineralisation theory created by Bill Breen, RML’s technical lead and the designer of this current drill program.

Meeting Bill Breen, the father of the intrusive mineralisation theory

At the site I met Bill Breen, RML’s technical manager who has a very rich history with this project.

He first pegged the ground for the Horse Heaven project in 2012 when he staked ~680 claims for a syndicate of Canadian investors.

This investor syndicate were shareholders in Midas Gold (now Perpetua Resources), and when they saw the project’s potential they wanted to surround it.

Staking claims in the US is a mighty operation.

And Bill is one of the best at it.

In order to stake a claim in the US, a peg needs to be physically put into the ground in four different locations and then registered.

Registering the land claim without the physical peg means nothing...

It took Bill two months to physically peg Horse Heaven using a helicopter and a team of six people during the Idaho winter.

In fact, just as I was getting to site, Bill was working with a team to stake some claims.

The team was also tasked with collecting some samples to prove Bill's intrusive mineralisation theory.

Bill’s theory is that the mineralisation at both the Stibnite project and at Horse Heaven is caused by the same geological intrusion:

Bill has been working on this theory since 2012 when the original investors of the project conducted an aeromagnetic survey, which showed a geophysical anomaly that had never been tested:

(Source)

Here is Bill explaining the theory to me in the sand:

Interestingly, this theory is shared by the senior geologist at Perpetua Resources, whom Bill has had a strong relationship with over many years.

Just take a look at the geological section of Perpetua (formerly Midas Gold) Pre-Feasibility Study...

Does anything look familiar?

(Source, Perpetua Resources (formerly Midas Gold) PFS)

Through his relationship with the head geo at Perpetua Resources, Bill was able to enlist Austin Zinsser - former geologist for Perpetua to RML.

Both Austin and Bill put together RML’s initial drill campaign.

So there are two main goals from this program:

1. Confirm previous drilling and define a JORC resource estimate,
2. Get more evidence to prove Bill’s mineralisation intrusion theory.

If Bill’s right, then RML’s Horse Heaven project could have similar potential to Perpetua’s Stibnite project, with 6Moz gold 8Moz silver and 200M pounds of antimony.

Will RML’s projects along the parallel fault line come up with mineralisation?

Only the drill bit will give us the answer.

You can see Bill Breen talk at length about this in this 45 minute RML presentation from July:

(Watch the Video)

Or if you want the short 2 minute version from him, check this one out:

(Watch the Video)

From Yellow Pine Camp to the Perpetua’s Stibnite Project

Back at camp, the geologist team, Birt and Sammy, were logging the core for the holes.

Right now, they are looking for evidence of gold bearing sulphides to prove out Bill’s theory:

From camp, Alan and I drove from Yellow Pine to Perpetua’s Stibnite Project:

The town of Stibnite (named after the metal that was mostly mined there, antimony - which is another name for stibnite) is rich in US mining history.

Owned by the Bradley Mining Corporation, 750 employees and their families lived in the town of Stibnite to work on the antimony, tungsten and gold mines during WW2:

From 1932 to 1938 all that was there was the Meadows Creek underground mine which produced about 50,000 ounces of gold and 180,000 ounces of silver, and a bunch of antimony.

But in 1937, the Yellow Pine deposit was discovered when a fortuitous leak from a water pipeline washed away the overburden to uncover the mineralised deposit.

This now became the main story of the town, with the Yellow Pine pit becoming a strategic asset for the US government during WW2.

Today, the Yellow Pine pit still remains, and Perpetua Resources intends to restore the mine to its former glory:

One of the big reasons why we like RML is because of the attention and activity that comes with being so close to Pereptua.

Over the next few years Perpetua will be upgrading all of the infrastructure around the area and attracting skill labour to the region.

This can only be a good thing for RML as it works to prove out its own mineralised system.

I saw this first hand a truck and bulldozer to upgrade the road to Yellow Pine:

As the Perpetua’s Stibnite mine ramps up we expect a lot more activity to emerge in the region.

Better services, more skilled labour, more investor attention.

All good news for RML.

What is the drilling plan right now for RML?

Right now RML is drilling for tungsten, gold and antimony at the Golden Gate target.

We drove an ATV up Golden Gate Hill to the site of the first few drill holes.

These holes were placed right on top of the old tungsten mine which explains the visual tungsten mineralisation from a few weeks back (assays are pending).

Along with the adit, we could see what the old miners left behind, including a fuel truck and a storehouse for gunpowder:

RML will drill through the tungsten mine and then through the area of deeper gold mineralisation that was uncovered by the previous drill holes.

There is currently a non-JORC resource estimate of 261,000 ounces of gold at Golden Gate at 0.93g/t.

And about 80,000 tonnes of tungsten was mined from this site between 1950 and 1980s.

Back at Yellow Pine, we saw the old mill that processed all of this tungsten:

Like antimony, China has also restricted exports of tungsten to the US.

And like antimony, the US Department of War has given grant funding to US-based tungsten projects:

(Source)

It has been reported that the US Government is preparing to set up a US$5 billion fund for US-based critical minerals projects...

And with antimony and tungsten, right next to Perpetua Resources, RML is putting itself in a position to get access to this capital.

(Source)

RML’s current Phase 1 work plan for 2025 is to drill up to 12 holes before it pauses for hunting season.

There are assays in the lab from the first two holes so we should have results soon.

With the $25.1M that RML has now raised, we think that the company is in a very good position to set up an expanded drill program for next season.

We hope to see RML drill out its section project at Antimony Ridge, which identified rockchip samples of 49.9% antimony and 3.12g/t gold.

Antimony Ridge - RML’s next drill campaign

Antimony Ridge is the second site for RML’s drill program (permits pending).

This was an open trench mine where, in the 1930s, old miners would extract the antimony outcrop and haul it back to Yellow Pine.

At this lower trench is where RML uncovered the 50% antimony rock chip that was reported earlier this week:

(Source)

Maybe Bill will use the rainbow to find the antimony and gold at the bottom ...

A big thank you to both Alan and Bill for hosting me for the day, genuinely an experience I won't ever forget.]

What is coming up next for RML?

🔄 Drilling Updates (happening now)

RML is drilling right now, assays are pending for the first two holes and RML said in an announcement earlier this week that hole 7 was underway. (source)

RML has a short window to complete Phase 1 of the drilling program before things are paused for the hunting season.

RML will return to drilling after the winter for Phase 2 of the program.

🔲 Maiden Resource Estimate

RML is targeting a gold resource by 2026 using the holes from this drill campaign.

RML already has a non-JORC resource estimate of 261,000 ounces of gold at Golden Gate at 0.93g/t.

🔲 Sampling and metwork programs

RML will undertake column leach met testing on Golden Gate core samples as well as met testing on the tungsten ore picked up from the mill stockpile.

🔲 More drill permitting

We want to see RML secure further drill permitting for the Antimony Ridge project and more permitting at Golden Gate.

🔄 Complete NASDAQ listing

RML has hired Roth Capital to support with a US NASDAQ listing, aiming for 2026.

What are the risks?

RML is now drilling so the main risk we see for RML is “exploration risk” (given that RML has now mitigated funding risk through the $25.1M capital raise just completed).

Exploration risk is fairly straightforward.

There is no guarantee RML will find economic mineralisation, or mineralisation that warrants follow up drilling.

If that were to happen we would expect the RML share price to trade lower.

Exploration risk

There is no guarantee that RML’s upcoming drill programs are successful. RML may fail to find economic deposits of gold, antimony or tungsten.

Source: “What could go wrong?” - RML Investment Memo 11 June 2025

The longer term risks for RML are around permitting risk.

RML operates in a National Forest, which means that it will need to navigate the intricacies of the Forestry Services to secure permits for drilling.

And may need to adjust exploration campaigns to meet tight environmental restrictions.

RML is currently permitted for 57 holes at 19 drill sites, but it will likely need more in order to prove out its resource.

Other Risks

Like any stock market investment, investing in RML carries a multitude of risks which may affect the value of the company, some which are unable to be identified (this is the nature of risks).

Here we aim to identify a few more risks.

The company’s primary asset is a pre-discovery gold-antimony-tungsten-silver exploration project and it is possible that RML makes no economic resource discovery.

RML is also highly sensitive to fluctuations in commodity prices.

A sustained downturn in these prices could materially impact the project’s economic viability and the ability of RML to raise cash to finance exploration.

RML is a highly speculative investment which rallied significantly over June and July, and even despite the early August sell off, the current share price may already reflect future upside.

As mentioned above, the company is reliant on capital markets to fund development, and any capital raise may dilute existing shareholders.

Finally, regulatory, environmental, and permitting risks in the US jurisdiction - while generally stable - may delay or adversely affect development.

Investors should consider these risks carefully and seek professional advice tailored to their personal circumstances before investing.

Our RML Investment Memo

You can read our RML Investment Memo in the link below.

We use this memo to track the progress of all our Investments over time.

Our RML Investment Memo covers:

• What does RML do?
• The macro theme for RML
• Our RML Big Bet
• What we want to see RML achieve
• Why we are Invested in RML
• The key risks to our Investment Thesis
• Our Investment Plan