SS1: Announces 70m intercept with a 10,548g/t silver equivalent interval… outside of its 480 million ounce JORC resource

Disclosure: S3 Consortium Pty Ltd (the Company) and Associated Entities own 3,374,000 SS1 shares at the time of publishing this article. The Company has been engaged by SS1 to share our commentary on the progress of our Investment in SS1 over time. This information is general in nature and does not constitute personal advice. It does not consider your objectives, financial situation, or needs.

Our Investment Sun Silver (ASX:SS1) just announced a 70m intercept which included a 10,548g/t silver equivalent interval.

It’s the highest silver grade ever hit on SS1’s project (so far...)

...and the highest grade silver hit we have seen anywhere on the ASX this year.

This is SS1’s first drill result of its 2025 drilling campaign.

So more results are coming.

It is also a drill hole OUTSIDE of SS1’s existing 480 million ounces of silver equivalent JORC resource, in Nevada, USA.

Meaning potential further silver resource growth.

(we explain this more in a second)

And potentially more higher silver grade to the north east.

(we’ll find out over the coming weeks as SS1 announces more drill results)

Good timing with the silver price up ~10% in the last few weeks to new 13 year highs.

As well as the extremely high grade silver interval, this drill hole also also returned antimony grades up to ~0.8%

(antimony is a critical defence metal where the USA has no domestic supply).

Silver prices are at decade highs, and antimony prices are trading at all time highs right now...

(Source)

SS1’s project already has the biggest pre-production silver resource in the USA and on the ASX.

Results like today’s tell us that SS1’s resource might keep on getting bigger (and higher grade) as SS1 drills out to the north-west (we explain Carlin-style deposits in this note).

The silver price has risen from US$12 to $US36/oz. over the last 5 years.

With a pop from ~US$32 to over US$36 just over the last few weeks (highlighted in in yellow below)

(Source)

A rising silver price is the exact scenario we want to see play out for our Investment in SS1.

At the same time whilst it's looking good for the silver price, no one knows for sure what it will do next - it could go up or down - commodity prices are impossible to predict with certainty and anything can happen.

You can do the maths on what every US$1 per ounce increase in the silver price means for the estimated in ground value of SS1’s 480 million ounce silver equivalent resource.

(Of course, costs to mining, operational execution and processing the silver would also need to be considered, which SS1 is in the process of figuring out)

Every time SS1 hits a big, high-grade extensional hit, it reminds us of the Goldstrike origin stories (one of $54BN gold producer Barrick's foundational assets).

Goldstrike - like SS1’s project - is a Carlin-style deposit in Nevada, USA.

(A Carlin-style deposit is a type of precious metal deposit where the gold and silver is very tiny and spread out in certain types of soft rocks, and generally flat lying, making it cheaper and easier to mine that other hard rock gold and silver deposits)

Barrick picked up the Goldstrike asset in 1986 when it had 680,000 ounces of gold.

It then drilled step out hole after step out hole and by 2003 had defined a 25.6M ounce gold resource.

25+ years on and that project has produced over 44M ounces of gold...

Here is Pierre Lassonde talking about the experience here:

(Watch Video - this link takes you to the section where he talks about the Goldstrike story)

With every extensional hit we are hoping SS1 can do something similar and gradually prove out a giant (bigger than anyone expects) Carlin-style deposit... just like Barrick did all those years ago.

Noting that the past performance of other successful companies with Carlin-style deposits is not an indicator of SS1’s future performance. There is a risk that as SS1 continues to drill out the resource the economic mineralisation doesn’t extend as we hope.

Ultimately, we will need to see more drilling from SS1 before we can know if the resource extends out in these directions:

On January 14th this year, we shared what we think needs to happen for the SS1 share price to go on a run in 2025 (read it here).

(of course like any small cap stock, a lot needs to go right for the SS1 share price to go up - it's never a guarantee.)

Here is an update on how it's all tracking so far.

Six catalysts that could trigger a run in SS1’s share price in 2025

1. Silver price runs: if the silver price runs, then we expect SS1’s share price to follow. The silver price could run due to a hedge against persistent inflation or industrial demand.
   
   🚨 Update: Silver has since moved up ~20% from US$29.90 to US$36/oz. In the last four weeks the silver price has moved sharply, testing highs of US$37/oz.
2. More silver discovered from drilling - after today’s assays, we think it is clear where SS1 should drill next. If SS1 can continue to build on this identified silver mineralisation, we think that it could follow a similar path as Spartan Resources - which discovered and defined a giant gold resource in a short period of time.
   
   🚨 Update: TODAY This hit from today is SS1’s highest grade drill hit ever, from a step out hole. This indicates that SS1’s deposit could grow further to the north-west and at higher grades.
   
3. SS1 silver resource update - If SS1 publishes a JORC resource update that increases the level of confidence in the project and the size of the silver equivalent resource (above investor expectations), this could be a big catalyst for the company.
   
4. Antimony surprise: SS1 could publish an antimony resource by re-assaying historical drill cores that were not tested for antimony. On top of this, if SS1 is able to secure any US DoD funding for this project (it happened for Perpetua - more on this below) it could be a big signal to the market that SS1’s project is of ‘strategic importance’ to the US Government.
   
   🚨 Update: SS1 has commenced its large-scale re-assay program. The results of this program could help the company build an antimony resource, and catch the eye of the US Government.
   
5. 5. SS1 hits market cap/trading volume requirements to get into an index: Once a company enters an index then ETFs and index tracking funds may be required to buy up the stock for their ETF or tracker funds. This opens up a whole new market of potential investors that tends to be more patient and more predictable than active retail investors.
   
   🚨 Update: SS1 is currently trading at $120M market cap, we would want to see a sustained period around the $200M position for inclusion into an ASX indice.

SS1 leveraged to a rising silver price

We are Invested in SS1 because we think it is the most leveraged stock on the ASX to a running silver price.

(and we have been bullish on rising silver since early 2021 in the early “silver squeeze” days)

So far, that has played out relatively well (and we would expect it to continue IF silver prices continue to go up).

(SS1 / Silver Chart)

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

Silver (and gold) are very well known metals as a store of wealth, and have been for thousands of years.

Historically, investors turn to silver and gold when they are concerned about inflation, high government debt, a financial crisis or global instability.

(sounds a bit like reading the mainstream news these days).

While the gold price has increased ~83% in the last two years, the silver price has yet to reach the same heights.

Silver tends to track gold...

But because silver is mined as a byproduct, if the price of silver goes up, it takes MUCH longer for supply to come online.

Silver also has many industrial uses and has been in a supply deficit for the last few years (source)

Michael Oliver, a well known technical analysis expert said in the Silver Slingshot Webinar:

“If silver goes above $35, watch out because if it goes above $36 it's a triple top breakout”.

Oliver also said that if the breakout happens “we are going to get another launch” and when we get it “it will be at a speedier process than what gold is currently doing”.

So far he has been correct - hopefully that gold style run to new all time highs comes next.

(Check out the Silver Slingshot Webinar here - the chart commentary is at ~7 minutes in)

(Charting is however not an exact science, and there are many factors that affect the silver price over the short and medium term and past performance is not an indication of future performance).

While there are hundreds of primary gold projects out there, finding a primary silver project is much more challenging.

SS1 has a giant primary silver resource, in a Tier 1 jurisdiction, and we think that IF the silver price continues to move, it could be good for momentum in SS1’s share price.

SS1’s giant silver resource could also have antimony

We are Invested in SS1 first and foremost for its silver.

What we didn’t expect from SS1 was for its project to have antimony running through it.

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

The US has no domestic supply of antimony and after China put export bans on the commodity, its price has rallied by over 300% in the last 6 months.

The US government has been scrambling to secure its domestic supply, and has deployed ~US$1.8BN in funding at one US based precious metals NASDAQ listed stock - Perpetua Resources.

Perpetua Resources, like SS1, is primarily a precious metals project (in Perpetua’s case its gold).

BUT its project also has an antimony resource, and if the mine moves into production, could produce ~30% of the USA’s domestic needs.

That’s why the US government has deployed almost US$2BN in funding at bringing its project online and seen Perpetua’s share price re-rate by over 1,000% over the last ~12 months.

Perpetua, today, is capped at ~$1.9BN.

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

Read more about SS1’s antimony potential here: The biggest pre-production silver project in the USA also contains antimony?

Antimony could unlock government funding for SS1 (similarly to Perpetua)

We think that SS1 could find itself in a similar position IF the company can confirm its giant silver project also has a big antimony resource to go with it.

The previous owners of the project only tested its drill holes for silver and gold... never for antimony.

When SS1 first discovered the antimony potential of its asset the company went back to the old core shed and found that a bunch of the old drill cores had antimony.

(using a handheld XRF gun for the analysis).

Now, SS1 is undertaking a large-scale re-assay program to build out an antimony resource over its project... and hopefully use that resource to secure some government funding.

(just like Perpetua Resources)

Last week SS1 said it had over 30 old holes in for analysis with results that could drop any minute now.

(Source)

And today’s intercept returned antimony up to 0.8%:

(Source)

This is SS1’s plan to build its antimony resource:

It's important to note that SS1 is still in the early stages of understanding how much antimony it has, and there is no guarantee it has economic quantities of it.

In parallel to the exploration work, SS1 recently finalised a white paper to submit to the Department of Defence for funding.

(Source)

The more of SS1’s deposit that reveals antimony, the more likely we think it is that SS1’s project starts to attract interest from the Department of Defence or US Government interest.

At the same time, these government grants can be very competitive, and there is no guarantee that SS1 is able to secure any government assistance.

10 Reasons we are Invested in SS1

Here are the 10 reasons we Invested in SS1 from our latest SS1 Investment Memo (published 26 of March 2025).

Since then a fair bit has changed in the markets - it feels, to us, like we are in the early stages of a bull market...

Here is where we explain why we think a bull market in small stocks might start in mid July (read it here)

We think silver looks like it wants to breakout AND US metals are in favour with the market (read why here)

As a result we have included updates below each reason:

1. SS1 has the largest primary silver resource on the ASX

SS1 has a 480M ounce silver equivalent JORC Resource.

This is the largest pre-production primary resource on the ASX.

There is a premium attached to being the “biggest” of any commodity in a particular market and funds or investors wanting leverage to silver (without buying the commodity itself) will ideally look to SS1 first.

2. SS1 is extremely leveraged to movements in the price of silver

Silver is generally produced as a by-product from producing base metals. But because SS1 is a primary silver producer, it means that for every US$1 per ounce that silver increases, it has a material increase on the in-ground value of SS1’s project.

This has the effect of SS1’s share price generally tracking very closely to the price of silver.

If silver goes up (and goes up in a big way) then so too should SS1.

Update:

Silver is already up US$4 per ounce (~11%) from when we published our last SS1 Investment Memo.

3. We are bullish on silver and the price is reaching decade highs

The silver price is re-testing a 12 year high at the time of writing (around US$34/oz) as silver demand is fast outstripping supply.

We think the long term macro tailwinds for silver are incredibly strong and should help SS1 as it looks to take its resource into development.

Update:

Silver is up over 11% since we launched our latest SS1 Investment Memo.

Silver is also up over 68% since SS1 first picked up its project:

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

Check out our last note here where we launched our latest Investment Memo: SS1: Increases to 480M ounces of silver equivalent resource... and identifies at surface and near surface mineralisation.

4. SS1 is reaching a size where it could potentially be included in index funds

SS1 is currently capped at ~$103M. It is reaching a size and liquidity profile where it could qualify for inclusion in an ASX indice.

Getting into an index opens up SS1 to a whole new pool of capital and it makes the company a potential investment opportunity for institutional investment funds, ETFs and index tracking funds.

If SS1 gets into an index like the ASX All Ords it could become the de-facto ASX Silver ETF and the only way for passive funds to get leveraged silver pre-production silver exposure on the ASX.

Update:

At yesterday’s close price (83c) SS1’s market cap is now ~$121M.

We have said previously that the $150-200M range is where SS1’s project will start to enter that “index inclusion territory”.

The perfect storm would come in a scenario where the silver price is testing new all time highs and index buying has started in SS1.

See our index inclusion thesis here: SS1 index inclusion upside - the only way to get silver exposure on the ASX...

5. The US Department of Defence wants antimony, SS1 may have it

The US imports 90% of its antimony which all come from potentially hostile countries (China, Russia and Tajikistan) and it has no antimony production of its own.

Antimony is a critical mineral for various military applications including as a hardening agent for ammunition.

SS1 has identified antimony across its project from xPRF analysis and drilling data collected in 2024.

Update:

The US government just proposed the “2025 Budget Reconciliation Bill” which includes ~US$2.5BN in funding support for U.S production of critical minerals.

There is also ~US$500M allocated to the Department Of Defence aimed at developing critical minerals supply chains.

That bill is expected to pass in July.

The G7 have also recently called for "immediate and scaled investment" to secure critical mineral supply chains.

(Source)

We think the government funding available for critical mineral resources just keeps growing.

6. Can SS1 be the next $1.1BN capped Perpetua Resources?

Perpetua Resources has a gold-antimony resource in Idaho, USA.

The US Government, through the Department of Defence, has provided over $50M in grants as well as a $1.8BN loan to help fund the development of the mine.

The US Government was particularly interested in the antimony potential of that project.

We think that if SS1 is able to develop a US-based antimony resource it could also be supported by the US Government - like Perpetua Resources.

Update:

Perpetua is now capped at ~$1.9BN and was just added to the “FAST-41 program” for fast tracked permitting of its project.

The US wants projects like this to come into production.

IF SS1 can define an antimony resource across its project we think it could become a sort of Perpetua 2.0.

Interestingly SS1’s biggest shareholder Nokomis Capital (owns 8.9% of SS1) was also an investor in Perpetua...

Check out our side by side comparisons of SS1 and Perpetua here: Is antimony going to be the dark horse for SS1 in 2025?

7. SS1 has a Carlin-Style deposit, cheap and easy to mine.

SS1’s project is located in the “Carlin Trend”, an area that is home to some of the biggest gold and silver mines in the world.

In the mid-1980s Barrick made a Carlin-Type discovery at its “Goldstrike” project in Nevada (not too far from SS1).

This was the project that put the company on the map and produced around 200,000 ounces at 1.2g/t of gold and 200,000 ounces of silver in the mid-1990s.

What made this project so successful was that it was a low cost mining production.

If SS1 can prove that it can extract the gold and silver from its resource with a similar process used by Barick on its Goldstrike Project it could have a material impact on the feasibility of SS1's project.

Update:

We have previously written about Carlin style deposits and why they are able to operate profitably with low costs.

Check out our deep dive into how SS1’s project compares to $9BN Coeur Mining’s Rochester project.

See that deep dive here: How does SS1’s project rank against some of the other mines in the region?

8. SS1 is in Nevada USA, near some of the best gold and silver mines in the world.

Nevada is a big mining state and the area of Nevada that SS1 is working in is called Elko County.

There are major gold and silver mines scattered throughout this area of Nevada, and Elko County is very familiar with the mining industry.

$45BN Barrick and $14BN Kinross both own projects in the region.

This means that there is a high level of skilled labour in the area and permitting processes are well known.

Update:

We just got back from the US and got to see these giant deposits in person.

(Check out our site visit to another one of our Investments in Nevada here)

This whole region is full of mining towns and it's easy to see how a giant resource like SS1’s could be developed.

9. JORC resource includes ~2.16M ounces of gold

Included inside SS1’s 480m ounce silver equivalent JORC resource is a ~2.16M ounce gold resource.

With the gold price also at record highs, the in-ground value of SS1’s project is also leveraged to the increase in the price of gold.

10. Downstream value add: “Silver paste” production (for solar) could improve economics

SS1 has a giant silver resource within the US. Silver is a key material used in solar panels in the form of silver paste.

SS1 is evaluating the merits of developing downstream silver paste processing.

The world’s solar manufacturing capacity (including silver paste production) is heavily concentrated in China. If SS1 is able to produce silver paste in the US this could add to the merits of the project.

Update:

One part of the long term bet for SS1 is that its silver would be used downstream to produce silver paste that goes into solar panels.

Check out our deep dive on SS1’s silver paste angle from last year here: Silver Squeeze coming?

Ultimately, we are hoping a combination of the above reasons help SS1 achieve our Big Bet which is as follows:

Our SS1 Big Bet:

“SS1 re-rates to a +$300M market cap by expanding its large US silver resource and moving into development studies and/or attracting a takeover bid at multiples of our Initial Entry Price”

NOTE: our “Big Bet” is what we HOPE the ultimate success scenario looks like for this particular Investment over the long term (3+ years). There is no guarantee that our Big Bet will ever come true. There is a lot of work to be done, many risks involved, including development risk, country risk and commodity price risk - just some of which we list in our SS1 Investment Memo.

Success will require a significant amount of luck. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance.

What are the risks to our SS1 Investment Thesis?

In the short term we think there are two key risks for SS1.

First is “Commodity price risk” and second is “Funding/dilution risk”.

The commodity price risk is because SS1’s share price tends to moves up and down with the silver price.

IF the silver price was to fall, we would expect to see weakness in SS1’s share price.

Commodity price risk

The performance of commodity stocks are often closely linked to the value of the underlying commodities they are seeking to extract. Should silver and gold prices fall, this could hurt the SS1 share price.

Source: “What could go wrong?” - SS1 Investment Memo 26 March 2025

Funding/dilution risk is because there is always a chance SS1 looks to raise some cash off the back of momentum in its share price.

SS1 is a pre revenue resource development company and is reliant on new funding coming in to progress its projects.

Raising cash gives the company cash to do things which aim to generate shareholder value - good in the long term

In the short term, it creates some selling pressure from the investors who may look to flip their shares for a quick profit.

Funding risk/dilution risk

As a small cap, SS1 is reliant on capital markets to advance its projects. If something negative happens at a macro or company level, SS1 could struggle to access capital on favourable terms. These capital raises may take place at a discount, and result in the issuance of new shares which incur dilution to existing shareholders.

Source: “What could go wrong?” - SS1 Investment Memo 26 March 2025

Other Risks

Investing in SS1 carries other risks which may affect the value of the company. The Company’s primary asset is a pre-production silver and potential antimony project in Nevada, USA, and its prospects are inherently speculative. As mentioned the value of SS1 is highly sensitive to fluctuations in commodity prices - particularly silver, and maybe antimony. A sustained downturn in these prices could materially impact the project’s economic viability.

There is also exploration and development risk. The Company is currently re-assaying historical drill holes and undertaking new drilling to confirm the presence and extent of antimony, which remains unproven at commercial scale. Metallurgical test work is ongoing, and the project’s ability to proceed to heap leach production has not yet been demonstrated.

Additionally, there is no guarantee SS1 will receive government funding or support, including from the US Department of Defence, despite strategic interest in antimony. The Company is as mentioned 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 SS1 Investment Memo:

Our Investment Memo provides a short, high-level summary of our reasons for Investing.

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

Click here to read our SS1 Investment Memo where you will find:

• What does SS1 do?
• The macro theme for SS1
• Our SS1 Big Bet
• What we want to see SS1 achieve
• Why we are Invested in SS1
• The key risks to our Investment Thesis
• Our Investment Plan