SS1 receives “unsolicited request” from Kevin Rudd to provide info about their project for Trump-Albanese meeting on Oct 20th…

Disclosure: S3 Consortium Pty Ltd (the Company) and Associated Entities own 3,316,752 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 about a speculative investment and does not constitute personal advice. It does not consider your objectives, financial situation, or needs.

In 7 days time, US President Donald Trump will be meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Sun Silver (ASX:SS1) has just received an official “unsolicited request”...

...from the Australian Ambassador to the United States, Kevin Rudd...

...to provide information about its USA silver project for the meeting between Donald Trump and Anthony Albanese on October 20th.

(‘unsolicited’ here means that SS1 was approached... without having done anything to try and make it happen)

(Source)

SS1 owns the largest undeveloped silver project in the USA.

SS1 has an estimated 480M ounces of silver equivalent at its Maverick Springs project in Nevada, USA.

In August, silver was added to the draft US Critical Minerals list for 2025.

(The list will guide US federal strategy, investment, and permitting decisions designed to secure the minerals needed to drive the U.S. economy and protect national security.)

(Recently the US government has been investing strategic stakes in resource companies with the “largest” projects of each critical mineral located on US soil)

A few days ago silver hit record all time highs - above US$50 per ounce.

And now SS1 has just got the call up from Australian Ambassador to the USA (and former Australian Prime Minister) Kevin Rudd to provide information on their project so Trump and Albanese can talk about SS1 in 7 days time...

(Source)

and:

(Source)

It's not clear whether the Trump administration requested to talk about SS1 as a meeting agenda item...

OR

If Albanese’s camp were the one who asked to add SS1 to the agenda as a key Australian supported, US based critical mineral project.

(we suspect it came from the Trump/USA side, otherwise why would the SS1 summons to provide info about their project by Rudd/Albanese happen just 7 days out from the Trump meeting?)

Either way, SS1 is highly likely to be on the agenda at the Trump Albanese meeting on the 20th October...

What could be the outcomes?

It’s hard to guess.

But the key point is SS1’s giant silver project in Nevada USA appears to be on the radar at the highest levels of power - in the USA and Australia.

Allow us to randomly speculate for a moment...

It would be great to see the US government eventually invest for a strategic stake in SS1.

(at a much higher share price)

...and for SS1 to enjoy the attention and on market buying that comes with it.

(or even just a Trump X/Truth Social post... or maybe an Albo/Kevin Rudd X post)

No guarantees on the above of course - like we said this is us speculating on what could be.

SS1 also recently announced it would go for a US OTC listing... ahead of a potential future listing on a bigger exchange like the NYSE (Source).

A US listing could also boost SS1’s chances of getting US government funding/support.

Just as the US government has explicitly offered to buy equity in Australian critical mineral companies...

(just like it has done with US based MP Materials and Lithium Americas).

(Source)

This 20th October Trump Albanese meeting has been in the works for a while now...

But in the last 24 hours, there are reports that the meeting agenda has been pushed heavily towards critical minerals:

We suspect this is because three days ago China announced “dramatic” expansion of its rare earths export controls.

(Source)

And in response to China flexing its leverage on critical minerals supply, the US is now accelerating its push to secure its own sources of ALL critical minerals.

The last minute call up of SS1 so close to the 20th October meeting could be to do with the sudden and sharp US acceleration on securing domestic critical minerals supply in response to China’s actions late last week (just us speculating...)

(the timing of this SS1 call up so soon after the new China export controls seems to fit? Remember that silver is now in the Draft 2025 US Critical Minerals List)

Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd is no slouch when it comes to critical metals and strategic geopolitical supply chain issues between China and the USA.

Check out the below 28 minute interview Dr Rudd did with the US Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) - a top global national security think tank - where he discusses how Australia can provide its mining expertise to help the USA develop its domestic supply.

In that interview Rudd said “we have the best mining companies in the world and the biggest mining companies in the world, some of whom have just been meeting with President Trump in Washington DC” - basically pitching the Australian mining industries skills to the US.

(Watch the video here)

So Dr Rudd really knows his stuff...

Now Kevin Rudd is the one requesting a briefing from SS1 for the Trump Albanese meeting that's happening in 7 days time (Oct 20th).

So why SS1?

SS1’s silver project in Nevada, USA is the biggest pre-development silver project on the ASX.

And the largest undeveloped primary silver project in the United States.

SS1’s project has an estimated 480M ounce silver equivalent JORC resource.

SS1’s project also happens to be close to the recently announced “first US strategic minerals stockpile” in Nevada:

(Source)

Being the biggest silver development project in the USA probably helped get SS1 on the agenda in the Albanese-Trump meeting.

Again we don’t know which side of the table (Trumps or Albanese’s) initiated the request to add SS1 to the agenda.

We do know that the USA has been targeting equity stakes in critical metals projects on US soil...

(Source)

AND silver was just added to the Draft 2025 US Critical Minerals list.

In August, the US Department of the Interior (DOI) released a “draft 2025 list of critical minerals” with silver being recommended for inclusion.

The draft list will guide federal strategy, investment, and permitting decisions designed to secure the minerals needed to drive the U.S. economy and protect national security.

The List of Critical Minerals informs direct investments in mining and resource recovery from mine waste, stockpiles, tax incentives for U.S. mineral processing, and streamlined mining permitting.

The draft was then released for public comment on August 26, 2025, by the Department of the Interior.

The public comment period generally lasts for 90 days, so the addition could come before the end of this year...

(Source)

Why has silver suddenly been included as a US critical mineral?

• Silver is the world’s most conductive metal - so there is industrial demand for use in solar panels, electric vehicles, semiconductors, medical devices, defence technologies... (Source)
• The USA relies heavily on imports for silver, mainly from Mexico (49% of US supply) and Canada, making supply chains vulnerable to disruptions or trade tensions.
• Silver supply is struggling to keep up with rising demand, resulting in persistent global deficits (149 million ounce shortfall in 2024; five years of deficits). (source)
• Adding silver to the critical minerals list focuses the US government to:
  
  • Support domestic silver mining projects.
  • Expedite permits and offer subsidies for miners.
  • Build strategic stockpiles for emergencies.
    
• Other countries (China, Russia, Saudi Arabia) are also stockpiling silver or increasing their reserves, making supply security even more important. (source)

IF silver is added to the US Critical Minerals List, then surely being the “largest undeveloped primary silver project in the United States” will count for a lot more...

Being inside US borders is important...

There just aren’t that many Australian mining companies with big advanced mining projects in the US.

The ones that do exist have already received some type of government or industry recognition.

Think of the giant Resolution Copper asset in Arizona, owned by BHP and Rio which Trump personally posted about on Truth Social.

(Source)

Or the Colosseum mine owned by Dateline Resources - which again was mentioned by Trump on Twitter - and started the 200x run in Dateline’s share price...

Dateline was capped at $7.5M back in February this year, now it’s capped at ~$1.9BN.

(Source)

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.

A vague mention of SS1’s project by Trump on social media might sound small, but there is a precedent for the impact it has on companies valuations...

(how good would a Trump Truth social post on SS1’s project be...or if SS1 gets mentioned at the post Trump Albo meeting press conference... we are going to have to wait to Oct 20th at least for this)

Being a silver asset is also important

Not just because silver is at all time highs and the value of SS1’s in ground is as high as it has ever been.

(Source)

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.

But because there are no advanced, giant silver resources inside US borders, sitting in an ASX listed company, that come close to SS1’s project.

(oh and as mentioned earlier, silver might soon be classified as a “critical mineral” in the US)

SS1’s project could also host a giant antimony resource.

Another critical minerals angle to SS1’s project is the potential for its giant silver JORC resource to also host an antimony resource.

Antimony is a critical defence metal (mainly used in military grade ammunition), USA has no domestic supply.

SS1’s giant silver resource estimate consists of ~200 historical drill holes that were only ever tested for silver and gold... but NOT for critical defense metal antimony.

SS1 has been re-testing the historical drill cores and so far just about every single hole that’s been tested for antimony has confirmed mineralisation...

With each new assay result SS1 releases , it's increasingly looking like the silver resource is laced with the critical and high value metal antimony too.

(All the red lines in the image below is the antimony mineralisation SS1 keeps assaying)

(Source)

SS1 hasn’t got an antimony JORC resource estimate just yet but if the company is able to define one, then we think it could be a game changer for its project.

The biggest defined antimony resource in the US right now is at A$4.3BN Perpetua Resources’ project in Idaho, USA.

We think there is a chance SS1’s project ends up with a bigger defined antimony resource estimate because:

1. SS1 is hitting grades at or above Perpetua Resources’ average antimony grade of 0.07% - SS1’s last two holes returned antimony grades averaging 0.1% and 0.12%.
2. SS1’s project is ~67% bigger than Perpetua’s in terms of tonnage - Perpetua’s antimony resource is based on 132.2mt of material at 0.07% antimony grades. SS1’s silver resource is based on 221Mt of material... 221Mt, even at the same grades as Perpetua would give SS1’s project a much bigger antimony resource.

The reason the Perpetua comparison matters here is because the US government has thrown almost ~US$2BN in grant and debt funding behind Perpetua’s primary gold asset which also has a big antimony component.

Maybe they are looking for the silver equivalent now - SS1?

Any government support could be what triggers a big re-rate for SS1 - just like it did for Perpetua.

Perpetua is up over 1,000% in the last 2.5 years:

(Source)

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.

Whatever happens inside the next 10 days, even just getting asked to brief the Prime Minister is a big step in the right direction for SS1.

Government funding could be what unlocks SS1’s project

SS1 recently finalised a white paper to submit to the Department of Defence (DoD) for funding.

(Source)

And we note that SS1 has explicitly said that it was pursuing US DoD funding right now...

(Source)

Why is that important?

Because we think government funding could ultimately be what unlocks SS1’s giant silver resource.

SS1’s silver deposit starts from ~200m underground - which is considered relatively deep.

Yes, an estimated 480M ounces is a LOT of silver, but SS1 needs to dig a big expensive hole (pit) to reach it before they can extract and sell it.

That pre-strip (digging down to the juicy valuable bits of the project) means a lot of upfront capital spend which is typically where project financiers get scared off a project.

Conventional project financiers (and equity investors) want as fast a payback as possible with mining projects, big CAPEX upfront can scare off these investors.

As the silver price goes higher that pre-strip matters less and less.

BUT government funding or some sort of government-backed loan could be what really unlocks SS1’s project.

Exactly the same way it did for Perpetua’s project in Idaho.

Perpetua received commitments for a US$1.8BN loan from US Export-Import Bank and then private capital started pouring into the company in a big way.

Perpetua's market cap has gone from $300M to $4.3BN.

(Source)

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.

We think a similar re-rate could happen to SS1 if the government was to backstop its project with some sort of funding deal.

We aren’t the only ones either...

We have already seen one of the early backers of Perpetua Resources (Nokomis) take a big shareholding in SS1.

Here is Nokomis listed as a major shareholder of Perpetua from a presentation back in 2023:

(Source)

Nokomis is now one of SS1’s biggest shareholders (holding 7.79% of the company).

And we noticed they increased their position in the most recent capital raise...

(Source)

SS1 is looking to list in the US - which might help with government engagement...

SS1 has also recently announced it would go for a US OTC listing... ahead of a potential future listing on a bigger exchange like the NYSE.

(Source)

A US listing could also boost SS1’s chances of getting US government funding/support.

US public support for a company with a US listing could be stronger as opposed to SS1 only being listed in Australia.

That could also mean there is public support for the project from shareholders who buy over there.

See our deep dive on why we think a US listing would be good for SS1 here.

10 Reasons we are Invested in SS1

The below reasons are from our latest SS1 Investment Memo (published 26 of March 2025).

Since then a fair bit has changed in the markets so 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 estimate.

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 hit all time highs last Friday morning and is now up almost US$20 per ounce (~65%) from when we published our last SS1 Investment Memo.

Every time the silver price goes up, the in-ground value of SS1’s 480M silver equivalent JORC resource estimate increases.

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 60% since we launched our latest SS1 Investment Memo.

Silver is also up over 87% since SS1 first picked up its project:

(Source)

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.

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 the ASX indices.

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.

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:

SS1 just completed a $30M capital raise and is now capped at ~$180M.

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

Since the middle of this year we have seen the Sprott Silver ETF start buying SS1 shares... (hopefully the first of many indexes/ETF’s).

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 has started Investing directly into critical minerals projects inside the US.

We have seen the Pentagon take a direct stake in MP Materials.

The US government also took a 5% stake in Lithium America’s...

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:

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

SS1 is currently capped at ~$180M, Perpetua is capped at A$4.3BN.

Interestingly, early backers of Perpetua (Nokomis Capital) are also one of SS1’s biggest shareholders (Nokomis owns 7.79% of SS1)...

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:

In a previous SS1 note we did a deep dive on 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 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.

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:

A big part of our long term investment thesis for SS1 is that its silver could be used downstream to produce silver paste that goes into solar panels.

Check out our deep dive on SS1’s silver paste angle 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?

In the short term we think the key risk for SS1 is “Commodity price risk”.

There is commodity price risk, because SS1’s share price tends to move up and down with the silver price.

Silver is currently battling a breakout above that US$50 level where it has historically failed to convincingly clear without selling.

There is always a risk history repeats itself and the silver price comes down from here.

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

Other risks

Like any stock market investment, investing in SS1 carries a range of risks which may affect the value of the company, some of which cannot be predicted (this is the nature of risks).

Here we aim to identify a few more risks.

SS1’s Maverick Springs Project in Nevada is a large pre-development silver project that is not yet producing. There is a risk that the project does not progress to production or that development takes longer and costs more than expected.

SS1’s share price is highly leveraged to the price of silver. A sustained decline in silver, or gold, could materially impact project economics and investor sentiment.

The company may also be exposed to volatility around the classification of silver as a US critical mineral. While inclusion could bring upside, there is no guarantee it will occur.

SS1 remains reliant on the capital markets to fund exploration and development activities. Any future equity raisings could dilute existing shareholders, while debt funding may not be available on favourable terms.

Although SS1’s project is located in a stable jurisdiction, permitting, environmental approvals, and local regulatory processes can still present delays or uncertainties.

The company’s valuation has risen significantly in recent months, meaning the current share price may already reflect some of the expected future upside.

Finally, while US government support or funding could act as a major catalyst, there is no certainty that such assistance will be provided.

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