Sunday Edition: 13th September

Disclosure: S3 Consortium Pty Ltd and its associated entities may hold direct or indirect interests in securities referred to in this publication and may receive fees or other forms of consideration from entities mentioned. These interests and arrangements may create a potential conflict of interest in the preparation of this material.

The information contained in this communication is provided for general information purposes only and may relate to speculative investments. It does not constitute financial product advice, and has been prepared without taking into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider obtaining independent financial advice before making any investment decision.

Any forward-looking statements are uncertain and not a guaranteed outcome.

Below you can find short overviews of all the content we published last week, plus links to each full note.

Further down, there’s also some links to other interesting stuff we came across on our travels around the internet.

Over the last couple of weeks we have written about how human longevity PLUS superintelligent AI PLUS billions of robots building anything we want...

... will drive a new insatiable demand for commodities and critical minerals.

Possibly more minerals than we have on Earth...

Yesterday’s Saturday note: When AI builds everything, someone still has to supply the ingredients

Quick Takes: PNN (x2), OD6 (x2), TG1, EMD (x2), HAR, LSR, RML (x2), VKA, PUR, IVZ

Deep Dives: ION (Our 2026 Small Cap Pick of The Year), PAT, RML, BPM

Other content: AL3, EMD, ION, SS1, BKB, EIQ, PNN, RML, PKP

PNN hit high grade extensions to its rare earths project in Brazil.

It’s now “game on” for potential extensions to the very high grades PNN keeps hitting near surface.

This week, from its fourth hole, PNN has hit very high grades again AT THE END of the hole.

5m at 4.32% TREO with 1.13% MREO from 181m, in a new zone.

And there are more assays pending for the rest of that hole. IF those come in with similar 5%+ grades, it would change the size/scale of PNN’s project.

(source)

PNN also secured priority project status for this project.

The agreement gives PNN a specialised state licensing pathway instead of the standard regional queue, plus state support with investment facilitation and incentives.

(source)

OD6 extended one of its US fluorspar targets by over 50%.

We already know OD6’s project has high grade fluorspar from surface.

We also know OD6’s project has a history of fluorspar production (~26,000 tonnes at 44.9% fluorite, mined in the 1950s from the Horseshoe pit) AND that the project has a resource estimate.

(but can't announce that resource publicly because it is from 1956, so clearly not JORC compliant)

Now, one of the multiple targets OD6 has covers ~14,000m^2:

(source)

Later in the week OD6 extended another one of its fluorspar targets.

The key takeaway for us is that OD6's key targets keep getting bigger, based on what OD6 can see above ground.

(source)

TG1 drilling completed on its second copper-gold target.

Drilling is now complete on both of TG1’s big WA copper-gold targets.

No outright discovery - but below is TG1’s Managing Director, Ashley Hood saying that the style of mineralisation could be consistent with a potential “intrusive related gold system”.

So no copper discovery (yet), but maybe TG1’s found some sort of gold structure?

At this stage there are no assays from either of the two holes yet - assays are expected back in October - so we will know more then.

(source)

EMD is set to open its first Sydney clinic this month.

EMD runs legally authorised clinics delivering psychedelic assisted therapy - for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and treatment resistant depression.

EMD already has two clinics in Perth, one in Brisbane and one in Melbourne - Sydney will be clinic number five, and the first in Australia's most populous state.

NSW is the largest addressable market in the country - psychological injury claims in the state increased 64% between 2019-20 and 2023-24.

(source)

EMD was also selected to present to the US FDA - the meeting will be held tomorrow USA time.

The FDA selected EMD for "one of a limited number of in-person" speaking positions at its hearing on the therapeutic use of psychedelic drugs.

The hearing is for the FDA to hear from the people who actually know how psychedelic medicines are being delivered to patients safely and at scale - something EMD has been doing for years.

It will be interesting to see the press coverage around the hearing and whether EMD makes it into any US related press.

(source)

HAR to start Phase 2 drilling at its US gold project.

HAR's project sits on California's Mother Lode gold belt and already has a JORC resource estimate of 402koz at 5.1g/t gold.

The rig arrives this week and will be focused on drilling deeper target areas below the current decline, now that HAR can access it.

HAR is also re-assaying old drill core, aiming to convert the ~202koz to 308koz gold exploration target into an Inferred JORC resource estimate.

By the end of both programs, HAR’s total resource estimate could start to get a lot closer to ~1M ounces.

(source)

LSR is on site at its US heavy rare earths exploration project.

LSR has already sampled heavy rare earths from visible sections across a 5km shear zone, with rock chips grading up to 14.68% Total Rare Earth Oxides.

Over half of that is in the heavy rare earths - dysprosium, terbium and lutetium - the ones the US needs for defence, AI, robotics and quantum computing.

Next it's about seeing whether those samples at surface translate to extended mineralisation below ground.

We also noticed LSR is looking at other US rare earth projects - it will be interesting to see what happens there.

Here are some pics from LSR’s Linkedin, LSR CEO Coraline and Exploration Manager Finn on site:

(source)

RML is now listed on the NASDAQ.

First trades went through Wednesday morning US time, with RML trading under the same ticker code on both exchanges.

A pretty solid first day of trading on the NASDAQ for RML - more in the Deep Dives section below.

RML also completed drilling at its US gold-tungsten-antimony project - assays are pending for 39 holes.

This was the biggest drilling campaign ever run at RML's project - more than 3x the size of last year's drilling, where every single hole hit gold.

Assays from the remaining 39 holes will be released over the coming months and eventually feed into a maiden resource estimate (targeted for Q1 2027).

Fingers crossed we get a few big tungsten intercepts from the drilling in and around the old tungsten workings.

(source)

VKA hit critical mineral tungsten extensions to its previously producing US mine.

The first assay from VKA's first ever drill program at the project returned 14m at 0.56% tungsten.

VKA's project in Nevada previously produced ~123,000 tonnes at 0.54% tungsten grades back in the 1940’s and 1950’s.

So the drill results are coming back with similar grades to those old mining runs.

The next batch of assay results is expected mid to late September - so really, any day now.

(source)

PUR hit high grade lithium on its biggest block in Argentina, and more assays pending.

The deeper sample from PUR's first hole came back at 809mg/L lithium across ~5m at ~400m depth.

That is nearly double the ~424mg/L grade of PUR's current 1.26Mt Lithium Carbonate Equivalent resource estimate.

The key takeaway for us is that PUR has now proven its exploration model - that the lithium brines inside the salt lake extend out into the margins, where PUR has a lot more ground.

Now we wait to see if the next hole proves those brine reservoirs extend out along that ground.

(source)(source)

IVZ locked in a well services contract for its oil and gas well in November.

This will be IVZ's first well since its Mukuyu gas discovery - labelled the second largest discovery in Sub-Saharan Africa for 2023.

The well services contract went to SLB, the oilfield services company formerly known as Schlumberger. SLB is the world's largest oilfield services contractor, and worked on IVZ’s discovery well back in 2023.

IVZ also posted some pictures of the wellpad being constructed (see below).

There’s now only ~ two months for IVZ to drill its Musuma-1 well targeting 1.2 trillion cubic feet of gas and 73 million barrels of condensate (gross mean unrisked).

IVZ confirmed the well remains on track to start drilling in November - inside the next 45 to 60 days.

(source)(source)

Our 2026 Small Cap Pick of the Year - Iondrive (ASX:ION)

Our Small Cap Pick of the Year is reserved for companies we think have a strong setup for a 10x re-rate from where they trade today.

Every year we pick one Small Cap Pick Of The Year.

Here is how our past ASX Small Cap Picks of the Year performed from our Initial Entry Price to their peaks:

• VUL (2020): peak +8,225%
• PRL (2021): peak +892%
• SGA (2022): peak +243%
• SLM (2023): peak +571%
• SS1 (2024): peak +1,478%
• BKB (2025): peak +304%

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. Note: BKB and SLM were announced as Small Cap Picks of the Year subsequent to Initial Entry price shown.

ION is a processing technology company that recycles critical minerals, including rare earths.

ION has developed a technology that can extract MANY types of critical minerals from different types of electronic waste, scrap, old magnets, old industrial equipment etc.

The technology is based around chemical mixtures called “Deep Eutectic Solvents”.

In simple terms, think of them as special liquids that you put onto the scrap and it dissolves ONLY the desired critical minerals - allowing them to be extracted. Pretty cool stuff.

ION’s tech can be modified to target many different critical minerals from many different types of e-waste/scrap.

Critical minerals supply has become a matter of national strategic importance in the current global race to build AI, robots and advanced weapons.

All of which need critical minerals - which China dominates global supply of - and has recently been restricting exports.

(by the way, 3 days ago it was reported that MORE Chinese rare earths companies have been stopping rare earths supply to the West)

The USA and western nations have been scrambling to find and secure critical mineral supply.

In the last 8 weeks both US president Trump AND the G7 group of nations have called out the strategic importance and urgency of recycling rare earths from scrap and e-waste.

Especially MAGNET rare earths (MREO’s) - specific rare earths used in AI, Robotic and Advanced Weapons:

And recycling of magnet rare earths, inside US borders is EXACTLY what ION has been focusing on over the last 12 months.

This is what we think could be a company maker for ION inside 1-3 years.

In the last 12 months ION has delivered the following on its USA magnet rare earths (MREO) business:

• A binding agreement with America's largest e-waste processor (Colt Recycling) to supply feedstock (scrap to be recycled) (source)
  
• Independent lab tests showing ION's tech recovers rare earths - including heavy rare earths (93.5% dysprosium, 96.5% neodymium, 96.5% praseodymium). (source)
  
• A letter of support for up to ~US$15M from the Oklahoma Department of Commerce for a recycling plant (source)
  
• Started its first production run for 1.4 tonnes of rare earth oxide due within 150 days - this material will be used to qualify its product with potential offtakers... (source)

ION is now 1-3 months away (next quarter) from first production of mixed rare earth oxides from recycled e-waste in the US. (source)

On Monday ION released updated economics for the SINGLE rare earths recycling module it plans to build in Oklahoma, USA:

US $243M NPV for US $11.9M CAPEX - with annual EBITDA of US$62.1M:

(source)

(Just quietly - that ~24x CAPEX to NPV ratio is incredible)

ION also dropped a brand new preso on Monday - here is the link.

Read more: Our 2026 Small Cap Pick of the Year is Iondrive (ASX:ION)

Patriot Resources (ASX:PAT)

“One of the largest undeveloped silver systems globally” can now be drilled.

For the first time in over a decade... and it's happening very soon

We think silver is going on another major run even higher...

and if it does it will take small ASX silver stocks with it (again) - past performance is not an indicator of future performance.

(convinced enough on a near term silver run to have purchased “silver to $106 by November 2026” call options a couple of weeks ago - absolutely NOT financial advice, they are already down a lot)

Our silver Investment Patriot Resources (ASX:PAT) just got “Land Access approvals” for exploration on its silver project in Peru.

PAT now has everything it needs to be able to drill its 31.4M ounce silver equivalent JORC resource estimate.

Which sits inside a giant independently verified JORC exploration target of 559 Million ounces to 774 Million ounces silver equivalent.

(note exploration targets are conceptual in nature and it is uncertain whether more exploration will result in a mineral resource estimate)

PAT also confirmed drilling would “commence shortly” - so not long to go now.

Read more: Silver about to pop? PAT to drill up to 774 million ounce silver exploration target.

Resolution Minerals (ASX:RML)

This week our Investment Resolution Minerals (ASX:RML) started trading on the NASDAQ.

The ticker is RML - same as on the ASX.

We watched the open here - and RML briefly traded at a high of ~US$37.77 per share.

One NASDAQ-listed share = 200 ASX shares.

So at some point someone on the NASDAQ was willing to pay ~US 18.9c equivalent for RML - (~A$0.26 per share in Aussie terms).

(source)

RML closed at US$11.60 per share which is ~US$0.058 per share on the ASX - 8c for us on the ASX.

What really surprised us was the volumes... RML’s traded over US$30M in volume on day 1 of NASDAQ trading.

One of the strongest first days we have seen of a small cap ASX stock moving to the US.

RML is now the first company in our Portfolio to execute the “ASX to US markets” baton pass, which is a big part of our US critical minerals playbook for ASX explorers and developers.

We have been writing about how we expected the US markets to slowly wake up to the importance of critical minerals, and securing a supply chain.

And eventually, that would translate into capital flows from big tech into critical minerals.

Critical minerals are well, critical, for AI data centres, missile systems and fighter jets, amongst other things.

Thanks to US President Trump’s administration - lots of people in the US now know about critical minerals:

(source)(source)(source)(source)

The issue in the US is there isn't a big ecosystem of critical minerals stocks - like there is on the ASX.

Enter the ASX to offer a smorgasbord of choice to US investors.

Now all of the capital generated by the US tech boom has domestic options if it wants to allocate some portion of that capital into critical minerals.

Read more: RML: Now trading on the NASDAQ - the only company we know of with TWO White House FAST-41 projects

BPM Minerals (ASX:BPM)

We think gold is about to go on another run after consolidating for the last ~9 months.

And we think the next rally could see it break previous highs.

We’ve even bought some $6,500 gold by March 2027 call options - just in case gold does something crazy inside the next 5 months.

(of course we could be wrong - it’s impossible to predict where gold prices will go, also we don’t know what we are doing with call options)

IF we ARE right and gold DOES end up running - our Investment BPM Minerals (ASX:BPM) will be drilling its long-awaited giant WA gold target in the coming days into a market where gold prices are running.

AND, most importantly a market is willing to reward exploration success.

On Friday, BPM received FINAL APPROVALS to drill its giant Bonnie and Clyde Prospect in WA.

With drilling “set to commence” in the next 5-10 days.

(source)

Finally, after a ~10 month wait, BPM will, for the first time ever, be drilling a ~6km long, 1g/t soil anomaly that’s never been drilled - sitting across a footprint large enough to be WA’s next major gold discovery.

(a bigger footprint than the 8M ounce Tropicana Gold deposit to the north - more on that in a second)

Read more: BPM to drill giant WA gold target in next 5-10 days

FT - A former Bank of England chief economist argues mounting G7 public debt now makes fiscal stimulus more likely to harm than help.

Bloomberg - Treasury Secretary Bessent dared traders to bet against US yen intervention, declaring "I am the house now".

Bloomberg - Tens of thousands of Indian workers wearing head mounted cameras are generating the real world data used to train humanoid robots.

AFR - A $2BN Novartis buyout of Myricx delivered Australian venture backers over $300M ahead of a $300BN patent cliff.

FT - Anthropic said it stopped several attempts this year by scientists to use its AI for biological weapons research.

(Rising bioweapon fears is the sort of thing that could drive government stockpiling of medical countermeasures, the type of market ILA's antivirals are targeting)

WSJ - Elon Musk's SpaceX allies are pouring millions into mainstreaming psychedelics, including a US$25M rescue of MDMA developer Lykos.

(A reminder this is the space where EMD has a first mover advantage in administering these types of treatments, so more interest and investment in the sector is good to see)

FT - China-backed MMG urged EU regulators to approve its $500M deal for Anglo American's Brazilian nickel assets.

Bloomberg - Saudi Arabia Halts Energy Sites as Houthis Claim New Attacks on Aramco’s facilities in the south.

Al Jazeera - The Houthis seized Yemen's entire Red Sea coast, tightening control of Bab al-Mandeb, the alternative shipping route to Hormuz.

The Guardian - EU gas stores entered September just 63% full, their lowest level in 13 years, stoking winter panic among traders.

Reuters - EU auditors said the bloc's Russian energy exit is faltering as it heads into winter with unusually low gas stocks.

Bloomberg - Bloom Energy, the fuel cell maker that consumes a large share of world scandium supply, was named to join the S&P 500.

(Good news for our scandium Investment AUZ)

Forbes - CSIS estimated US Patriot missile stocks fell from 2,330 to under 830 in five months of the war with Iran and will take until 2030 to replenish

FT - Researchers warned Russia could control over a third of mined uranium supply by 2040.

Bloomberg - Kirkbi, manager of the Lego founding family's fortune, planned to double its $1.6BN climate portfolio over five years, investing heavily in plastics recycling tech.

AL3 - Scaling Into US Navy Demand (update report) - Evolution Capital

EMD - Selected to Present at US FDA Psychedelic Medicines Hearing (research note) - Euroz Hartleys

ION - Securing a Circular Domestic Rare Earth Supply Chain in the United States - One platform. Multiple value-upgrade pathways.

SS1 - Maverick Silver Project, Nevada, USA - Resources Rising Stars - Gold Coast 2026

BKB - Investor Walkthrough - September 2026

ION - Iondrive (ASX:ION) - Investor Webinar - 10 September 2026 (CEO update)

EMD - Investor Year-End Update Webinar (Executive Chair and COO update)

EIQ - Echo IQ Investor Briefing - September 9 2026 (Investor briefing)

PNN - Power Minerals (ASX:PNN) CEO Alistair Stephens on Morro do Ferro Priority Project Licensing Pathway (CEO update)

PNN - Power Minerals (PNN) Morro do Ferro Rare Earth Project (Project overview video)

RML - RML is on Nasdaq (with CEO US Operations Craig Lindsay) | Resolution Minerals (ASX: RML/NASDAQ: RML) (CEO of US Operations)

BKB - RRS Gold Coast 2026 - Black Bear Minerals (ASX: BKB) – Dennis Lindgren, Chief Executive Officer (CEO presentation)

PNN - Rare earth riches go deep into Morro do Ferro (CEO drill results interview)

Gold - Bessent Tells Yen Traders 'I Am the House Now' (Bloomberg Television)

PKP - Confirmed CEO Barry Katzman is returning as a featured speaker at the CanExec 26 conference:

A word of caution...

While we aim to highlight developments in the small cap space, investing in early-stage and small cap companies - like those we cover - is inherently risky.

These companies often face funding challenges, regulatory hurdles, and market volatility. Announcements may reflect aspirations more than guaranteed outcomes.

Things can, and often do, change.

Just because a company has signed a deal, released drill results, or appointed a new director doesn’t mean success is assured.

Always assume delays, cost overruns, or results that don’t pan out.

We’re here to share insights, not offer personal financial advice - so please do your own research and speak with a licensed adviser before acting on anything mentioned.

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Bye for now.

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