Sunday Edition: 26th October

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.

Below you can read about every stock we wrote about this week:

Quick Takes: AL3, BPM, RML, PNN, KAU, AW1, AVM, TTM, TRI, RCM, ILA, SS1, SLM, TG1, LKY, ION

Deep Dives: LKY, L1M, ION, SGQ

Our new Portfolio addition is coming early this week...

We just participated in the placement.

Stay tuned...

But first...

The most interesting thing we watched this morning is this interview with the US Secretary for Energy Chris Wright:

(Watch the 5 minute interview here)

Larry (interviewer): The Chinese are trying to blackmail us on rare earths, and we've got to stop that. Joining us now is Energy Secretary Chris Wright.... Can you just tell us what’s happening on our effort to develop, produce, and manufacture rare earths?

Chris Wright: It’s a big deal, Larry, as you said. It’s an all-of-government effort. We’re making deals with businesses, small miners, big miners, processing companies, manufacturers.

....China went after this industry strategically to make us and the rest of the world dependent on them, and we need to break that dependence. During the Trump administration, we will.

We think the US critical minerals theme is going to be one of the biggest themes of 2026.

(and probably remain strong during the remaining 3 years of the Trump administration... and maybe even another term.)

The US energy Secretary's level of urgency in the above interview and desire to “do deals” with a wide range of companies (big AND small) provides a good opportunity for our earlier stage US critical minerals and rare earths Investments (i.e. the “small” companies he mentioned).

With projects located inside the USA.

(in this space, currently we are Invested in SS1, LKY, RML, PNN and AW1)

Those that move fast, engage the US government, and show that they can bring on supply quickly, inside US borders could get US funding...

LKY’s rapid production of the first 100% USA sourced and processed antimony ingot in decades this week (more on that below) was a great example of fast moving smaller companies demonstrating capability to get things done fast.

And we could soon see an increase in private US investors buying shares if these companies are dual listed in the US - we think the real wave of broader, private US capital has not fully flowed into this space yet.

The US energy Secretary even mentioned recycling rare earths as one of the “big things” they are working on:

Chris Wright: One of the big things we're working on with commercial business is recycling. All these old devices have rare earth minerals in them, magnets already fabricated in them.

We're looking at recycling, stores, and other friendshoring sources besides China. But China worked long and hard to get strategic dominance in this area. We can break it — and we will break it — but it is taking time.

I wish it was next week that it was over.

So it all still sounds pretty urgent to us.

(rare earths recycling was even specifically mentioned in the $8.5BN Trump-Albanese deal this week)

Our minerals recycling and processing tech Investment ION is in the right place with the right assets to potentially attract US funding.

...and processing deals with new miners of critical minerals and rare earths.

Last week ION announced that “Meetings with US government, defence, investors and innovation leaders are now underway”

6 weeks after ION signed a BINDING agreement for rare earths recycling in the USA...

...with Colt Recycling - one of the USA’s largest and most advanced eWaste recycling companies.

(more on ION below)

You can watch the 5 minute US energy Secretary interview here - it’s the most interesting thing we found this morning and gives a good sense of how urgent this matter still is to the USA.

(and should be to the rest of the western world too)

And regardless of what happens in Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week, we think the USA won’t take their foot off the pedal to remove the critical metals supply leverage that China currently holds over them.

Especially when it comes to the minerals needed for the military, weapons systems, AI or quantum computing...

Here’s what we wrote about this week:

AL3 made a $4.5M sale to the USA’s largest military shipbuilder.

AL3’s single biggest order landed this week. It came from a division of ~$11BN Huntington Ingalls - America’s largest military shipbuilder which includes aircraft carriers and submarines.

And here’s AL3 Managing Director Sean Ebert with Ambassador Kevin Rudd in Washington this week:

(Source)

BPM expects to start drilling its WA gold project next month.

Next will be the heritage surveys that BPM has locked in for the 31st of October. The market is really liking WA gold right now, so there could be increased interest in BPM as we get closer to drilling (expected in mid-November).

RML raised $2M via a strategic investment with Tribeca Investment Partners, who also became a strategic advisor to the Company.

Tribeca is a global fund manager focused on natural resources. Recent Investments we share with Tribeca include LKY RCM , AW1 & AVM - all having delivered strong results (click the link above to see them).

Tribeca invested in RML at 8c/share to fund downstream critical minerals processing and potential new asset acquisitions.

Also, RML put out its first downstream strategy for its Gold-Antimony-Silver-Tungsten Project in Idaho.

The partnership is with Kingston Process Metallurgy to validate production for US government agencies and pursue regional collaborations. The plan targets optimal processing pathways and future bulk samples.

On Friday RML went into a trading halt for ‘exploration results’, expecting to release them on Tuesday morning.

Phase 1 of drilling has been completed so we are looking forward to seeing what RML releases on Tuesday.

PNN kicked off the process for a US listing.

The plan is to list on the US OTC market, eyeing a future NASDAQ listing. The move follows strong US investor interest, into its Rare Earth Projects in California (targeting heavy rare earths) and in Brazil (niobium-rare earths).

With US demand for non-China heavy rare earths rising, PNN’s dual listing could help it attract increased attention in the US.

Also, PNN is about to start a 10,000m drill program on its Brazilian rare earths project.

This will begin with 2,000m RC drilling in November. Deeper drilling will test for a hard rock carbonatite, similar to major global rare earth deposits.

Early results already show rare earths, so any confirmation that the rare earths are carbonatite hosted could be a game changer for PNN in Brazil.

KAU increased processing throughput at its Henty mine in Tasmania.

This has boosted processing capacity by ~33% to 400,000 tonnes per annum, achieved without major infrastructure changes.

If current grades (~4.1g/t) and recoveries (89%) hold, then production could rise to 45k+ oz gold per year. This is nearly double management’s initial forecasts and this is before other upgrades and optimisations that are underway.

Also, KAU upgraded its gold reserves at Henty.

This increased reserves by 29% to 199,000oz @ 3.3g/t gold, extending mine life to 6+ years with a target of 30,000oz gold per year production. Perhaps this will be increased following the optimisation and upgrade works underway.

KAU recently brought in a second drill rig to accelerate exploration and resource extension, with drilling underway.

AW1 hit high grade copper outside of its existing resource in northern Canada.

The intercept of 12m at 5.6% copper and 21g/t silver was nice, coming from outside its current resource pit shell, so could lead to some nice additions to the pending PFS.

We are mainly invested in AW1 for its indium project in Utah, the largest indium deposit in the USA.

AVM added two members to an advisory board set up for its assets in Mexico.

The local Mexican operating experience of the two members appointed will be valuable as it progresses forward with exploration about to get underway.

Work programs have been locked in looking to double the ~100M silver ounces in foreign resource estimates across 3 projects.

Also, AVM has appointed David O’Connor as its new chairman.

David previously founded Explorator Resources, led exploration at Olympic Dam, and as Chief Geologist at AbraSilver (TSX: ABRA) helped grow its Argentinian Diablillos project from 129Moz to 350Moz silver, now part of a $1B company.

It’s been a busy few weeks for AVM having raised $13M with some notable names taking part, confirmed exploration programs and set up of the Mexican advisory board.

TTM received the US$10M cash from its strategic investor announced last week.

Lingbao came in for a 9.9% stake for US$10M and has a 90 day exclusivity period and 180-day right of first refusal on TTM’s Dynasty Gold Project (3.1Moz gold, 22Moz silver) and two early-stage copper assets.

Paying up the cash on just the third business day looks positive to us.

Also, TTM announced drill results from its 3.1M oz gold and 22M oz silver Dynasty Gold Project.

New intercepts extend known mineralisation and reveal additional bulk zones, supporting potential resource upgrades in Q1 2026, with ~6,000m of drilling remaining.

Good timing with Lingbao Gold’s US$10M strategic investment and exclusivity on this project underway.

TRI has just completed recruitment for its US-veteran mental health trial.

This will be testing a single-lead ECG algorithm to detect major depressive episodes. Interim results were promising, with full results expected this quarter.

The tech could provide scalable, non-invasive mental health screening, potentially integrating with smartwatches.

RCM just appointed a new chairman and board restructure.

John Poynton AO comes in as Independent Non-Executive Chairman, bringing decades of corporate, government, and financial experience, including roles with Multiplex, Alinta, Austal, and Australia’s Future Fund.

This appointment is a big coup for a small company like RCM, as it aims to grow as a silver explorer and future producer.

ILA has confirmed when it expects to receive a response from the FDA.

Despite recent US government shutdowns that are ongoing, ILA still expects FDA feedback by November 12 on Galidesivir’s development pathway for Marburg disease.

The review will cover Animal Rule fast-track approval, study design, and Priority Review Voucher eligibility (potentially worth US$150M).

SS1 appointed a new strategic advisor for its US engagement strategy.

Former Alcoa executive Dennis Lindgren comes in as a strategic advisor to engage with the US Government. SS1’s 480Moz silver-equivalent project is the largest undeveloped silver project on the ASX and in the US.

Dennis’ experience securing US government-backed critical minerals funding could help unlock SS1’s deep silver resource, potentially mirroring Perpetua’s US$1.8BN-backed project success.

SLM announced a binding agreement to acquire 75% of an advanced copper exploration project in Peru.

The binding agreement is to acquire 75% of the Cucho copper-molybdenum-silver project in Peru, with 90 days exclusivity. The project hosts a large porphyry system with ~2,000m of previous drilling and only 7% tested. Staged earn-in payments are milestone-based.

The goal here will be to define something similar to Element 29, a TSX listed stock that has a 321 Mt deposit.

Element 29 is capped at A$170M, demonstrating the upside in SLM if it can make an economic discovery.

TG1 added 2 targets to its Mt Boggola project following on from an IP survey.

Blue Devil and Mt Boggola projects now have expanded and larger targets, including MB3 near historic Newcrest mineralisation and MB4 over a high-chargeability zone. Recent state funding will support Blue Devil drilling, accelerating exploration.

Drilling is expected once the heritage survey and state approvals are complete, potentially this year.

LKY has a second drill rig secured for its drill program planned for December.

The rare earth drill program is next to $19BN MP Materials. Drilling is expected to take ~3 weeks, with earthworks already underway in preparation. LKY is also advancing antimony production in the US.

See more in our Deep Dive below where LKY produced the first domestic US antimony in decades.

ION is now testing its DES (Deep Eutectic Solvents) tech in the battery metals supply chain inside Europe.

The consortium will invest ~€3M (with contributions from the consortium members) aiming to demonstrate that battery cells made from 80% sustainably recycled materials can perform on par with those using virgin metals.

The pilot plant construction remains on track and will be shipped over to Germany before mid next year.

Read more on what else ION has been up to including a mining processing deal announced earlier in the week lower down in our Deep Dive.

Locksley Resources (ASX:LKY)

This week Locksley Resources (ASX:LKY) produced the first USA sourced and refined antimony in decades...

Behold:

(Source: LKY announcement)

(Source: LKY announcement)

Here is a photo of LKY’s antimony ingot getting roasted into its final form:

(Source - LKY’s X page)

This announcement came hours before a scheduled meeting between US President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Where the Australian Prime minister pitched how Australian resources and mining expertise can help the US reduce its reliance on critical minerals from China.

Antimony is a critical mineral with various military uses like ammunition, armor, flame retardants, and advanced electronics.

The USA currently has zero domestic antimony mining.

Read more: LKY: Delivers First domestic antimony production in USA in decades

Lightning Minerals (ASX:L1M)

This week our microcap exploration Investment Lightning Minerals (ASX:L1M) found more gold beneath a 20m deep pit that was producing gold back in the 1980s and 1990s.

(Source: L1M announcement)

L1M hit a 20.4m intercept with 2.4g/t gold grades (and 14.3g/t silver)... just 63m below the ground.

Which tells us there is more gold, below the pit that was mined in the 80s and 90s - drilling is ongoing so we can expect more newsflow to come.

Read more: L1M: First gold drill results deliver 20.4m at 2.4g/t gold

Iondrive (ASX:ION)

Earlier in the week the USA and Australia signed a historic US$8.5BN critical minerals and rare earths “Mining and Processing” deal:

The deal commits both governments to:

• Mobilising $1 billion in financing within six months for new projects in mining and processing,
• Streamlining approvals to accelerate project delivery,
• Investing in recycling technologies to manage e-waste and black mass scrap,
• Establishing a Rapid Response group to secure priority mineral supply chains.

Point #6 of the framework is a commitment to invest in “minerals recycling technology”:

(Source - read the full agreement)

This news adds to the US$1BN announced back in August to be given to the US Department of Energy to allocate into recycling tech companies (source).

We think our minerals recycling and processing tech Investment IonDrive (ASX:ION) is now firmly in the right place with the right assets to potentially attract US funding...

...and processing deals with new miners of critical minerals and rare earths.

Read more: ION: Critical Minerals Processing and Recycling in US$8.5BN USA-Australia Deal

St George Mining (ASX:SGQ)

St George Mining (ASX:SGQ) already has the largest and highest-grade carbonatite-hosted rare earths resource in South America - in Brazil.

It’s the second-highest grade rare earths resource in the Western world.

(it also has a big niobium resource, which we think the market is not pricing in while rare earths take all the attention)

SGQ’s project already has:

• 40.6Mt of Rare Earths at grades of 4.13% TREO (total rare earths oxide)
• 41.2Mt of Niobium at grades of 0.63%

In terms of grade, SGQ is comparable to ~$18BN Lynas’ project.

In terms of size, SGQ is comparable to ~$21BN MP Materials’ project.

(which may be why Gina Rinehart - shareholder in both MP and Lynas - cornered SGQ’s recent $72.5M capital raise by investing $22.5M...more on this in a second)

On Thursday SGQ announced an 87m long drill intercept of high grade rare earths (AND niobium...) in a “step out” drill hole 150m away from their JORC resource (source).

( a “step out drill hole” means a company tries drilling further away from where they have already proven a mineral resource. The assumption is that if a step out drill is successful, then the resource could grow all the way to where the step out drill hit mineralisation)

Just last week SGQ hit another big step out intercept 230m to the west of the resource (source).

And before that ~5 weeks ago, hit rare earths stepping out ~1km to the east (source).

So based on these strong “step out” drill results, it looks to us like SGQ’s rare earths resource could get even bigger.

We will find out soon... SGQ has 3 diamond rigs and one RC rig drilling the project 24/7, working toward an upgrade of the resource before the end of the year...

(Source)

Read more: SGQ: 87.7m high grade rare earths drill hit - 150m step out from existing JORC resource. Gina Rinehart invests $22.5M.

FT - The US spent decades letting China corner the rare earth minerals market, now Washington’s scramble to catch up exposes just how much strategic ground it has already lost.

Bloomberg - Trump’s rare earths deal with Australia sends miner shares soaring, kicking off a $8.5 billion push to break China’s grip on critical minerals.

AFR - Australia pledges $154M to rare earths junior Arafura, turning geopolitics and Trump-Albanese diplomacy into a windfall for investors and a boost to domestic supply chains.

FT - The US Army taps Wall Street giants like Apollo and Carlyle to help fund a $150BN infrastructure overhaul, including rare earths and data centres, blurring the line between private capital and national security.

Bloomberg - Albanese heads to Washington to pitch Australia’s rare earths as a solution to China’s export curbs, sparking a surge in miners’ shares and high-stakes US-Australia diplomacy.

The White House - The US and Australia launch a US $1BN critical minerals and rare earths partnership to secure supply chains for defense and advanced tech, fast-tracking mining, processing, and investment projects on both continents.

The White House - Trump and Albanese sign a US$3BN US-Australia Critical Minerals and Defense pact, linking rare earths, advanced tech, and AUKUS security in a historic partnership.

The Australian - US Interior Secretary calls Australia mineral pact the 'Manhattan Project for AI,' saying critical minerals are key to winning the tech race with China.

LKY’s COO Danny George (LinkedIn) - On site at the Desert Antimony Mine Prospect

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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.