Sunday Edition: 6th 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.

Tomorrow we will release our 2026 ASX Small Cap Pick of the Year.

A “Pick of the Year” is a choice we make based on the stock we think has the highest potential for share price appreciation in our Portfolio.

Here is the performance (at peak) of our past ASX Small Cap Picks of the Year (from Initial Entry Price):

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.

Keep an eye out around ASX market open tomorrow (Monday) - around 10AM AEST.

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.

Yesterday’s Saturday note: Live forever, never work again... But we still have a whole lot of digging to do first

Quick Takes: NC1, ILA, HAR, OD6, WCE, VKA, IVR, TG1, MNB, SGQ, SS1, AUZ, PR1, PNN

Deep Dives: AL3, AUZ

Other content: IVZ, AL3, EMD, LSR, PNN, VKA, RCM, RML, TTM, WCE, PUR, PAT, AVM

NC1 started drilling at its giant WA nickel-cobalt project.

NC1's project is already one of the four largest undeveloped nickel projects in the world (ex-Indonesia).

Of those four, it has the highest grades.

The current round of drilling is less about growth and more about understanding the deposit better.

The drilling will NC1 to optimise its mine plan as much as possible.

IF/when nickel prices turn - the giant deposit will be “bear market” optimised.

Imagine a nickel bull market with this asset...

(source)

ILA secured Marburg data for its FDA approval pathway.

Why does this week's news matter?

Because ILA will have “natural history data” - which defines a baseline for how a disease progresses without treatment.

Then that baseline is used to measure the efficacy of a drug against any particular disease.

The big takeaway for ILA is this SHOULD mean ILA don't have to work out a baseline themselves (something that would cost more money and time).

Instead ILA can piggy back on that existing data and move straight into trials and hopefully a New Drug Application (NDA) with the FDA.

Studies start next quarter - and the NDA is targeted for Q3 next year.

(source)

HAR appointed Patrick Mutz as Managing Director and CEO.

Patrick was previously MD and CEO of Image Resources, where he took the company from advanced exploration to a producing mine in WA.

He secured a A$75M debt and equity funding package to build that mine "on time and on budget".

Image's market cap went from ~$15M to a high of ~$275M during that period.

(past performance is not an indicator of future performance).

We like that he has built a mine from scratch before AND spent time in the US.

Especially with where HAR is right now with restart studies underway for its US gold project.

Here is more info on that mine Patrick built:

(source)

OD6 is now registered for US government funding opportunities.

OD6’s fluorspar project is now registered with the US Government's System for Award Management (SAM.gov).

SAM.gov is the system the US Government uses to provide projects inside the US with federal contracting and financial assistance.

Hopefully now, OD6 can go for funding deals like the US$250M one Canadian listed Ares Strategic Mining was able to do with its Nevada fluorspar project.

(source)

WCE raised $6M for Australia's highest grade silver project.

Nice to see WCE’s $6M raise (at 9.5c) was oversubscribed.

It might have had something to do with the Adriatic Metals team coming back together again.

The raise was cornerstoned by Paul Cronin's Admiralty Resource Fund - Paul was the former MD and CEO of Adriatic Metals, which IPO'd at 20c in May 2018 and was taken over at ~$5.56 per share last year.

(past performance is not an indicator of future performance)

WCE's CEO Serge Smolonogov was also head of exploration and eventually GM of growth at Adriatic.

So that’s two connections to one of the biggest ASX success stories of the last decade.

We also participated and added to our WCE position.

(source)

VKA sampled high grade tungsten at two more US projects.

VKA's main asset is an old tungsten mine in Nevada where VKA is drilling right now (the first drilling in over 40 years).

Assay results from the drilling here should start to land in September/October.

This week's results came from two other tungsten assets VKA holds nearby.

The first returned a loose surface rock grading 2.4% tungsten, veins in the old mine at up to 1.7% and leftover crusher material at 0.4 to 0.5%.

(source)

IVR hit 13,302g/t silver outside its proposed mine plan.

IVR’s project is already well advanced with a Mining Lease Application recently lodged.

With the current round of drilling IVR is seeking to convert more of its resource into higher confidence intervals ahead of Final Investment Decision (FID) on the project.

More confidence in the early years of production is something that financiers are more willing to fund (and with that, lower risk generally means more attractive financing terms).

The results from this week returned some seriously high grades outside the current pit design, headlined by 4m at 5,448g/t silver, including one metre at 13,302g/t silver:

There are still more assays to come in, but here is where this week’s results came from relative to IVR’s current planned pit outline:

(source)

TG1 started drilling its giant WA copper-gold target.

This is the first hole ever into the bigger of TG1's two copper-gold targets.

The first hole at TG1's smaller target showed no copper mineralisation in the core - we are hoping the assays show otherwise (maybe some gold instead, which is less visible in drill core).

This second target is a lot bigger with multiple targets sitting across ~2.75km (one of the biggest targets we have ever seen).

TG1 said it expects to hit Total Depth this week - so inside the next few weeks we should know if TG1 has made a new major copper-gold discovery or not.

(source)

MNB - phase 2 construction works are underway on its phosphate fertiliser project.

Three key takeaways for us from MNB this week:

1. On financing - MNB said that it was getting close to final guarantees to unlock the US$5.48M loan deal for its project.
2. On construction - MNB confirmed phase 2 construction has begun, with steel framework for the plant due to arrive this month and construction teams arriving to site in “early September”.
3. On mining readiness - MNB re-iterated guidance of Q2 2027 for first mining.

(source)

SGQ started pilot plant test work for rare earths and niobium.

SGQ confirmed that environmental and building permits had been received and that construction was now underway for a rare earths-niobium pilot plant.

SGQ expects to have the facility completed by December 2026 and operational by January 2027.

Once in operation, the pilot plant will have a throughput capacity of up to 300kg per hour, producing niobium concentrate and a range of rare earth products.

Here is a render of what the facility should look like in a few months time:

(source)

SS1 hit more antimony inside its 539M ounce silver equivalent JORC resource estimate.

SS1's project in Nevada is the largest pre-production primary silver resource in the USA and on the ASX.

The dark horse for SS1 has been all of this antimony that keeps coming up in drill intercepts (and re-assayed old holes).

Why?

Because we have seen primary precious metals deposits get US government financing support when they also have a big critical mineral resource to go with them.

(Like US$4.3BN Perpetua Resources - a primary gold project that is also the USA’s biggest antimony resource which received a US$2.9BN loan from the US EXIM bank)

IF SS1 can define a maiden antimony resource estimate of its own, we think the same thing could happen to SS1 (no guarantees of course).

(source - the red is SS1’s silver resource, the green intercepts are antimony)

AUZ added five drill targets to "one of the highest grade scandium projects in the world".

AUZ's scandium project in NSW sits next door and on the same geological structure as $2.7BN capped SRL's scandium project.

That is the project that received a US$400M funding commitment from the US government last month.

The five new targets will go into AUZ's upcoming drill program to extend its resource estimate - drilling starts as soon as final approvals come in.

Exploration isn't a big part of why we are Invested in AUZ, BUT if AUZ can grow its resource estimate, the comparisons to SRL's deposit could start to get stronger.

We also released a Deep Dive on AUZ off the back of this news - read that here.

PR1 appointed a lead researcher for its carbon nanotube fibre cooling tech.

Dr Jong Ha Park has a PhD in mechanical engineering from UC Berkeley and has published research on cooling systems.

This is what PR1 is looking to develop - heat sinks and cooling hardware designed to go inside AI data centres, drones, robots and defence systems.

PR1 also had peer reviewed results for its tech showing it was able to work through 1,000 thermal cycles in air with no measurable change in resistance, whereas a comparable alloy sample failed after just five.

The next big catalyst for PR1 is system level heat performance tests against copper and aluminium - that’s when we see how PR1’s tech performs in real working environments.

(source)

PNN hit over 12% Total Rare Earth Oxides from surface in Brazil.

88m at 6.33% TREO from surface, including 20m at 12.05% TREO.

That’s now multiple holes with grades in that 8-9-10%+ range.

Ignoring the big 80-100m+ intercepts - even if PNN can define a small (but very high grade) resource on the project it could start to draw comparisons to other projects on the ASX.

One that comes to mind is Brazilian Rare Earths which has a small high grade component of its resource of 3.4mt at 11.26% TREO and the stock is capped at ~$1BN.

That project is a lot more advanced, but we think PNN’s resource once out could be a catalyst for the market to start making peer comparisons to companies like Brazilian Rare Earths.

PNN is currently capped at ~ $75M.

PNN’s maiden resource estimate is expected before the end of the year.

(source)

AML3D (ASX:AL3)

One of AML3D (ASX:AL3)'s robot 3D metal printers featured on the US Navy's website.

In the US Navy's announcement that it will start to deploy 3D metal printing "at unprecedented speeds".

Starting from two weeks ago.

Seriously, here it is again:

(AL3’s 3D metal printers help print complex metal parts for shipbuilding, aerospace and defence - harder, better, faster, stronger than traditional casting or forging)

(source) and (we covered that news in Monday's note)

This week AL3 announced:

• Record FY26 revenue of $12.5M - up 70% on last year.
  
• $78M in sales pipeline (near-term order opportunities), AND
  
  
• $16.8M in orders carried over to FY27 - so next year should be another record year for AL3).

(source)

We first Invested in AL3 back in June 2024, just after it pivoted its business to selling 3D printing systems, printed parts AND charging buyers recurring software license fees.

(Instead of the previous business model of just selling 3D printed metal parts)

From a standing start in 2023, AL3 has signed contracts for 16 of its (ARCEMY) 3D printing systems in the US.

14 of those are inside the US Navy’s supply chain.

AL3 now counts Huntington Ingalls (builder of 70% of the current US fleet), $1.7BN Austal, and the US Navy's own Additive Manufacturing Centre of Excellence as customers.

AL3 has also received a letter from the US Navy forecasting demand for 100 additive manufacturing (metal 3D printing) systems across the Marine Industrial Base and telling AL3 it would play a "pivotal role" in meeting these needs.

Read more: AL3: Record $12.5M revenue, $78M in sales pipeline, US Navy keen and entry in UK/EU defence space.

Australian Mines (ASX:AUZ)

A large US military news site just released the below article covering why major military contractors are buying up future scandium production:

(source)

Scandium has military applications in fighter jets, missile systems and also in robotics and AI data centres.

Our Investment Australian Mines (ASX:AUZ) owns one of the highest grade scandium projects in the world.

It is directly next door to a scandium project backed by mining billionaire Robert Friedland - the same project US President Donald Trump said this about:

"The Department of War is investing $400 million to expand production of scandium, one of the world's most valuable aerospace and defence materials, in Australia."

(listen to it here)

One company called Bloom Energy already consumes ~74% of the world's scandium supply making fuel cells for AI data centres.

If it hits analyst forecasts of “5GW-by-2030” target, alone it would need ~220tpa of scandium - nearly 3x the ~80 tonnes of scandium per year the entire planet produces today. (source)

(and that’s just one single company in the powering AI datacentres space)

So why is Donald Trump, the US Department for War, the US Military Industrial Base and AI data centre power providers all suddenly chasing scandium?

We think because of anticipated future demand in high technology - technologies the public may not even know about yet.

This week AUZ revealed the drill targets for an upcoming campaign which COULD end up 3x’ing the scandium output of its project when developed.

(preparing its asset for that future demand from advanced technologies?)

IF the drilling comes in AUZ could 3x the production numbers in its existing scoping study (more on that in a second).

And 3x the planned output of $2.4BN Sunrise Energy Metals’ project which:

• The US Department of War is giving a US$400M conditional loan to,
• Major US defence contractor Lockheed Martin signed an offtake option with,
• Is chaired and majority owned by mining billionaire Robert Friedland, AND
• Sits on the same geological structure as our Investment AUZ’s asset next door

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

AUZ’s project has a resource that is higher grade relative to Sunrise at the moment.

With this next round of drilling, AUZ’s plan is to drill out (and hopefully) extend its defined resources - so its resources could grow toward the size of Sunrise's project (no guarantees of course).

Here is how the projects rank against one another:

(source)

Exploration isn’t necessarily a big part of why we Invested in AUZ - because its project is already well advanced and the scandium market isn’t large enough to need giant resources.

(however... AI data centres and military demand may change that - more on that later)

But IF AUZ can make new discoveries and grow its resource, the comparisons to Sunrise’s deposit could start to get stronger - especially when the two projects literally sit on the same geology.

It looks pretty intuitive when you look at the geophysical surveys - drill the mega blobs that host Sunrise’s project (and RIO’s to the north).

And hopefully hit more scandium.

(source)

Read more: AUZ: US Military industrial base quietly buying up future scandium production...

FT - UBS chief strategist argues gold's third bull market since 1971 has further to run.

AP News - The Dutch central bank moved 86 tonnes of gold from New York and Ottawa to London.

Bloomberg - About $5BN in US backed investment and financing converged on Brazilian rare earths mine - underscoring both Washington's push to cut reliance on China.

Reuters - Lynas, the largest rare earths producer outside China, confirmed it was in takeover talks earlier this year.

Crux Investor - Analysts flag El Nino disruption risk to 25% of global copper mine supply

Bloomberg - An El Niño driven drought threatened to cut output at Indonesia's biggest nickel complex by up to 40%.

WSJ - US officials said munitions rushed to the Middle East for the Iran war has left inventories of PAC-3 Patriot interceptors and ATACMS missiles in Europe beyond critical.

Bloomberg - The Pentagon pursued a major stake in Venezuelan oil reserves with talks covering 17 oil fields and a possible 100 year lease overseen by the Pentagon's Office of Strategic Capital.

Bloomberg - Oil jumped after the US military struck Iranian rocket launchers preparing to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

FT - A plutonium shortage was holding back new nuclear projects.

AFR - CATL's Jianxiawo mine, China's largest lithium mine by capacity, had its environmental approval revoked again.

ARB Letter - Robotics remains an overlooked sector before explosive growth.

IVZ - MST Financial — IVZ: The Lion is Ready to Roar (initiation report) - MST Financial

AL3 - Build faster, stronger and greener with ARCEMY - 2026 Full Year Results Presentation August 2026

EMD - The Psychedelic Resurgence: From Counterculture to Clinical Breakthrough with Dr Michael Winlo (EMD Chief Scientific Officer Dr Michael Winlo)

LSR - Inside Lodestar's Pacifico Project: Mapping a Major Copper System (LSR’s Exploration Manager)

PNN - Morro do Ferro keeps raising the bar (CEO update)

VKA - Viking lights up Linka with visible tungsten (Managing Director update)

LSR - Virgin Mountain ticking extra boxes for Lodestar Minerals (CEO update)

RCM - Tribeca Investment Partners Conference | August 2026 (Managing Director update)

RML - The Tribeca Future Facing Symposium - August 2026 (Presented by the CEO of US Operations)

TTM - The Tribeca Future Facing Symposium - August 2026 (Presented by the CEO)

WCE - The West Coast Silver Opportunity (Interview with CTO)

PUR - PUR at the RIU Resources Investor Roadshow, 25-27 August 2026 (Managing Director presentation)

RML - Resolution Minerals Hits Near-Surface Gold at Golden Gate South (CEO drill results interview)

VKA - Viking strikes ‘high-grade’ tungsten across Nevada (Managing Director tungsten drill interview)

Precious metals - $40 Trillion in Debt and Financial Repression Is the Only Exit | David Morgan (Sprott Money)

Silver - Silver's True Deficit: Solar & Investment Demand vs $300 Silver Price Target | Peter Krauth (Catt Calls)

Critical minerals - Critical minerals: Why Tungsten Is Up 1000% In A Year | Supply & Demand Dynamics (Catt Calls)

PAT - Managing director Dom Duggan on a site visit at PAT’s copper discovery in Zambia:

LSR - CEO Coraline Blaud and Exploration Manager Finn Hunter at LSR’s US Heavy Rare Earth Project on site:

EMD - Executive Chair Greg Hutchinson in a (digital) fireside chat:

AVM - Managing Director Adam McKinnon on site at one of AVM’s three silver projects in Mexico (visiting an old processing plant leftover by old timers who mined in this part of Mexico):

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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