$1.260
Opened: 26-Mar-2025
Shares Held at Open: 3,685,000
What does SS1 do?
Sun Silver (ASX: SS1) is developing a 480M ounce silver equivalent JORC resource in Nevada, USA.
What is the macro theme?
Silver is both an industrial and precious metal.
As a precious metal silver can be used as a hedge against inflation, which remains persistently high at the time of this memo.
As an industrial metal silver is used in the manufacture of photovoltaic cells for solar panels and can be considered important to the energy transition.
Antimony is a critical metal in a variety of military applications, and is seen as vital to the national security interests within the United States.
Our Big Bet for SS1
“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 a lot of work to be done, many risks involved - just some of which we list in our SS1 Investment Memo. Success will require a significant amount of luck. There is no guarantee that our Big Bet will ever come true.
Why did we invest in SS1?
SS1 has the largest primary resource on the ASX
SS1 is extremely leveraged to movements in the price of silver
We are bullish on silver - and the price is reaching decade high
SS1 is reaching a size where it could possibly be included in index funds
The US Department of Defence wants antimony, SS1 may have it
Can SS1 be the next $1.1BN capped Perpetua Resources?
SS1 has a Carlin-Style deposit, cheap and easy to mine
SS1 is in Nevada USA, near some of the best gold and silver mines in the world
JORC resource includes ~2.16M ounces of gold
SS1 has downstream opportunities with silver paste for solar PV cells.
What do we expect SS1 to deliver?
Objective #1: Drilling Program for 2025
We want to see SS1 continue to drill out its project over the next 12 months.
We especially want to see SS1extend the mineralisation towards the shallower North West of the resource leading to a further resource upgrade.
Milestones
Drilling Commenced
Assay results
Resource Upgrade (Size)
Resource Upgrade (Classification)
Objective #2: Evaluate Project Feasibility
SS1 has signalled its intention to enter feasibility studies, which would provide a first pass assessment of the project’s economic viability.
As part of the feasibility studies we will be keeping an eye out on the metallurgical testwork SS1 completes.
Milestones
Metallurgical testwork results
Commence Feasibility/Scoping Study
Feasibility/Scoping study delivered
Objective #3: Define an antimony resource
We want to see SS1 define an antimony resource over its project. SS1 has hired Holland & Knight to help apply for government support from the Department of Defence.
Milestones
Re-log and re-assay remaining historical drill cores
US Government Funding
Publish antimony resource
What could go wrong?
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 the silver price fall, this could hurt the SS1 share price.
Exploration risk
There is no guarantee that SS1’s upcoming drill programs in Nevada are successful and SS1 may fail to find economic silver-gold deposits.
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.
Market risk
There is always the possibility that broader market sentiment gets worse and shares as a whole trade lower, taking SS1’s share price with it. Alternatively, there could be further sector specific pain ahead where junior explorers suffer a lot more than the broader market.
Development/delay risk
Should any or all of the above risks materialise, SS1 could wind up stuck in “development purgatory” where newsflow dries up and the project remains stagnant for a prolonged period of time, hurting the share price. Additionally, if delays occur in terms of material newsflow, the market could turn on SS1.
Met Work Risk
SS1 is still yet to evaluate the metallurgical feasibility over its resource. Ideally, it is very easy for SS1 to extract the gold and silver from its resource, but there is no guarantee that this happens.
What is our investment plan?
We are Invested in SS1 to see it expand its resource and progress its project into development.
Our plan is to hold the majority of our position in SS1 for 3 to 5 years which we hope is enough time to see SS1 to move towards development (see “our long term bet” above).
After 12 months we will apply our standard de-risking strategy.
We may look to sell up to 20% of our holding if the company delivers on one or more of our Investment Memo objectives and/or the share price materially re-rates.
Disclosure: Disclosure: S3 Consortium Pty Ltd (the Company) and Associated Entities own 3,685,000 SS1 shares at the time of publishing this memo. The Company has been engaged by SS1 to share our commentary on the progress of our Investment in SS1 over time.
Opened: 18-May-2024
Shares Held at Open: 3,810,000
What does SS1 do?
Sun Silver (ASX: SS1) is a high-grade gold-silver explorer and developer with a 292M ounce silver equivalent JORC resource in Nevada, USA.
What is the macro theme?
Silver is both an industrial and precious metal.
As a precious metal silver can be used as a hedge against inflation, which remains persistently high at the time of this memo.
Silver has a prominent industrial use case in the manufacture of photovoltaic cells for solar panels - and as such can be considered important to the energy transition.
Silver demand from solar panels is projected to grow exponentially through to 2050 - and it is the fastest growing source of silver demand currently.
Our Big Bet for SS1
“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 a lot of work to be done, many risks involved - just some of which we list in our SS1 Investment Memo. Success will require a significant amount of luck. There is no guarantee that our Big Bet will ever come true.
Why did we invest in SS1?
Second largest silver resource on the ASX
$25M capped SS1 already has a ~292M ounce silver equivalent JORC resource (which is the second largest on the ASX). The most comparable peer is $294M capped Silver Mines with a ~400M silver equivalent resource. Currently Silver Mines market cap is more than 10 times SS1, with a resource only ~ 25% bigger. Based on this, we think there is upside in SS1’s market cap.
Potential to increase an already large JORC resource
Only ~20% of SS1’s project has been explored to date. With its first round of drilling, SS1 will be looking for extensions to its current JORC resource and potential nearby targets.
Silver price is hitting decade highs
Silver demand is fast outstripping supply. The silver price is re-testing an 11 year high at the time of writing. 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.
Project acquired and IPO priced while silver was “unloved”
SS1 acquired its 292M ounce silver equivalent JORC resource project while silver was boring and trading sideways. The ~$25M IPO market cap was set before silver's current price run.
SS1’s tight, clean capital structure supports share price re-rates
~55M of the ~125M shares on issue are escrowed for at least ~12 months. The top 20 hold ~65%. Most importantly there are no options on issue, meaning there is no extra “weight” being carried when the share price is responding to news. Current shareholders can NOT use a strategy to sell head stock while retaining upside via an option.
The US solar industry will need a lot more silver
Silver is a key material used in solar panels. Silver demand from solar energy is forecast to “go exponential”. In the next six years, the US government is aiming for more than 6x current solar capacity. And to satisfy solar energy targets for 2050, the world would need to dig up nearly EVERY single known ounce of silver EVER found in current reserves (98%).
US push to “onshore” solar industry away from China
SS1 has a giant supply of silver for solar panels on US soil (Nevada).The US has just applied a 50% tariff to solar cells that are imported from China into the US, up from 25% previously. We expect this to provide additional economic incentives and support to domestic US solar manufacturers while also creating further demand for domestically sourced silver and silver paste both of which SS1 is pursuing production of.
SS1 is based in a mining county in the top silver producing state in the US
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.
Downstream value add: “Silver paste” production (for solar) could improve economics
Silver paste is made from silver and improves the efficiency of solar panels. Currently most of 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 improve the overall economics of its project.
US Government to support domestic solar industry and help bring strategic projects online
SS1’s project may be seen as having strategic value to US onshoring of solar panel manufacturing. We think SS1 could benefit from US government tax incentives included in the Inflation Reduction Act, tariffs on Chinese solar panels and potential government grants for strategic projects and manufacturing initiatives.
JORC resource includes ~1.37M ounces of gold
The gold price is also at record highs. Included inside SS1’s 292m ounce silver equivalent JORC resource is a ~1.37m ounce gold resource. We think this gold has appeal as an inflation hedge/precious metal, which could pair nicely with the rapidly growing industrial use of silver from solar panels.
What do we expect SS1 to deliver?
Objective #1: Drilling to upgrade existing JORC resource
We want to see SS1 run geophysical surveys, identify new drill targets and then run an infill/extensional drill program to upgrade its JORC resource.
Milestones
Geophysics survey
Drill permits granted
Drilling commenced
Drilling assays
Objective #2: Upgrade 292m Oz silver equivalent JORC resource
Pending positive results from extension and infill drilling through RC and diamond drilling, we want to see SS1 release an upgraded JORC Mineral Resource Estimate with more silver and gold ounces in it, and more of the resource in higher confidence categories.
Milestones
Release upgraded JORC Resource
Objective #3: Enter feasibility studies
SS1 has signalled its intention to enter feasibility studies, which would provide a first pass assessment of the project’s economic viability. As part of the feasibility studies we will be keeping an eye out on the metallurgical testwork SS1 completes.
Milestones
Metwork results
Start scoping study
Scoping study results
Objective #4: Progress downstream opportunities
If we got any material newsflow in regards to downstream funding OR silver paste opportunities then we think this could be an unexpected catalyst for SS1’s share price.
What could go wrong?
Exploration risk
There is no guarantee that SS1’s upcoming drill programs in Nevada are successful and SS1 may fail to find economic silver-gold deposits.
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.
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.
Technology/substitution risk
Solar (PV) technology could improve such that less silver is needed, or another material such as copper could be used as a substitute for silver. Recycling technology may also reduce long term demand for silver.
Market risk
There is always the possibility that broader market sentiment gets worse and shares as a whole trade lower, taking SS1’s share price with it. Alternatively, there could be further sector specific pain ahead where junior explorers suffer a lot more than the broader market.
Development/delay risk
Should any or all of the above risks materialise, SS1 could wind up stuck in “development purgatory” where newsflow dries up and the project remains stagnant for a prolonged period of time, hurting the share price. Additionally, if delays occur in terms of material newsflow, the market could turn on SS1.
Political and geopolitical risk
There is always a risk that the US government changes course under a new administration or rolls back policies and incentives designed to support a US domestic solar manufacturing industry. Alternatively, the market may be flooded with cheap solar panels such that these policies and incentives do not have the desired effect, hurting the SS1 share price. Governments and policies change and these changes could impact the future economics of SS1’s project.
What is our investment plan?
We are Invested in SS1 to see it expand its resource and progress its project into development.
Our plan is to hold the majority of our position in SS1 for 3 to 5 years which we hope is enough time to see SS1 to move towards development (see “our long term bet” above).
After 12 months we will apply our standard de-risking strategy.
We may look to sell up to 20% of our holding if the company delivers on one or more of our Investment Memo objectives and/or the share price materially re-rates.
Any sell downs will be in accordance with our trading and hold policy disclosure.
Disclosure: Disclosure: S3 Consortium Pty Ltd (the Company) and Associated Entities own 3,810,000 SS1 Shares. The Company has been engaged by SS1 to share our commentary on the progress of our Investment in SS1 over time.
Today should be interesting….
Dec 1, 2025
Dec 1, 2025 |
18 min
Today will be the first time that ASX listed silver stocks get a chance to react to the ~6% surge in silver on Friday night. (would that wretched weekend never end?) The silver price closed at the highest it has EVER been in its history.
SS1 receives “unsolicited request” from Kevin Rudd to provide info about their project for Trump-Albanese meeting on Oct 20th…
Oct 13, 2025
Oct 13, 2025 |
22 min
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”...
SS1 plots US listing - silver on the draft US critical minerals list
Sep 16, 2025
Sep 16, 2025 |
16 min
As the silver price increases, the in-ground value of silver resources goes up with it… Our 2024 Small Cap Pick of the Year Sun Silver (ASX: SS1) owns the largest pre-production silver asset on the ASX and one of the largest within the USA. And now it’s about to list on a US stock exchange.
Silver hits 14 year high - what happens next? Here’s our ASX silver stocks
Sep 4, 2025
Sep 4, 2025 |
7 min
Six hours ago the silver price hit ~US$41.50 per ounce. That’s officially the highest level silver has traded at since October 2011. The silver price is officially at new 14-year highs…
SS1: Highest Grade Antimony Result. So Far…
Jul 31, 2025
Jul 31, 2025 |
15 min
So far SS1's antimony grades are higher than the averages across $2.5BN Perpetua Resources project, which has 0.06-0.07% antimony grades. SS1 is re-assaying for the US critical metal antimony in the ~200 historical drill holes that make up its 480M ounce silver equivalent resource in Nevada, USA.
SS1 hits silver and gold 26m above its existing 480M ounce silver equivalent resource
Nov 26, 2025
Nov 26, 2025 |
3 min
Our 2024 Small Cap Pick of the Year Sun Silver (ASX: SS1 | OTC: SSLVF) just released another drill result from its 2025 drill program.
SS1 keeps hitting silver in 480m ounce silver equivalent resource in the US.
Nov 20, 2025
Nov 20, 2025 |
3 min
Our 2024 Small Cap Pick of the Year Sun Silver (ASX: SS1|OTC: SSLVF) keeps hitting silver well above the average grades in its giant 480M ounce silver equivalent resource.
SS1 continues to find antimony in historical drilling at Maverick Springs
Nov 7, 2025
Nov 7, 2025 |
3 min
Our 2024 Small Cap Pick of the Year Sun Silver (ASX: SS1) keeps finding antimony inside its giant silver deposit in Nevada, USA.
Giant silver and antimony project commences trading in the USA: (OTCQX: SSLVF)
Nov 6, 2025
Nov 6, 2025 |
19 min
One of the largest pre production silver mining projects located in the USA just commenced public trading… in the USA. The code is OTC: SSLVF The name is Sun Silver.
SS1 appoints strategic advisor for US engagement strategy
Oct 22, 2025
Oct 22, 2025 |
3 min
Our 2024 Small Cap Pick of the Year Sun Silver (ASX: SS1) just appointed a new strategic advisor.
Sunday Edition: 30th November
Nov 30, 2025
Nov 30, 2025 |
15 min
Tomorrow’s market open promises to be a very interesting one for silver stocks after silver’s near 6% surge on Friday night post the ASX closing… (hitting the highest price in its history and delivering a key breakout of a 50 year chart pattern we have been watching…) Here are all the silver stocks we are Invested in and ones to watch on Monday morning, click on the link to read out Investment thesis for each one:
Silver Breakout Sparking Early Santa Rally?
Nov 29, 2025
Nov 29, 2025 |
7 min
Last weekend we predicted an unlikely “Santa rally” into the Christmas break… (unlikely at the time off the back of a horror Friday that had rattled confidence and with only a few weeks left to go…) And during THIS week our lord and saviour Santa Claus came early and delivered what could be the start of this “santa rally” that nobody was expecting. Santa’s sack was bulging with positive sentiment in global markets that flowed into ASX small caps…
Sunday Edition: 23rd November
Nov 23, 2025
Nov 23, 2025 |
14 min
Only a few weeks til Christmas now. What might it take for a Santa rally to happen this year? (A Christmas miracle after Friday’s broad sell off? At least global markets bounced back on Friday night promising a positive Monday on the ASX) Below is a summary and links for everything else we wrote about last week, along with some other interesting content we found in relation to our Portfolio.
The Rollercoaster in Silver and the Rapid Rise of AI-Driven Defence
Nov 15, 2025
Nov 15, 2025 |
6 min
The original plan for today was a little “self pat on the back” about the silver price roaring up 9% for the week and getting back to the highest it’s ever been… And maybe a quick revisit of our silver thesis and silver stocks. Then we woke up to silver being down by 3.3% for the day. But instead, today we are going to write about emotions and autonomous AI robot war dogs
Sunday Edition: 9th November
Nov 9, 2025
Nov 9, 2025 |
17 min
Happy Sunday… Below is a summary and links for everything we wrote about last week, along with some other interesting content we found in relation to our Portfolio. We have been talking a lot about the accelerating race between the US and China to be the leading global superpower… … and how the winner in technology, AI and the mass manufacturing of autonomous AI war robots and drones will ultimately be the new global power.
