Hydrogen Fuel cars have been the forgotten cousin in the EV market.  It was no more than six months ago, over a typical BBQ lunch, I expressed my opinion that Hydrogen Fuel cells had a lot of advantages. My guests would disagree and insisted that electric cars would dominate.  The race for emission targets in 2020 seems to be fueling all the discussion about cleaner car emissions, but I fee that the debate should be more on what is the most economical means for the First World and Third World economies.  The Electric Power or Hydrogen Fuel Cell, in my opinion, is more about something new or you can use existing infrastructure, which means, spend more money or spend less and use what you have already. When we think about EV and Hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicles, we forget that commercially, according to CNBC, there are over 20,000 hydrogen fuel celled forklifts running around the warehouses and distribution centres across the US in more than 40 states including factories of Amazon and Walmart.  Also, there are hydrogen fuel cell buses in use or planned in the US states of Ohio, Michigan, Illinois and Massachusetts, as well as California.  Hydrogen Fuel Cell buses are also now increasingly being used in Asia and Europe. The central aspect of hydrogen fuel cells is the ability to adapt to existing cars and save users money instead of buying a completely new vehicle. What are the current thoughts? There is no question about the technology with the widespread use of hydrogen vehicles already in place.  Since my last article  – Hydrogen Cars – Are they safe?  How do they work? – I think there are now clear results that the “potential” of Hydrogen Fuel Cells is real and are being embraced. Hydrogen infrastructure is coming slowly but is building momentum with US news reporting a breakout in the building of hydrogen stations.  There is not going to be an instant rise as reports show that most of these ecosystems will not be at maturity until 2020.  Some argue that this slow build up is keeping doors opened for the EV market. The fact that the Chinese government is now cancelling subsidies to manufacturers of EV and looking to cancel all grants in 2020 is sending a loud message to the market.  At the same time, there is now more news being released outlining that the Chinese government is supporting Hydrogen Fuel cells is a clear message that “they” don’t think this is going to be the only alternative to clean energy. China Daily reports that the Premier Li Keqiang included the development of hydrogen stations for new energy vehicles for the first time in his Government Work Report this year, 2019. This move is a clear indicator of the government’s endorsement of the hydrogen energy economy.  China has been actively developing hydrogen energy in recent years to make the nation’s automobile industry cleaner and more efficient. Many domestic companies have been actively pushing forward their hydrogen industry layout. Recently, Great Wall Motor Co Ltd, one of the country’s largest sport utility vehicle and pickup manufacturers, is making hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles a new focus for its business. If you need convincing if all these “talks’ are severe,  the company has invested more than 1 billion yuan ($149 million) in research and development in hydrogen energy and fuel cell vehicles. Yin Tongyue, chairman of Chery Automobile Co Ltd and a deputy to the 13th National People’s Congress, proposed at this year’s two sessions the drafting of a national development strategy to promote the healthy development of the hydrogen energy industry. One must remember that the discussion at the Party meetings is as good as endorsements for the path forward.  Don’t get me wrong, I am not implying that China is abandoning EV. What does this mean for Lithium and Cobalt? The demand for lithium and cobalt is not going to disappear in a rush nor the long term. We are not going to see abandoned lithium and cobalt mines.  What I do feel is that this price range is not going to be rising in the medium term nor the long term.  That is my opinion, and the evidence coming out seem to be more supportive than contradictory.  When I wrote my article – Hydrogen Cars – Are they safe? How do they work? – There was not a lot of information, especially from the “China opinion”. However, for this article, there is plentiful of information which I have had to summarise to reduce the avalanche of research material. This sudden influx of material on Hydrogen Fuel Cells and China’s public announcement of its adoption of the technology seem to be a clear message that there is a movement towards the Hydrogen Fuel Cell space.  What this means for the Lithium and Cobalt industry or The Battery Minerals is that those who are efficient will be around and those with slim margins and all the negative aspect of a mineral resource project will be left behind.  If your project does not meet the grade, cost and deliver marks, then you may as well give up.  These factors have more of implication in the Lithium space as there is the divide of Hard Rock against Brine deposits. Those that are already producing will be the last to go, and those with the slimmest of margins will be next on the list to leave the industry.  These kinds of conversations may seem a bit outrageous, but from a “Nostradamus” point of view, I think that is pretty on the mark. What Kind of Projects will make the List of Hopeful Survivors? In a turn around of thoughts, I now think that for Brine Lithium projects may be the favoured style.  I say this because the Brine mines are less expensive to run in the long run.  The argument has always been that the Spodumene deposits are a higher grade, but their OPEX are larger.  The Brine deposits are still struggling with technology to get it to happen. However, it seems that it is now just a matter of time before that is a reality.  It is no longer or at least less of an unknown if the technology can make things work. I will admit that I have not followed the Brine space as much, but from what I have read, the technology is getting closer to success now.  The upside with the Brine deposits are the supply is never going to be an issue, and there is no doubt that OPEX will be lower.  I am not sure about the CAPEX, but my two cents worth tells me that it has to be smaller than the hard rock cousins.  Currently, the technology is the barrier. As for Cobalt, the comments are much more straightforward. There is no need for a debate.  The African sources are sufficient to feed the market.  There is no other deposit in the world that will be bigger than those already in place in Africa and Morocco. The funding to explore for more sources have all disappeared.  An announcement of a cobalt project no longer gets the capital market out of bed.  If this revolution with Hydrogen Fuel Cell takes speed, the need for Cobalt will not see a significant future supply issue. Conclusion The whole Samso process is to look at things from a different angle, a different thought and to make the story interesting.  This full Hydrogen Fuel Cell story is one that Samso thinks is not well understood and almost forgotten.  Everyone is so focused on EV and the renewable story centred on electricity.  Hydrogen Fuel Cell buses are now being trialled all over the world.  A few years ago, I saw a technology applied to the storage and transportation of hydrogen.  I never thought about the industry and took me a long time to understand the market potential.  Now thinking back, that is more than a worthwhile project. The industry research is showing there is an increase in Hydrogen stations and the manufacture of Hydrogen Fuel Vehicles.  California is the model state that has a statewide link of stations.  Holywood is now catching on the bandwagon and has even started a business that leases Hydrogen vehicles to the rich and famous for creating a trend.  We all know who these trends can create revolutions that snowballs into a mass hysteria of “I want these cars because they are trendy” scenario. After doing my first research into Hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicles, I have argued that this could well be better than EV.  The history of hydrogen tanks blowing up is no more.  The cost of using the Hydrogen Fuel Cell is negligible.  The only issue is the cost of producing Hydrogen.  However, like all technology, when there is a commercial win, the market usually funds the solution, and that seems to be the happening process from what I am reading. The Japanese industry is also looking at Hydrogen Fuel Cell because the dense nature of the cities is not going to allow generous space for recharging stations.  The adaptations of existing stations for refuelling hydrogen makes perfect sense.  This is also the case in all the densely populated spaces such as New York.  This ability to use existing infrastructure will make Hydrogen Fuel Cells more practical. Remember that refuelling will be less than five5 minutes as opposed to significantly more minutes for EV. This resurgence to the Hydrogen Fuel Cell energy source could make the brine lithium industry more competitive and be more “investable” than the traditional spodumene deposits.  The downside with that statement is that if the technology does not work, the brine lithium sector will not end well.  Irrespective, if the Hydrogen Fuel Cell revolution happens, I don’t see the lithium market, in general, making any bullish runs. Disclaimer The information or opinions provided herein do not constitute investment advice, an offer or solicitation to subscribe for, purchase or sell the investment product(s) mentioned herein. It does not take into consideration, nor have any regard to your specific investment objectives, financial situation, risk profile, tax position and particular, or unique needs and constraints. Read full Disclaimer. www.samso.com.au If you find this article informative and useful, please help me share the information.  I try and write about topics that are interesting and have the potential to be of investment value.  It is not easy to find stories that fit those parameters. If you or your organisation see the benefit of what Samso is trying to achieve and have a need to share your journey, please contact me on noel.ong@samso.com.au . About Samso

Coffee with Samso Episode 1 with Mark Strizek, ex-Managing Director of Vital Metals This is the first episode of Coffee with Samso.  Samso will have a coffee with someone and have a conversation about what’s happening in the resource sector and general topics of interest.  It is a simple coffee conversation with no formalisation of style. In this first Episode for Coffee with Samso, I chat with Mark Strizek who was the ex-Managing Director of Vital Metals who had the Watershed Tungsten market.  We discussed the tungsten market in general and what is the future demand, supply and project viability. Mark has a lot of experience in the tungsten market as he dealt extensively with the Chinese looking at how to improve processing tungsten for the Watershed Tungsten project. He is a man with a wealth of insights into the sector that is not readily available in the market.  It is worth the whole 18 minutes. I hope you enjoy the chat and the topics were useful. Individual Segments for Episode 001 Coffee With Samso Ep 001_ 01_Introduction Coffee With Samso Ep 001_02_Mark Strizek talks about his experience with Chinese Tungsten experts. Coffee With Samso Ep 001_03_Solution to Low-Grade Tungsten Projects Coffee With Samso Ep 001_04_Dealing with impurities in Tungsten projects. Coffee With Samso Ep 001_05_Tungsten Projects Coffee With Samso Ep 001_06_Australian Tungsten Projects and the Tungsten market. Coffee With Samso Ep 001_07_Tungsten market and Conclusion PODCAST Disclaimer The information or opinions provided herein do not constitute investment advice, an offer or solicitation to subscribe for, purchase or sell the investment product(s) mentioned herein. It does not take into consideration, nor have any regard to your specific investment objectives, financial situation, risk profile, tax position and particular, or unique needs and constraints. Read full Disclaimer. www.samso.com.au If you find this article informative and useful, please help me share the information.  I try and write about topics that are interesting and have the potential to be of investment value.  It is not easy to find stories that fit those parameters. If you or your organisation see the benefit of what Samso is trying to achieve and have a need to share your journey, please contact me on noel.ong@samso.com.au. About Samso

For the moment you can be forgiven in thinking that the much-anticipated depletion or commodities shortage is more a mirage than a reality. The situation feels like someone copying a famous quote and then not crediting the author. The phrase “Commodities Shortage” seem to resonate excitement and fear in the market, but there does not appear to be any substance, for now. It is a bit like a case of Missing In Action. The lithium and cobalt space was once great and had a lot of fanfare in the last two years. However, when you look at the market conditions, you will have to think that the lithium and cobalt market has come to some equilibrium. I don’t see that rush that was present previously. All the content on the subject has been taken off the screen. A comment I heard from a very respected resource group said one should not bother with cobalt. The DRC now can turn that on and off. Go chase nickel. I am fully on board with that. According to Reuters, Tesla is trying to cut its use of cobalt. The US electric carmaker said that it needs more nickel. For those that have read my earlier Insights, they would have remembered that I am a big fan of Nickel, Copper and Zinc. Although, I am losing faith with Zinc.  This lost in faith is because I think that the present stream of suppliers may fill any future shortages. Nickel and Copper, on the other hand, have been the main components of human civilisation, and they will continue to fill that role. That is my opinion, anyway. You can have an electric or a hydrogen vehicle and not have or have very little lithium and cobalt, but you cannot have no or little nickel and copper. Copper Copper pricing is just coming to its 50% retracement from 2015, and it will be interesting to see if it takes off positively from here. The bottom was in 2016, so it has only been less than three years of recovery. Although May 2019 has not been a good month, with Copper dropping from US$6,400 to almost US$6,000. It has since recovered, but I think there will be some weakness still to come. There is no doubt that this trade war happening is creating headaches on both sides. Trump is doing what most bullies do with lots of noise and China is doing what people who know they have absolute power is doing. The stand-off will remain, and the markets will keep reacting to every word. People talk about LME decline and deficit in supply, but what I see in the market is weakness and steady growth in pricing when it is recovering. There is no signs of a deficit issue nor a shortage of supply issue. Like the iron-ore pricing, some people would say the surge in pricing is more to do with a supply issue than a demand resurgence. I wrote an article recently, Shortage In Metals and I could not explain the rapid decline in supply and rather slow and half-hearted rise in pricing. Now I think that the demand is not there more so than a shortage in supply. According to Reuters, • COPPER STOCKS: Copper inventories in warehouses approved by the London Metal Exchange (LME) MCUSTX-TOTAL on Friday hit 203,750 tonnes, its lowest since April 25, the latest data showed. • COPPER DEFICIT: The copper market should see a deficit of 189,000 tonnes this year, widening to 250,000 tonnes in 2020, the International Copper Study Group said on Monday Copper Producers The copper producers are very dull. They are all the big players, and they are either in Latin America or Africa. Sandfire Resources (ASX: SFR) is a copper and gold miner, but their mine life is now limited. There is Oz Minerals (AX: OZL) who is a large company with big mines. Probably not too much upside in capital growth but still a good investment for steady growth. Apart from those two companies, I can’t think of anyone else. There is BHP, but they are boring. 🙂 Copper Explorers I just don’t see too many of these copper explorers as exciting. As I said, when you look at all the copper mines, they are big and all discovered from deep drilling stuff. The Olympic Dam story is one that comes to mind. Some explorers could have a good chance, such as Ausmex Mining Group (ASX: AMG) of which I am a shareholder. I am hoping for big things with this company but I will say that the exit from that stock will be when they hit great grades and the share price blossom. The other exit possibility is that a big brother comes over and say thank you very much. Nickel The Nickel price chart is also not so exciting. What I do see is a break in the downward trend but a slow movement up. I guess that is a good sign as recovery is quiet, and a good base building exercise is always a good thing. I like nickel as a commodity more so than copper because Nickel Sulphide (NiS) is harder to find than your average copper deposit. One could say that Latin American projects are always pretty copper-related. If the market supply does get tight, some of those projects will quickly reach the green light. Don’t forget the African projects. There are a few there that will become a player once the price allows it to happen. For Nickel, in my opinion, the best projects are the nickel sulphides variety, and there are not too many of those laying around in the paddocks. These are hard to find and hard to make economical. There are plenty of Nickel lateritic styles but the projects During the recent nickel pricing “crises”, those projects that held together were the high-grade NiS plays. This brings me to the town of Kambalda in, Western Australia is synonymous with the name nickel. It was here where the birth of the Komatiite nickel phenomenon took roots. I remember learning this in University, but as I was not such a great student ( I wish I were), I got lost with all the terminologies…etc. Anyway, my point is that NiS is the prize. The Kambalda story and the Forrestania story were great discoveries. They are what the likes of St George Mining Limited (ASX: SGQ) and Artemis Resources Limited (ASX: ARV) are looking to discover in their respective regions. I was looking at Rox Resource (ASX: ROX ) but they seem to have taken a strange turn to go into Younmi Gold mine. That has got to be the most interesting move as my thoughts of that project is refractory and isolation. There are some oxides but that is going to make it worst as you have a bag of two ore types. Unless you are flush with cash, you want to be one or the other. They have seemed to have taken the focus away from the Mt Fisher project. I think that is a mistake as I do think that the demand for nickel is going to come. The lateritic nickel game is just too big. Indonesia and the Philipines are major sources of these type of deposits. The downside for them is that they are plague with issues, political, local corruption, greed, you name it. The interest in this sector took a turn for the positive as all of these deposits have some cobalt. Some deposits have more and when the cobalt price was running, these were a cobalt and not a nickel project. Nickel Producers The main stayers such as Western Areas Limited (ASX: WSA) – two of the highest grade underground nickel mines in the world, Flying Fox and Spotted Quoll mines, near Forrestania. Mincor Resources NL (ASX: MCR) – several ex-WMC mines all near Kambalda. Panoramic Resources Limited (ASX: PAN) – Savannah (East Kimberley), Lanfranchi,[18] Gidgee and Copernicus mines. Independence Group Limited (ASX: IGO) – Long Nickel mine (ex-WMC) near Kambalda. MMC Norilsk Nickel (Not listed on the ASX) – Emily Ann and Maggie Hays nickel mines. BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) – Mount Keith Mine and Leinster Nickel Mine. Minara Resources /Glencore – Murrin Murrin Joint Venture. First Quantum Minerals (took over from BHP Billiton in 2009) (TSX: FM) – Ravensthorpe Nickel Mine. Poseidon Nickel Limited (ASX: POS) – Windara Nickel Project (currently under care and maintenance). I would say that the best on that list has to be WSA. I remember in 2015 when I went to one of the conferences on Nickel and was surprised to learn what a great buy WSA. The geology was fantastic and it was by far the best project I had ever since in terms of grade and peer comparison. I still think the same. I was a shareholder for a period of time and traded out of that 12 months ago. Explorers As I have mentioned, in the explorer’s sector, I like St George Mining Limited (ASX: SGQ) and Artemis Resources Limited (ASX: ARV) . The two companies have what I call a region that is known for nickel mineralisation. Nickel is so hard to find, it small and it’s like a pod and not continually mineralised in a continuous manner. Looking for a high-grade deposit is not easy and it’s better to be in a known space rather than not, in a simplistic way of thinking. What I don’t like about Kambalda and Forrestania region for new explorers is that WMC, Western Mining Corporation, who were taken over by BHP would have looked at most of the low hanging fruit prospects. The chances of finding are lower. I agree that there are still holes and these holes are definitely there, it’s just that these holes would be less prevalent. WMC would have been very diligent and persistent in their search. There are some other explorers but I have not looked much at them so I can’t comment. Maybe I will do some research on them at a later date. My Thoughts The shortage that people speak about in commodities does exist, in terms of stock levels. However, when you talk about world resource, there is plenty. Copper is everywhere and there is a good supply in the ground. The LME stock levels will change but I don’t think it is a measure of availability. What the LME levels tell us is the demand from the market. China in the space of 30 years now dictates the way of the world. It dictates the same way as we how when the Dow Jones sneezes and the ASX catches a cold. When China is not buying the world commodity market goes back significantly. The world market as we know it now is not the same as the way of the old. What economists love to do is to look back and then say that is how it is. Who would have known that little old China 30 years ago will today be a power in almost everything but speaking fluent English? Listing what they are good and not good is now a waste of time. The domestic market in China is suffering and have been for at least three years and possibly five. The trade war is not making it any better. This trade war hurts everyone but Trumps political and personal profile aspiration. It is absurd to think that the trading partners, the “allies” of the US are not hurting. The farmers that he is protecting are suffering. On the other end of the war, the Chinese are hurting….and the list goes on. The delay in shortages, the delay is a rising commodity pricing that we are all anticipating, need to take into account that demand is not there for the moment. The proposed demand rises that are being proposed by the economists and promoters of companies are wrong. All the so-called projections are off because domestic demand in China is down due to factors that are not market driven. Factors such as a need to meet environmental measures and in China, which is not a free market, businesses are “required” to comply. If you don’t comply, you are out of business. There are no market forces to do this. Subsidies are taken away so your factory of EV vehicle manufacturing is not less profitable. You are going to use less of everything. The good news to this is that you will get premium on high-grade coal, high-grade iron ore, items that are environmentally better. The zinc story is classic. The supply crunch sort of never came. There are so many moving parts now that I feel is contributing to the lack of obvious signs. In some ways, it is confusing and complicating the market at the same time. What I do see is opportunities to get into things that are not apparent. It feels like when people were looking at lithium when the obvious was not happening. I called that nickel will be the best flavour two years ago. I think this is still the case as the market is reequilibrating. Disclaimer The information or opinions provided herein do not constitute investment advice, an offer or solicitation to subscribe for, purchase or sell the investment product(s) mentioned herein. It does not take into consideration, nor have any regard to your specific investment objectives, financial situation, risk profile, tax position and particular, or unique needs and constraints. Read full Disclaimer. www.samso.com.au If you find this article informative and useful, please help me share the information.  I try and write about topics that are interesting and have the potential to be of investment value.  It is not easy to find stories that fit those parameters. If you or your organisation see the benefit of what Samso is trying to achieve and have a need to share your journey, please contact me on noel.ong@samso.com.au . About Samso

Kryptonite is a sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide with fluorine and it a mineral that is harmful only to superheroes Well, the only one I know of that is affected by the green mineral is Superman.  The internet tells me Kryptonite has a chemistry that is similar to another REAL mineral.  That real mineral is Jadarite, which is a white, earthy monoclinic silicate mineral, whose chemical formula is LiNaSiB3O7(OH) or Na2OLi2O(SiO2)2(B2O3)3H2O. Jadarite is a Lithium and Boron mineral that at this moment, is only found in Serbia at a mine that is called Jadar.  Jadarite has a mineralisation style that is very different from spodumene and Brine Lithium. It is probably more in common with a Mississippi Valley Type or MVT. MVT deposits typically are in districts covering hundreds, or even thousands, of square kilometres. What this means is that it appears to be very sedimentary and has nothing to do with pegmatites nor salt lakes. I have looked at two projects that are next to Jadar, but they have been very green in nature.  The latest project that I saw is just waiting on some soil sample results to come back, sometime this month. Some of the results are looking promising.  This source of lithium is different. Hence one would want to wonder if this type of lithium geology could be replicated elsewhere. As an exploration geologist, I would take a step further and say, what if another commodity could have a Kryptonite cousin.  Imagine if there is another form of cobalt or tungsten or nickel etc. Who would have thought that you could have found Jadarite? These thoughts are what excites me about exploration and the discovery of the unknown. Jadarite In December 2004, drill core from the Jadar Valley (Serbian: Јадар) in Serbia, unearth a new mineral called Jadarite. Jadar is 10 km (6.2 mi) southwest of the Cer mountain. Findings were initially located in the villages of Jarebice and Slatina and later in Draginac. Exploration geologists from Rio Tinto Exploration discovered the mineral as small rounded nodules in drill core and were unable to match it with previously known minerals. Jadarite was confirmed as a new mineral after scientists at the Natural History Museum in London and the National Research Council of Canada conducted tests on it.  Chris Stanley, from the Natural History Museum, described Jadarite as being unique to mineralogy. There are not a lot of public information on the project as you would expect with Rio Tinto being the owner of the project.  It has taken a long time to get to this stage and yet there have not been any signs of real mining.  The main issue with the project is the mineralogy as it is both lithium and Boron.  Jadar is a large project. The resource at Jadar is currently are 21 Mt of B2O3-equivalent and 2.5 Mt of Li2O-equivalent. Discovery Story (Source: Rio Tinto) As I have always said, exploration is the only game in town that will deliver exponential value to shareholders.  It is exceptionally risky, but in the scheme of the value you may create, it is not a significant outlay of investment.  In repeating my rant on investments in “old production assets”, – The Golden Pineapple – Exploration or Production Projects . – I do believe that exploration, in reality, is not that risky, assuming you have the right management team. I have taken the excerpt below from Rio Tinto as it defines what I like about exploration and is pretty much a great depiction of how Jadar was discovered. Nenad Grubin has vivid memories of the moment he and his Serbian-based team discovered a new mineral that British scientists would later dub kryptonite (more of that curious story later). Nenad and his fellow explorers from Rio Tinto had spent months looking for evidence of borates in the Jadar Valley, wading through creeks and examining rocky outcrops. By September 2004 they’d found sufficient evidence of the in-demand metal to justify the expensive process of exploratory drilling. “We had enough money to drill two holes. In the first one we found what we hoped would be there – a substantial intersection of boron mineralisation. It was a phenomenal moment,” recalls Nenad. There were more sensations to come. In the second drill hole, they found a substance that contained both borates and what would become one of the world’s hottest metals, lithium, which is an important component of lithium ion batteries. The discovery of a world-class deposit of borates and lithium, which was named Jadar after the Serbian valley in which it was found, was later supported through the work of a dedicated Rio Tinto project team. Conclusion When this project starts to produce, it will supply 10% of the market.  Currently, almost 100M has been spent on the project to get it to its current pre-feasibility stage.  Jadar will see lithium carbonate and boric acid produced from the mined ore.  Lithium is increasingly being used to produce batteries for electric vehicles and mobile phones, while borates are essential components for heat-resistant glass, fibreglass and smartphone screens. Whatever the case, this is a significant discovery, and Rio Tinto has spent a lot of time and money to unravel the chemistry to create real value.  There is some negative news noting that this project will never take off, but I feel that those thoughts are unwarranted.  This project will be in production.  It’s just a matter of time.  From a geological point of view, this shows how versatile this planet of ours is and Exploration Discover Deposits . Disclaimer The information or opinions provided herein do not constitute investment advice, an offer or solicitation to subscribe for, purchase or sell the investment product(s) mentioned herein. It does not take into consideration, nor have any regard to your specific investment objectives, financial situation, risk profile, tax position and particular, or unique needs and constraints. Read full Disclaimer. www.samso.com.au If you find this article informative and useful, please help me share the information.  I try and write about topics that are interesting and have the potential to be of investment value.  It is not easy to find stories that fit those parameters. If you or your organisation see the benefit of what Samso is trying to achieve and have a need to share your journey, please contact me on noel.ong@samso.com.au . About Samso

Coffee with Samso Episode 1 with Mark Strizek In this segment of Coffee with Samso, Mark Strizek and Samso discuss the issues and solutions of low grade and impurities that are common in many tungsten projects.  There are few projects that appear to be clean and of sufficient grades.  Beneficiation by ore sorting is a fairly simple solution that can make substandard grades become more than economical.  However, some projects have impurities that will not allow ore sorting to be effective. Tungsten projects are very sensitive to the chemistry of all the minerals present. Unfortunately, the nature of the current tungsten deposits out in the market place tend to have one issue or another.  Take King Island’s Dolphin project. Good grades, in fact, the grade is better than very good but why has it not happened for all this time. Their ore cannot be sorted but they have the highest grade that I know of in the tungsten space. Maybe their time is now just around the corner? In this segment, the discussion is centred around these thoughts. I hope this short excerpt will give viewers good feedback.  The full episode can be seen in the links below. Full Version of Episode 001 of Coffee with Samso Individual Segments for Episode 001 Coffee With Samso Ep 001_ 01_Introduction Coffee With Samso Ep 001_02_Mark Strizek talks about his experience with Chinese Tungsten experts. Coffee With Samso Ep 001_03_Solution to Low-Grade Tungsten Projects Coffee With Samso Ep 001_04_Dealing with impurities in Tungsten projects. Coffee With Samso Ep 001_05_Tungsten Projects Coffee With Samso Ep 001_06_Australian Tungsten Projects and the Tungsten market. Coffee With Samso Ep 001_07_Tungsten market and Conclusion Disclaimer The information or opinions provided herein do not constitute investment advice, an offer or solicitation to subscribe for, purchase or sell the investment product(s) mentioned herein. It does not take into consideration, nor have any regard to your specific investment objectives, financial situation, risk profile, tax position and particular, or unique needs and constraints. Read full Disclaimer. www.samso.com.au If you find this article informative and useful, please help me share the information.  I try and write about topics that are interesting and have the potential to be of investment value.  It is not easy to find stories that fit those parameters. If you or your organisation see the benefit of what Samso is trying to achieve and have a need to share your journey, please contact me on noel.ong@samso.com.au. About Samso

Making it simpler to view Coffee with Samso To help out subscribers, I have separated the episode into headings: Individual Segments for Episode 001 Coffee With Samso Ep 001_ 01_Introduction Coffee With Samso Ep 001_02_Mark Strizek talks about his experience with Chinese Tungsten experts Coffee With Samso Ep 001_03_Solution to Low-Grade Tungsten Projects Coffee With Samso Ep 001_04_Dealing with impurities in Tungsten projects. Coffee With Samso Ep 001_05_Tungsten Projects Coffee With Samso Ep 001_06_Australian Tungsten Projects and the Tungsten market. Coffee With Samso Ep 001_07_Tungsten market and Conclusion Disclaimer The information or opinions provided herein do not constitute investment advice, an offer or solicitation to subscribe for, purchase or sell the investment product(s) mentioned herein. It does not take into consideration, nor have any regard to your specific investment objectives, financial situation, risk profile, tax position and particular, or unique needs and constraints. Read full Disclaimer. www.samso.com.au If you find this article informative and useful, please help me share the information.  I try and write about topics that are interesting and have the potential to be of investment value.  It is not easy to find stories that fit those parameters. If you or your organisation see the benefit of what Samso is trying to achieve and have a need to share your journey, please contact me on noel.ong@samso.com.au. About Samso

Coffee with Samso Episode 1 with Mark Strizek In this segment, Samso and Mark Strizek discuss why Australian projects may have CAPEX advantages over the other projects in the world.  As I mentioned before, in the tungsten project world, the possibility of success is few and far between due to the complexity and geological nature of the deposits.  There are only a handful of good deposits that will be able to carry substance over the life of Mine. The Cantung mine and Mactung Deposit. The Cantung and Mactung deposits are extremely high-grade, but they are no longer in operation due to the high OPEX for both mines.  When Cantung was in service, it was by far the highest-grade producing mine. Mining reserves were grading in the 0.80% range as you can see in the table below. The Probable Mineral Reserves table from the website of the now-bankrupt company, North American Tungsten Corporation Limited is listed below.  Final products include a premium gravity concentrate (G1), containing on average, 65% WO3; a flotation concentrate containing, on average, 35% WO3 and a copper concentrate averaging 28% Cu. The Mactung deposit was never mined, from what I can remember. I could be very wrong here. The project had a resource of 33Mt @ 0.88%WO3.  The Mactung Project was forecast to run at 2,000 tonnes per day from an underground operation using conventional long hole plus cut and fill mining methods. The ore will be processed into both a premium gravity concentrate (67% WO3) and a flotation concentrate (55% WO3). According to the information on the North American Tungsten website, the Mactung deposit fact sheet indicated that the Feasibility study came up with the following points, Mine life is 11.2 years for the underground mine with the potential to expand by 17 years with an open pit, exploiting near the surface, lower grade indicated and inferred mineral resources. The capital expenditure estimate is comprised of a project capital cost of CDN$356.5 million plus a contingency of CDN$45.6 million. Based on an 11.2-year mine life and the base case parameters, the project’s pre-tax net present value is calculated as follows: Discount Rate Pre-Tax Net Present Value 8% CDN$276.8 million 6% CDN$346.4 million The development cost for the mine is high, and with the current tungsten price, one would argue that such high risk would not be helping owners of the project to find capital. Barruecopardo Tungsten Project The Barruecopardo Tungsten Project by Ormonde, which appears to be a low-cost tungsten mining project is now in the advanced stage of construction. When fully operational, Barruecopardo will account for around 13% of the non-Chinese global supply of tungsten concentrates. The new mine development is based on an initial open pit mining operation with a 9-year mine life, producing 260,000 metric tonne units (“mtu”) of tungsten trioxide (WO3) per year, or 2,060 tonnes of tungsten metal, contained in a high-quality concentrate, following a one year ramp-up period. Ormonde holds a 30% interest in the Project company, Saloro SLU, which is funded to develop the mine through a US$100 million financing package provided by funds managed by 70% joint venture partner Oaktree Capital Management. This project has taken a long time to get to this stage. Around 2013, this project was already ready to be mined, but for some reason, it never happened.  In my time within the tungsten industry, I have always wondered why several of these “better grade” deposits/projects never happened. The Sangdong Mine (Source: Wikipedia) The Sangdong mine located in South Korea is one of the largest tungsten mines in the world.  The Sangdong tungsten deposit was discovered in 1916.  The mine is located 187 km southeast of Seoul, approximately three hours’ drive via expressways and local sealed high ways. Temperatures rise to a maximum of about 30℃ during the wet summer months of June to August. The winter period is relatively dry and extends from October to March, with freezing temperatures occurring during the period December to March. After a decade from mine closure,  mining rights of Sangdong mine were acquired by Woulfe Mining Corporation via Sewoo Mining Corporation in 2006 and established its wholly owned subsidiary, Almonty Korea Tungsten Corporation (ex-Sangdong Mining Corporation). Almonty Industries, specialising in tungsten projects with operation mine in Spain, Australia and Portugal, completes the acquisition of Woulfe Mining Corporation in September 2015. All information and data along with many detail investigation and analysis about Sangdong mine which had been closed for over 15 years were well organised and summarised in the “Feasibility study” and “NI 43-101 Technical report” drawn up by Almonty Industries. The Sangdong project was the project that sparked a lot of interest due to the link of Warren Buffett.  One of his companies was looking at the project and created a lot of attention.  Structurally it has some complexity, but as Mark mentioned, it looked like Almonty has worked out what they need to do. While we are mentioning Almonty, it is also appropriate to say that they are the only company that has multiple mineable tungsten projects.  They also own the Los Santos project in Spain and the Panasqueira Mine in Portugal. Conclusion I could go on for a long time talking about all these deposits, but I hope this will give readers a start if more research is your thing.  Otherwise, I hope I have given some context to this segment of my conversation with Mark Strizek.  I have included the links to the other parts below. The tungsten industry is a very small unique sector as there are only a handful of players and the opaque nature of the tungsten pricing and the market, in general, makes it hard for investors to find a good company to back.  I am guessing that the Australian projects will soon become world players once this uncertainty starts to settle down. You can view the other segments of the conversation via the links below. Individual Segments for Episode 001 Coffee With Samso Ep 001_ 01_Introduction Coffee With Samso Ep 001_02_Mark Strizek talks about his experience with Chinese Tungsten experts. Coffee With Samso Ep 001_03_Solution to Low-Grade Tungsten Projects Coffee With Samso Ep 001_04_Dealing with impurities in Tungsten projects. Coffee With Samso Ep 001_05_Tungsten Projects Coffee With Samso Ep 001_06_Australian Tungsten Projects and the Tungsten market. Coffee With Samso Ep 001_07_Tungsten market and Conclusion PODCAST Disclaimer The information or opinions provided herein do not constitute investment advice, an offer or solicitation to subscribe for, purchase or sell the investment product(s) mentioned herein. It does not take into consideration, nor have any regard to your specific investment objectives, financial situation, risk profile, tax position and particular, or unique needs and constraints. Read full Disclaimer. www.samso.com.au If you find this article informative and useful, please help me share the information.  I try and write about topics that are interesting and have the potential to be of investment value.  It is not easy to find stories that fit those parameters. If you or your organisation see the benefit of what Samso is trying to achieve and have a need to share your journey, please contact me on noel.ong@samso.com.au. About Samso

Coffee with Samso Episode 1 The Australian Tungsten projects are a little bit of a mystery for me.  When you do some research on the market, one could be forgiven to think why would anyone want to play in this space. The price is not favourable and the market is not very receptive to supply.  The Chinese market views the tungsten sector in a much different way to the rest of the world.  The way this work is that China appears to have the upper hand. They have the bulk of world resource and the absolute dominance on demand dynamics. In Australia, there is no doubt that the stand out project has been King Island Scheelite’s (ASX: KIS) Dolphin project.  The information that is in the public domain appears to be very good. What everyone cannot understand is why is this not being developed.  The current pricing may not be the best but with those grades, one would think that you could make some money. King Island is the most western large island in the Bass Strait, located between Victoria and Tasmania. The Dolphin Project is situated on the south-east coast of the island, near the mining town of Grassy. The Dolphin Tungsten Mine operated between 1917 and 1992 when it was closed due to extremely low tungsten prices, rather than a lack of reserves. Over the last few years, KIS has concentrated on optimising a redevelopment strategy for the Dolphin Tungsten Project, which contains a JORC 2012 compliant Mineral Reserves of 3.14Mt at a grade of 0.73% WO3 (at 0.2% cut-off). Mineral Resources, including the Mineral Reserves, total 9.6Mt at a grade of 0.90% WO3 (at 0.2% cut-off). The current development plan envisages an 8-year open cut mine producing a concentrate for supply into the Ammonium Paratungstate market. Tungsten Mining  (ASX: TGN) which bought the Watershed Tungsten project in Queensland is another player that is worth keeping on the watchlist.  They have raised some good money over the last 12-18 months so that should give them a good run at developing the projects that they hold in their portfolio. I am wondering why are that they still on a project acquisition trail with their recent announcement to enter Hatches Creek in the Nothern Territory. Disclaimer The information or opinions provided herein do not constitute investment advice, an offer or solicitation to subscribe for, purchase or sell the investment product(s) mentioned herein. It does not take into consideration, nor have any regard to your specific investment objectives, financial situation, risk profile, tax position and particular, or unique needs and constraints. Read full Disclaimer. www.samso.com.au If you find this article informative and useful, please help me share the information.  I try and write about topics that are interesting and have the potential to be of investment value.  It is not easy to find stories that fit those parameters. If you or your organisation see the benefit of what Samso is trying to achieve and have a need to share your journey, please contact me on noel.ong@samso.com.au. About Samso

Coffee with Samso Episode 2 with Paul Werndly, Naturopath, Healthy Cooking Coach and Educator In the second episode of Coffee with Samso, Paul Werndly is talking about the Glycemic Index (GI).  The term is widely used but not fully understood.  It is one of the most important measures that we should have to help us maintain a good diet and stay away from becoming a diabetic.  In China, nearly 11% of the population has diabetes and up to 39% are considered prediabetic.  That is over 300 million adults that fall into that category. Paul Werndly is a very astute and knowledgable person in the space.  I met him over at a function at the launch function held at No Menu Restaurant in Mount Lawley.  Fantastic food.   We got talking and we found that we had a good understanding of where the health and food industry is heading so we thought that it was a good idea to have a Coffee with Samso. What I want to highlight in this conversation is three main points,  firstly it is the understanding of what GI is and what it can do to help monitor our sugar intake.  Secondly, it is the topic of what is the consequence of not monitoring our sugar levels.  The last point is the commercial upside for companies that are swimming in this space. If you thought that the milk “gold rush” was attractive, you have got to understand what this “diabetic” issue will mean to a company selling products that can reduce this issue. Companies such as Hollista Colltech (ASX: HCT), the Sunrice Group, Ricegrowers Limited (ASX: SGL) and CSR (ASX: CSR) are some of the companies that I have looked at who are supplying low Gi products. I hope you find the information useful and please share and leave comments. What is GI? Rice and Glycemic Index The diabetic problem in China and Malaysian Favourites Conclusion PODCAST You can listen to the conversation via a podcast below. Paul Werndly – Details Paul Werndly ND is a Naturopath, Healthy Cooking Coach and an Educator with 25 years of experience. He has lectured in all areas of Natural Medicine, history and philosophy. Paul has also been a journalist for the West Australian Newspapers and a Natural Health Professional. His speaking experience ranges from corporate presentations, cooking classes, designing and presenting short courses and seminars. He has worked with businesses such as Chevron, Gorgon Project, The City of Perth, Disabilities Services, Red Cross, Royal Flying Doctors Holy Name Child Care and many other corporate entities. Paul has also worked in cafes, organic food stores, restaurants and as a healthy cooking coach for over two decades. He has also authored two books on social psychology and social dynamics. Paul Werndly has the following details, https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-werndly-625a9b19/ https://www.facebook.com/PaulWerndlyND/ Email: natural.healhcare@hotmail.com What is the Glycemic Index (GI)? According to Diabetes Australia, the following is the definition of GI, The glycemic index or GI ranks carbohydrates according to their effect on blood glucose levels. The lower the GI, the slower the rise in blood glucose levels will be when the food is consumed. The effect may differ from person to person. Diabetes Australia recommends that people with diabetes have moderate amounts of carbohydrate and include high fibre foods that also have a low GI (not all high fibre foods have a low GI). Some research has shown that by eating a diet with a lower GI, people with diabetes can reduce their average blood glucose levels. This is important in reducing the risk of developing diabetes-related complications. GI numbers are to be used as a guide only as individual foods do not have the same response in all people with diabetes. What is low and what is high GI? Low GI foods are foods with a GI less than 55. Intermediate GI foods are foods with a GI between 55 and 70. High GI foods are foods with a GI greater than 70. Disclaimer The information or opinions provided herein do not constitute investment advice, an offer or solicitation to subscribe for, purchase or sell the investment product(s) mentioned herein. It does not take into consideration, nor have any regard to your specific investment objectives, financial situation, risk profile, tax position and particular, or unique needs and constraints. Read full Disclaimer. www.samso.com.au If you find this article informative and useful, please help me share the information.  I try and write about topics that are interesting and have the potential to be of investment value.  It is not easy to find stories that fit those parameters. If you or your organisation see the benefit of what Samso is trying to achieve and have a need to share your journey, please contact me on noel.ong@samso.com.au. About Samso

Rare earth elements like scandium, neodymium, and dysprosium are used in numerous products like smartphones, electric car motors, wind turbines, satellites and jet engines. These 17 prized metals are looking to be China’s biggest bargaining chip in winning the trade war and offer a great investment opportunity. Our team has uncovered a company that is poised to benefit from the current situation and believe this is stock is set to surge.  Chinese rare earth prices are set to climb further beyond multi-year highs. Demand is forecast to increase all while an embargo can cut off much of the needed supply creating an ideal situation for those this company. Big Threats and Big Consequences China Supplies at least 95% of the world’s rare earths and the escalating trade war between the two superpowers presents an opportunity for investors. The key role these minerals play in many products means China could strike a heavy blow against the US. On May 29th the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party made their third threat “The U.S. must not underestimate the ability of the Chinese side to hit back” The US is extremely dependant on critical mineral imports and many experts believe they will move forward with an embargo. If China was to stop exports to the US for a long period of time it could cause a huge shock to the entire US economy. The national security concerns are enormous and the government is searching for solutions. With this move China can effectively shoot-down the entire F-35 stealth fighter production program, missile systems and satellite development. The US is looking elsewhere for supply Increasing trade with allies and partners will help reduce the likelihood of disruption to critical mineral supply chains. The US has a historical trade relationship and geographic proximity with Canada and experts believe that supply chains will be shifted over the next 12 months. Just this month the US laid out  a federal strategy  to ensure secure and reliable supplies of Critical Minerals that mentioned Canada as a key supply option. Defence Metals Corp. TSXV: DEFN OTCQB: DFMTF FSE: 35D Defense Metals is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition of mineral deposits containing metals and elements commonly used in the electric power market, military, national security and the production of green energy technologies, such as high-strength alloys and rare earth magnets. The company is able to capitalize on the current macro changes in the Rare Earth market through its Wicheeda Property in British Columbia. The Wicheeda Property consists of 6 mineral claims covering an area of 1,780 hectares, located approximately 80 km northwest of the city of Prince George, British Columbia. The company recently received a 5yr exploration permit (in May 2019) for the Wicheeda property which includes approval for up to 51 drill site locations. The company had $800k at the end of 2018 and is now very well cashed up upon completion of a $1million dollar Private Placement. Drilling will commence this summer which means many potential catalysts that can drive the stock price up.  Project Highlights 2 specific rare earth minerals Monazite and Bastnasite-Parisite with 60% of the REE contained in Monazite and 40% in Bastnasite-Parisite Results from a recent 30-tonne bulk sample include 1.77% lanthanum-oxide, 2.34% cerium-oxide, 0.52% neodymium-oxide, and 0.18% praseodymium-oxide which the Company considers potentially economically significant, for a total of 4.81% LREO (light rare-earth oxide) Extensive local infrastructure – Roads, Railway, Water, Power, Natural Gas and Labour Share Structure There are 23.75M shares outstanding and currently, insiders and friendlies hold roughly 75% or 18mm shares. The float of this stock is very small coming in at only 6 million meaning that this stock is susceptible to large gains. Bottom Line The growth potential in Rare Earths in North America can lead to profits for investors looking to take advantage of the Macro effects of the Trade War. DEFN has a proven asset base, large resource and major exploration program already underway. This stock’s small $3.8 million dollar market capitalization has the potential to skyrocket. Disclaimer The information or opinions provided herein do not constitute investment advice, an offer or solicitation to subscribe for, purchase or sell the investment product(s) mentioned herein. It does not take into consideration, nor have any regard to your specific investment objectives, financial situation, risk profile, tax position and particular, or unique needs and constraints. Read full Disclaimer. www.samso.com.au If you find this article informative and useful, please help me share the information.  I try and write about topics that are interesting and have the potential to be of investment value.  It is not easy to find stories that fit those parameters. If you or your organisation see the benefit of what Samso is trying to achieve and have a need to share your journey, please contact me on noel.ong@samso.com.au . About Samso

Almost 25 years ago, I fell in love with the Fancy Yellow Diamond.  A colleague introduced me to the hobby of selling diamonds in 1994, and I met some fascinating people in that part of my life.  There was this dealer in Melbourne (who later past away with cancer), who was a nice person, introduced me to these fancy yellow stones and I have never forgotten them. As you can see in the picture above, what is there not to like.  The colour is so enticing.  My fascination or obsession with yellow diamonds is the colour, the intense and consistent colouring that creates beauty over a colourless stone.  This fascination is more than cosmetic.  It is the fact that in nature, the act of having inclusion of nitrogen in the crystal structure created what we would call a defect. A defect in the crystal structure that was so consistent that it created a work of such beauty. Some Samso fact on Diamonds? To understand a Yellow diamond, one needs to follow some minor things. Diamonds are not stable at normal temperature and pressures. Normal as in on your finger.  On your finger, your diamond is technically turning to graphite/carbon.  It will take a long time to do that, but what you are wearing is technically a defect item :-).  There is no shortage of diamonds, but with a tight marketing system, prices are kept at enterprising values.  This system is a win-win system. Natural diamonds come in all sort of shapes and sizes.  They also come in different chemistry. Clear white stones are traditionally the most sought after diamonds (Figure 1).  While there are differences in colour between D, E, and F diamonds, they can be detected only by a gemologist in side by side comparisons, and rarely by the untrained eye.   Remember this statement when you go and buy your diamond cause while they look similar, the pricing from a D to an F is dramatically different. Most retail diamond “experts” will tell you that when buying a good diamond, the clarity (Figure 2) is essential.  They are correct, but a stone that has an IF (Internally Flawless) Clarity with G Colour may be just as excellent but cheaper than a D and IF.  Those that tell you that you should buy it for investment need their head examined.  The only value diamond rings hold sentimental value.  I am sure all jewellers out there will disagree with me, but unfortunately, that is the truth, and those people that have tried to sell their rings will attest to that statement. For me, the beauty of the stone, the setting and the story of the stone or the story of the occasion are what determines a buy.  The photo of the ring below was purchased because it was a stone from Blina, a known diamond project that has ceased operation.  In my opinion, that history of the stone set in a ring gives more added value that a stone that has no source history. Fancy Yellow Diamonds Yellow diamonds are deemed “fancy” when a stone displays more colour than the “Z” colour grade based on the GIA D-Z colour grade scale. Why? Because it makes more sense, and really, all diamonds should be graded for their face up colour. But it is much harder to do.  It is when they are in the Fancy range where they gain their value. Fancy is the term that describes the intensity of the colour and the price for these stones will tend to rise rapidly.  The Fancy Yellows are “rare”, and consistent Fancy colour is hard to find. I mean a naturally sourced stone. Yellow diamonds are the second most common colour after brown diamonds.  Argyle Diamond Mine was the first to market the brown diamonds as Cognac and Champagne diamonds.  This marketing strategy was very effective in that it created the market for unwanted brown diamonds or non-gem quality stones.  When I see some of these stones, they are bringing a new perspective to the market that is just traditionally one type, one colour and one style of appreciation. The Fancy Yellow diamond marketability is strong.  When Tiffany, the jeweller, did an off-take with Ellendale Diamond Mine (not closed), they were reported to have paid up to $3,000 per carat for the fancy yellows coming out from the mine.  That is an indication of the demand for these stones.  Stones such as the one described below, the 34.17-carat yellow diamond, that is sourced from the Yakutia Region of Siberia, Russia, would have been worth a lot of money. Where do we find these Yellow diamonds? As we mentioned earlier, yellows are not rare. They are plentiful.  I wished I had taken a photographed the stones that were shown to me by the dealer in Melbourne in the mid-1990s.  The internet tells me that yellow diamonds are found primarily in Africa, including Angola, Central Africa, Congo, and Sierra Leone, but has also been discovered in Brazil, Australia, and Borneo . The Ellendale mine when it was operating supplied nearly 50% of the world supply.  The mine is no longer in operation.  My interest lies in the existing sources that are in Australia.  The Blina project and potentially looking at the Ellendale alluvials and pipes is exciting.  Companies such as Gibb River Diamonds (ASX: GIB) are active, but they are struggling to find funding.  The theory sounds great, and if proven to be accurate, you are going to see some exceptional stones.  A consistent supply of these yellow stones would be a valuable asset.  The old saying of One in a million, well finding a source of quality yellow stones in Australia would be one in a million. There have been several companies in the last eight years that are floating in the space of chasing the Ellendale and Blina alluvials.  I have not heard much about them. However, I did recently hear that some private company has picked up the Smoke Creek Alluvials. I looked at buying that project from the vendors three to four years ago.  The Smoke Creek alluvials have a resource, and this project holds some potential bonuses.  The likely discovery of the Argyl pink diamonds. I am sure that within the package od stones, there will be an abundant amount of browns as well.  In all the potentials out there, I am most optimistic with those that are trying to develop projects within the Ellendale and Blina diamond projects.  These are where the potential for discovering Fancy Yellows are the greatest and has the most history.  As they say, where there is smoke, there must be a fire.  At least a fire that potentially can be started. Disclaimer The information or opinions provided herein do not constitute investment advice, an offer or solicitation to subscribe for, purchase or sell the investment product(s) mentioned herein. It does not take into consideration, nor have any regard to your specific investment objectives, financial situation, risk profile, tax position and particular, or unique needs and constraints. Read full Disclaimer. www.samso.com.au If you find this article informative and useful, please help me share the information.  I try and write about topics that are interesting and have the potential to be of investment value.  It is not easy to find stories that fit those parameters. If you or your organisation see the benefit of what Samso is trying to achieve and have a need to share your journey, please contact me on noel.ong@samso.com.au . About Samso

Coffee with Samso Episode 1 The tungsten market has been something of a non-happening space of late.  The market at one stage looked like it was going to go for a run but somehow ran out of steam.  In 2018,  tungsten prices were reported to be around US340 MTU. However, the price seems to have taken a backward step to the US$300 mark.  The prevalent uncertainty is causing a lot of market participants to be uncommitted to projects. US-China Trade War The recent rumblings with the US-China trade war seem to have raised some issues that would give the tungsten market the feeling of some light at the end of the tunnel.  Take the Arafura Resources Limited (ASX:  ARU) who before China making what I called, “The Statement”  was closing its doors.  The day after that statement, the company was in full flight, and everything was going to happen.  Although that has not happened to the tungsten industry, I do feel that the flow down effect will catch on.  The gold price is now creating so much positivity that gold producing companies are laughing and celebrating. Environment and Mining in China Mining in China has always been a luxury as the demands of the government translated into the work of the people. In the 1990s when a friend of mine was working in China, he told me that the way it works in China was the government would say that they need an amount of ore and the company would go and mine it.  There was no need to be economical.  As the country has progressed into a first world economy, this kind of business would no longer be viable. The onset of a big push to clean the country up with environmental constraints has added to the cost of mining.  The ageing mines in China are now being scrutinised and are being pushed to perform in a cleaner environment.  We all know that the mines in China have been operating for a long time, and the cost of changing your mining and processing style to be cleaner is going to be interesting.  I do think that a lot of the ageing mines are going to be struggling to make the grade in Xi Jinping’s new and cleaner China. The new environmental requirements are not just the demand of the party but the new more educated and more prosperous people of China is also asking for the changes.  It is this level of demand the fuels my belief that the cost of mining will impact on future output. First world economies have been putting up with the extra cost of doing business with environmental constraints, and the new member of this exclusive club will have to learn to do it.  If it meant that you could no longer be the number one player anymore, you would have to live with it. China is a wealthy nation now and wants better living standards.  The citizens demand a better life and the Government intends to create a harmonious place for its citizen.  Changes will happen, and I think the world will slowly see the grip loosening in China. Growth outside China As the focus has been on the rise and rise of China and the demise of the US economy, what is not a consistent focus is the recent recovery of the US economy and the growth of India.  Infrastructure in the US has been neglected for decades and is in great need for upgrades.  This has been a brewing investment pathway that will lead to a resource resurgence that will give tungsten a breath of fresh air. When you look at India, which is now the most populous nation on the planet, I think there is going to be a surge for resources soon. One will argue that the investments will not be anywhere near the levels spent in China, and that is a true statement.  What I believe is that the new age growth is going to benefit the strategic metals. You are not going to make a lead rocket nor an aluminium rocket.  However, metals such as tungsten are going to find its place and this new growth may give tungsten its place in the modern world. The AUD For Australian investments, many investors have not caught onto the fact that Australian projects make money in AUD and the falling AUD is an excellent thing.  Take the gold price, it is currently at USD$ 1430, but when companies sell the gold, it’s over AUD$ 2,000.  This is all happening while the AISC (“all-in sustaining costs”) has not changed.  Australian tungsten miners will reap the same rewards when that differential is more apparent in the tungsten price. Coffee with Samso completes the conversation discussing the components that will make the tungsten market something to watch over the next 24 months.  Several factors would change the fortune of the tungsten sector.  When you look at it in detail, one will have to agree that is is going to be a buoyant industry.  The companies that have a good project will be the one that will give shareholders value. Disclaimer The information or opinions provided herein do not constitute investment advice, an offer or solicitation to subscribe for, purchase or sell the investment product(s) mentioned herein. It does not take into consideration, nor have any regard to your specific investment objectives, financial situation, risk profile, tax position and particular, or unique needs and constraints. Read full Disclaimer. www.samso.com.au If you find this article informative and useful, please help me share the information.  I try and write about topics that are interesting and have the potential to be of investment value.  It is not easy to find stories that fit those parameters. If you or your organisation see the benefit of what Samso is trying to achieve and have a need to share your journey, please contact me on noel.ong@samso.com.au. About Samso