Greetings Contrarian,

This is The Next Big Rush, your daily drop of mining/energy investing news. Where we come together and fight the FOMO.

Here are the ones you can't miss:

📈 Here's Where "F.r.ee" Money Is Going to

📈 Great Bear Resource Out!

📈 Even Big Guys Need Blacklists

🤑 Free Dough to Nano One

Nano One Materials Corp. (TSX:NANO)(OTC PINK:NNOMF)(Frankfurt:LBMB), a clean technology company with patented processes for producing high-performance cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries, has just received a non-refundable cheque from the government of Canada (Sustainable Development Technology Canada) for C$10m.

We usually don’t cover smaller financings like this, unless ahem, it’s to signal that governments are putting your their money to work.

Historically, this signals markets with legs that end up in profitable bubbles if you can manage to time your exit right. 😎

The SDTC project also covers the design, construction, and operation of a multi-cathode piloting hub to refine and advance processes for industrial-scale pilot production of advanced LFP, NMC, and LNM cathode active materials.

These processes are being developed both independently by Nano One and in collaboration with cathode partners, Rio Tinto and a secret automotive company, with the goal of future licensing, joint ventures, and independent production.

🐻 Great Bear Little Bear

Great Bear Resources, which was bought by Kinross Gold 1 year ago for close to C$1.5B, was a market darling for several years, with hit after hit, the final purchase price was C$29.00 per share, to the joy of all shareholders, of which the Editor was not one after watching the whole story develop from under $1. Regrets abound.

As it happens, the company didn’t have a resource outlined yet, but the assays were so great that no other asset compared to it at the time and it got all the attention. Rightfully so!

Today, Kinross, after doubling the exploration efforts for a total of 550km of drilling, has come to the conclusion of these preliminary numbers:

2.73m oz of indicated resources and 2.29m oz. of inferred resources.

Between the underground and open pit portions of the future mine, the grade varies from 2.24g/t Au​ to 4.50g/t Au.

C$29.00 per share seems like Great Bear was a freaking Great Deal to shareholders. ​

🚨 $500m Scandal Part II

The Trafigura Group, which was allegedly scammed to the tune of $577 million as reported previously...

... was actually dealing with a company that most insiders in the business already discounted as no-go.

Many market insiders were shocked, not only by the missing nickel cargoes, but by the fact that the company was still doing business with Indian businessman Prateek Gupta, who had a controversial history in the trading industry.

Merchant Gunvor Group and trade finance fund TransAsia Private Capital Ltd. had previously lost money in dealings with Gupta's companies, according to public writings. In fact, India's federal police were investigating allegations of fraud against Gupta himself.

Ian Milne, a former executive in the commodity trade, was stunned when he heard the news. Milne, who had worked at TransAsia for two years trying to recover debts from Gupta's companies, said, "Most people haven’t dealt with [Gupta's companies] for many years."

Prateek Gupta took over the family business, Ushdev International Ltd., in 2009. Over the years, Ushdev expanded into wind power assets and added entities in several countries. Despite question marks about the company's trading activities, Gupta was described as charming and laid-back by those who had done business with him.

[Note from the Editor: charm is part of the game]

Jonas Rey, the CEO of Geneva-based corporate intelligence company Athena Intelligence, had investigated Gupta's companies on behalf of several clients. Rey called the companies' activity a "carousel fraud," where one cargo is financed multiple times by creating multiple companies around it. Eventually, everything comes crashing down.

Despite Gupta's checkered history, Trafigura was still doing business with him until they uncovered the fraud.

See.... Even large companies need a blacklist. Got it.

How awesome is this week going to be? Very.

The Editor

DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.