Greetings Contrarian,

This is The Next Big Rush, your daily drop of mining/energy investing news. Where we come together and wonder how we're still surviving this market.

Here are the highlights:

🙃 Japan And US Strike Deal For Critical Minerals

🙃 Junior Finds High Grade Gold in Africa

🙃 Liontown Gives The Finger To Albemarle

🇯🇵 Japan And US Strike Deal For Critical Minerals

Japan’s Ambassador to the US, Tomita Koji, and United States Trade Representative, Katherine Tai, signed an agreement to strengthen and diversify critical minerals supply chains and promote electric vehicle battery technologies.

The Agreement builds on the 2019 US-Japan Trade Agreement and aims to facilitate trade, promote fair competition (sure), advance labor and environmental standards, and ensure secure, transparent, and sustainable critical minerals supply chains.

The agreement includes commitments to review investments in critical minerals, and promote resource-efficient approaches (whatever that means), enforce labor rights and neutrality, and not impose export duties on critical minerals (we like this).

The deal came into force immediately as the ink hit the paper for the signatures (assuming it wasn’t done on Docusign).

This is not the first in a series of deals the US is very quickly signing with friendly jurisdictions to expedite and secure supply of critical minerals for its EV industry.

Will it be enough?

🥳 Montage Gold Hits High-Grade

Another exploration junior with a defined lower-grade resource hits a high grade zone. This time, Montage Gold Corp. (TSXV: MAU) (OTCQX: MAUTF) reported assays from their Koné Gold Project.

They are drilling several holes in different zones. Diamond drilling at the Gbongogo Main deposit continues to confirm and expand the resource with the most recent deep holes ending in mineralization.

Highlights Gbongogo Main - 233.7m at 2.08g/t from surface (down plunge)

Gbongogo South - 36m at 2.45g/t

Diouma North - 15m at 3.84g/t

Yeré North - 27m at 8.97g/t including 9m at 24.58g/t

Exploration is ongoing and 4 drill rigs are turning.

🦁 Liontown Gives The Finger To Albemarle

The plot thickens in lithium land as Albemarle Corp's takeover proposal for Australian lithium miner, Liontown Resources Ltd., has been rejected as it materially undervalues the company according to the board at AUD 5.5 billion ($3.68B) for AUD$2.50/share.

This was the third offer from the world's largest lithium miner since October, with previous proposals being rejected at AUD 2.20 and AUD 2.35 per share. Liontown considers the proposal opportunistic and notes that it fails to acknowledge the full potential of its Kathleen Valley project in West Australia.

As a result, Liontown shares were up 50% to AUD 2.29 in early trading on Tuesday.

Many other lithium names were up as well.

Happy Speculating!

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.