Daniel Major

Eastport Critical Metals ($EVI.V | $EVIIF): Targeting a Large-Scale Copper Opportunity in Botswana

• Top takeaway Daniel argues that Matsotama is Eastport's flagship and that its scale, structural setting, existing copper resource and untested 30-kilometer anomaly justify searching for a large, deep sulphide system.
• He says Botswana combines supportive mining law, infrastructure, power, an educated workforce and year-round access, making it a strong jurisdiction for advancing Eastport's projects.
• He views rare earths as strategically important because demand is rising across AI, electric vehicles and defence while non-Chinese supply chains remain constrained; he stresses that metallurgy and a route to the final magnet market are essential.
• He believes Silebi East could host a nickel-copper system analogous to nearby deposits, but says Eastport must establish its own value before considering synergies with NexMetals.
• He advocates flexible capital allocation: advance projects to de-risk them, but remain willing to farm out, joint venture, sell or separate assets such as Semarula when that creates more value.

Eastport's flagship Matsitama spans 1,854 square kilometres, with a 30-kilometre copper soil anomaly guiding geophysics and initial drilling. Semarule's first assay returned 330 metres of continuous rare-earth mineralization, while a central anomaly hole remains pending. Management prioritizes copper while advancing early-stage nickel, uranium, and rare-earth targets, using portfolio flexibility to allocate limited exploration capital. Botswana offers year-round access, established infrastructure, relatively straightforward permitting, and mining laws rooted in English law, according to Major. Major says Eastport holds $2.5 million cash and plans about 5,000 metres across projects, including 2,000 metres at Matsitama.

They Had One of the Best Gold Discoveries on Earth. Then This Happened |Barrick - Newmont Deal

Barrick handed Newmont 38.5% of Fourmile, a Nevada gold discovery, for $1.95B cash and two early-stage development properties, ending a default dispute. Analysts pegged Newmont's 38.5% stake at $4-8B; Barrick defended a $4B total deal value but could not break down the math on its earnings call. Barrick built its own trap by announcing a North American IPO before securing partner consent, then negotiating from weakness. No 43-101 technical report exists for Fourmile — only a slide-deck PEA (Preliminary Economic Assessment) — letting analysts challenge Barrick's claim. The cash flows to Barrick shareholders, not into the IPO vehicle, so the listed entity cedes its growth asset without funding.

THESE Critical Metals Set to FLY as Supply Squeeze Accelerates: Daniel Major

• Top takeaway Major frames critical minerals as a long-term structural story, not a near-term trade — argues supply chains are bifurcating as China uses export quotas and tariffs to control who buys refined rare earths (he cites Japan's critical metals exports from China being cut 50%).
• On copper, he sees a structural deficit: current demand ~28M tons vs mine supply ~22M (recycling filling the gap), demand heading to ~35M by 2040 while supply on existing/planned projects peaks at ~25M around 2030.
• On rare earths, he emphasizes heavy rare earths (terbium, dysprosium) as the investor focus, since most new pipeline is light rare earths and rare earth prices outside China are running 3–5x domestic levels.
• On uranium, he argues the bull case remains intact — spot at ~$86/lb vs ~$18 at the November 2016 bottom, term contracts near ~$96, demand projected to grow from ~180M lbs to ~320M lbs while supply struggles to get past ~200M lbs without new projects.
• Just joined Eastport ~1.5 months ago after 13 years in uranium; chose the company because all six Botswana projects link to electricity demand and the jurisdiction is top-tier (Fraser Institute #7 globally, #1 in Africa, per the speaker).

Eastport's CEO argues a long-term critical-minerals bull market is under way, driven by US-China bifurcation and rising electrification demand. Copper demand could reach 35 million tonnes by 2040 versus mine supply expected to peak near 25 million tonnes in 2030, leaving a structural deficit. China controls 80 to 90 percent of rare-earth processing and is using export tariffs to bifurcate supply chains and lift non-China prices. Uranium demand could reach 320 million pounds by 2040 against mine supply stuck near 200 million, supporting long-term contracts near 96 dollars a pound. Eastport is advancing six critical-minerals projects in Botswana, led by copper at Matsutama, rare earths at Semarula, and nickel-copper at Selebi East.