SYDNEY — Shares in Sunrise Energy Metals Ltd. surged 12.71% to $20.48, adding $2.31, pushing the Australian scandium developer’s stock back toward the upper end of its 52-week trading range as investors continue piling into a company that has become one of the most closely watched turnaround stories on the ASX over the past year.

Tuesday’s rally recovers ground the stock had given up earlier this month, when shares fell sharply amid broader market volatility. It also extends what has already been an extraordinary run for the company: Sunrise Energy Metals shares have climbed more than 2,500% over the trailing twelve months, according to recent market analysis, rocketing from roughly 21 cents to well above $6 earlier in the year before continuing to climb into the $20 range in recent weeks, as the company has transitioned from a speculative exploration stock into what investors increasingly view as a credible developer racing to become the Western world’s first major primary scandium producer.

Sunrise’s rise has been driven by a series of major financing and strategic milestones tied to its Syerston Scandium Project in New South Wales. In August, the company secured a conditional commitment for a $400 million loan from the U.S. Department of Defense, delivered through the Department’s Office of Strategic Capital, alongside plans to begin preparations for a listing on a U.S. securities exchange. The loan is structured as a 25-year conditional debt facility and will be released in phases as the project hits specific construction milestones, with the funding also expanding the project’s scope to include construction of scandium metal refining capacity within the United States itself.

Sunrise chairman Robert Friedland described the U.S. government backing as a defining moment for both the company and the broader Australian mining sector. “This is a landmark moment for Sunrise and Australia’s mining industry, and the financing aligns with the goals of the US-Australia Partnership on critical minerals,” Friedland said at the time. He also thanked the U.S. administration directly for its support of the project. “We thank President Donald J. Trump and the Department of War’s Office of Strategic Capital for its support as we aim to establish Syerston as a cornerstone of Western scandium supply,” Friedland said.

An official from the Department’s Office of Strategic Capital, Michael Lorch, a senior adviser to Deputy Secretary of Defense Steve Feinberg, said the arrangement was designed to help the United States reduce its reliance on foreign sources for a metal considered critical to national security and advanced manufacturing. Lorch said the deal would “help address foreign dependencies in scandium supply.”

Scandium, the rare metal at the center of Sunrise’s Syerston project, is used to strengthen aluminum alloys for aerospace and defense applications and has increasingly found demand in powering artificial intelligence data center infrastructure. China currently controls nearly 70% of global rare earth mining and roughly 90% of global processing capacity, a concentration that has driven sustained U.S. government interest in developing alternative, Western-aligned supply chains for critical minerals like scandium.

Sunrise Chief Executive Officer Sam Riggall has described the scale of the Syerston project’s potential in similarly ambitious terms. Speaking to CNBC in June, Riggall said the project would have “the capacity to replace everything that China supplies today from this one mining operation,” underscoring the scale of ambition behind the company’s plans even as the project continues working toward a final investment decision.

Beyond the U.S. government financing, Sunrise’s rally has also been fueled by a strategic offtake arrangement with Lockheed Martin, giving the defense contractor a pathway to secure scandium supply directly from the Syerston project once it reaches production. That combination of government-backed financing support and a credible offtake agreement with a major U.S. defense contractor has been cited by analysts as offering a meaningful vote of confidence in the project’s commercial viability, distinguishing Sunrise from many other speculative ASX-listed mining developers still working to secure comparable customer and financing commitments.

The Syerston project itself is expected to have a 32-year operating life, with the current phase targeting production of approximately 60 tonnes per annum of high-purity scandium oxide. Sunrise is also evaluating a second development phase that could add a further 120 tonnes of annual production capacity. The company has revised its total capital cost estimate for the project to between $450 million and $475 million following an expansion in scope, with power generation costs now incorporated directly into that capital expenditure figure. Sunrise continues working toward a final investment decision, targeted for the second half of 2026, ahead of a first production target set for the second half of 2028.

Sunrise’s balance sheet has remained a point of relative strength throughout the company’s rapid transition from explorer to developer. The company executed three separate equity placements during its most recent financial year, and as of August held a substantial cash position with zero debt on its balance sheet, giving it a comfortable liquidity buffer to continue funding pre-construction work, long-lead equipment procurement and engineering studies without near-term cash-burn pressure.

With the stock’s dramatic year-long trajectory continuing to draw close attention from both institutional and retail investors, and with Sunrise still working toward its targeted final investment decision later this year, market participants are likely to continue watching closely for further updates on project financing, offtake agreements and construction milestones as the next set of catalysts likely to shape the stock’s path in the months ahead.

Operator

Good afternoon, and welcome to the ACG Metals Limited Investor Presentation. [Operator Instructions] And I would now like to hand you over to the management team of ACG Metals Limited. Artem, good afternoon.

Artem Volynets
Founder, Chairman & CEO

Hello. Thank you very much for joining. I’m Artem. I’m Chair and CEO of ACG. We’ll walk you through some slides reasonably quickly. Essentially, we published an updated technical report on Thursday of last week and also our results for the first 6 months of this year, financial results. And this presentation is designed to show what we have done over the last 2 years. So just to remind everyone what ACG is. Today, we’re about $600 million market cap company, another $200 million in bonds outstanding. We’ve done reasonably well for our shareholders over the last 2 years since we acquired an asset in Turkey called Gediktepe.

Our updated technical report shows a massively increased NPV, which leads to the NAV net asset value per share of around GBP 34. And that technical report is done at consensus pricing, which are lower than the current spot. So if you put spot prices in the model, you will see GBP 43 per share. So certainly, there is a way to go from where we are. This is all driven by a very significant increase in the value of our project. Essentially, we acquired Gediktepe for $120 million in September 2024. We invested another $200 million, $146 million of that is already invested and the flotation plant built.

Another $60 million is being invested to build another plant called SART. As a result

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Now all the headlines from President Trump’s United Nations speech are focused on his prior statements warning Iran that the Tehran regime has to either make a deal or face annihilation.

I believe annihilation refers to the regime. And he warned them not to focus on the midterm elections because he’s going to be president for another two and a half years. So, in effect, Mr. Trump discounted the midterm elections, and took them off the table. A bad day for Iran.

As Mr. Trump said: “They’re waiting to see how I do in the midterm election. What they don’t realize is that I’m not running. I did that already and won in a landslide. We won in a giant landslide, and I’ll be here for two and a half years.” He added that “I gave absolutely no credence and will not give credence to the election. When it comes to Iran. It doesn’t even enter my mind. The only thing that does is that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. The cowards and traitors —” here applause interrupted the president.

Please note carefully that big applause when he said Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. The UN is not usually, the member’s not usually applauding Mr. Trump, but they did actually on several occasions as we will discuss. Again, another bad day for Iran. 

The point is, even the UN hates Iran. So we’ll see about all of that and how it works out after the election. Before he got to the Iran warning, he talked about America having the hottest economy in the world. Creating a million new jobs, record-low poverty, and high real incomes in the 2025 Census, of course cutting taxes, getting rid of regulations, record stock market, by the way the Nasdaq tech rallied again to a new record high.

Then there was the issue of AI — which is now super intelligence now — is here to stay. And there will be no radical climate change type hoax or doomsday scenarios with our super intelligence. Nor will there be any global regulation of our super intelligence. By the way, no global regulation of anything. Including the International Criminal Court, UN agencies who won’t protect our children from transgenderism, or the persecution of Christians. Or promoting mass migration.

He emphatically said no to any global carbon tax, and in fact generalized “there will be no global taxes.” End quote. Full stop. Good for him. How about that? In front of the UN, Mr. Trump makes a no new tax pledge. Phenomenal. And the Nasdaq index hits another record high. 

Yet on all these points, Mr. Trump struck a positive, constructive, optimistic tone. This was a different kind of speech. This was a speech that had praise and applause that was unusual for his UN meetings. Yes, even the UN hates Iran and wants to stop them from having a nuclear weapon. For sure. 

Yet several times, Mr. Trump praised the UN, and its Security Council. For, say, helping on Iran, and for endorsing his 20 point Gaza peace plan, and approving the Board of Peace. And permitting the first lady, Melania Trump, to preside over a meeting of the Security Council, which has never been done before by a president’s wife.

Yet there’s more. Mr. Trump praised the leaders of Pakistan, Rwanda, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, for helping him in making peace deals.

To be sure, he mentioned the successful regime change and world oil implications of Venezuela. And he issued a very tough warning to Cuba — where Secretary of State Marco Rubio is working hard for some kind of regime change.

And of course, the new security arrangement in Greenland, which will protect the Western hemisphere and Europe from Chinese and Russian threats. But Mr. Trump had good things to say about NATO, which has come around toward his view on the need for 5 percent of GDP spending on defense.

We really haven’t heard him praise NATO much before. He talked about stopping the drug cartels throughout Latin and South America.

Yet importantly, he had very positive things to say about Mexican cooperation. Again, optimistic, positive, constructive. And then finally, well, no one seems to want to report on this toward the back end of the speech. I believe the president spoke movingly to all of the UN members about “the enemies of humanity.” 

He declared: “That is the challenge for every nation in this room. If we go forward strong and united against the enemies of all humanity, if we reject the voices who would have us give in to fear and doubt, if we refuse to shrink from our duties to our people, then together, through bold action, we will make this world far safer and a far better place.”

And he concluded again by reaching out to all those UN nations who really are not our best friends, but he exhorted them to “leave our nations far stronger.”

He said: “We will grow our economies far bigger, and we will not just speak of peace, prosperity, and justice. Here at the United Nations. We will stand for them all over the world. Together, we will build a future for our people that is brighter, more hopeful, and more magnificent than ever before. Thank you. God bless the nations of the world and God bless America”

This is why I’m calling this a historic speech.

This is an optimistic vision of freedom, peace, and prosperity, where this 47th President of the United States is asking all the nations to join him in this great crusade. Mr. Trump’s optimism was Reaganesque. I’d say this was pretty great stuff.

Qantas Airways plans to start selling seats on its first nonstop between New York and Sydney next August, with flights set to launch in 2028, as the Australian carrier fills out the details for another marathon route with a special Airbus plane.

The route will take about 18 hours, which puts it close to what is currently the world’s longest flight. The route that has that designation right now, nonstop service on Singapore Airlines from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to Singapore, can top 19 hours.

But Qantas is set to take the crown next fall when it debuts nonstops between London Heathrow and Sydney that take about 20 hours. Flight times vary based on direction and time of year.

Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson told CNBC that the new flights come after strong demand for another ultra-long-haul route: its Perth, Australia, to London service, which is more than 17 hours and is flown on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

“What we have been able to learn from that is that there is absolutely a customer who wants this and is prepared to pay a premium for it,” she said in an interview in New York, adding that travelers are trying to avoid having to connect in other airports.

The Qantas Airbus A350-1000 ULR, which stands for ultra-long range, will be equipped with first class, business class, premium economy and standard economy cabins. Those aircraft have an extra fuel tank for the trip.

Singapore Airlines, meanwhile, operates its New York to Singapore flight with only business class and premium economy seats.

As part of its ultra-long-haul program, which it calls Project Sunrise, Qantas spent years working with sleep scientists to study jet lag. Hudson said the carrier has looked at ways to minimize the effects of traveling long distances by using things like different lighting schemes so customers can get used to the time zone at their destination.

Liverpool against Arsenal is no longer a Halloween Saturday fixture. The Anfield meeting has been moved to Sunday 1 November at 16:30 GMT, with Sky Sports broadcasting the game in the UK.

For anyone checking the market through vippari, the important question is not only which team is stronger. It is how much of each first-choice XI survives October at full intensity.

Arsenal are the defending Premier League champions. Liverpool, now coached by Andoni Iraola, opened their Champions League campaign with a 2–1 win over Atlético Madrid, while Arsenal won 1–0 at Napoli. By the time they meet, those results will be almost two months old.

October Gives Liverpool Almost No Empty Space

Liverpool host Manchester City on 11 October, then travel to LASK on 14 October for Champions League Matchday 2. Brentford away follows on 17 October, before Villarreal visit Anfield on 20 October.

Brighton then come to Anfield on 25 October, followed by Liverpool’s Carabao Cup fourth-round tie against Chelsea during the week beginning 26 October. Arsenal arrive on 1 November.

That sequence puts Premier League, Champions League and cup football into the same three-week block.

Iraola’s style also makes workload relevant. His Liverpool are built around aggressive pressing and repeated high-intensity actions, so midfield and wide-player minutes matter more than a simple league-table comparison.

Arsenal Have Their Own Travel Problem

Arsenal’s calendar is hardly cleaner.

They host Leeds on 10 October, then face Lille at the Emirates on 13 October. Nottingham Forest away follows on 18 October, before the hardest trip of the month: Bayern Munich away on 21 October.

Everton visit on 24 October, and Arsenal also have a Carabao Cup fourth-round tie at Fleetwood during the final week of the month. Three days after Liverpool, they travel to Slavia Praha in the Champions League on 4 November.

That gives both clubs two Champions League matches, three league fixtures and a domestic cup tie before they meet.

The Market Should Follow Minutes, Not September Form

The 1X2 can still begin with basic team quality, home advantage and Arsenal’s status as champions. The Asian handicap and player markets need more detail.

A full-strength Arsenal midfield after managed minutes against Everton is one version of the game. The same midfield after 90 minutes in Munich is another.

Liverpool face the same problem. City, LASK and Villarreal can all take heavy minutes out of the same core group before Arsenal arrive.

Before taking a position, the most useful checks are:

• 1X2 and handicap after the Champions League midweeks, not immediately after City or Bayern;
• totals and both teams to score once the likely midfield and defensive combinations are clearer;
• shots and scorer props only after the confirmed XI;
• live markets with the October workload in mind if one side starts strongly but fades after the hour.

A price posted early in October is still working with assumptions. By 1 November, those assumptions will have been tested several times.

Player Markets Should Be the Last Ones Priced

This is where the second half of October matters most.

A striker who starts against Villarreal, Brighton and Chelsea is not necessarily the same player-market proposition against Arsenal. The same applies to an Arsenal attacker used heavily against Bayern, Everton and in the cup.

Checking updated markets through vippari indir closer to the confirmed line-ups is therefore more useful than relying on an early scorer or shots price.

The first goal will also change the live picture quickly. A Liverpool side leading after a heavy October may protect territory rather than press for a second. Arsenal in the same situation may slow possession instead of opening the game.

The Calendar Comes Before the Table

Liverpool–Arsenal will still be treated as a major title fixture, but the league table alone will not explain the price.

The more useful evidence comes from the weeks immediately before it: who played 90 minutes in Munich, who started against Villarreal, who was rested in the Carabao Cup and which midfield still has enough legs to press at Anfield.

The match takes place on 1 November, but its betting market is built through October. By kick-off, the schedule may have told more about both teams than their opening Champions League results ever could.