October Newsletter

Written By Hunter Wardman

Welcome to the October edition of the Engage Strategic newsletter.

In this newsletter we:

  • Introduce ourselves

  • Launch a podcast interview with MakCorp

  • Showcase a client company

  • Discuss Critical Minerals

Who are we?

We are experienced ASX market professionals (former Executives, Directors and Brokers). Our Service Partners are:

Engage Strategic is our core service, working with Executives and Boards to develop ASX company business models, key milestones, equity story and generating ASX/media content. Traditional IR services just 'polish' and distribute.

New podcast with MakCorp

Joe Kaderavek and John Wardman recently sat down with MakCorp CEO Steve Rosewell to discuss the founding of Engage IR and our strategy to help clients.

We've released the full-length conversation on our website and via Spotify.

Listen to the interview

Selected client company backgrounds

Theta Gold Mines Limited (ASX:TGM) is a gold developer transitioning to producer by early CY27.

Equity story:

  • Currently completing site clearance and preparation works enabling construction of new gold plant

  • Secured credit approval for US$30m project financing

  • Completed successful A$52m in equity raising – Investor SPP underway

  • Completed successful A$52m in equity raising – Investor SPP underway

  • Approved decision to mine the TGME Gold Mine Project, the company has now commenced bulk earthworks and initial civil engineering activities at site

  • Next steps will include amended TGME Mine Project Feasibility Study release with economics and update on debt syndication

  • First operating cashflow early 2027. Targeting 160-200koz by 2030

Critical Minerals - Margin stripped, power shifted, what next?

  • China has stripped profit margins from upstream mining and processing, crippling Western and Australian project pipelines—now even downstream EV and battery cell production is becoming marginally profitable.

  • Australia, the US, and EU are responding politically, not just economically, with strategic reserves, export controls, and direct equity stakes in critical projects.

  • The global supply chain is being weaponised, turning rare earths and battery materials into tools of influence and control.

China’s grip on rare earths and battery materials is no longer just commercial—it’s coercive. By squeezing margins across the value chain and imposing export restrictions on graphite and REE tech, Beijing is signalling that control—not profit—is the endgame. Chinese EV makers now operate on thinning margins, showing that dominance is being traded for leverage.

Australia is pushing back. The Albanese government’s $1.2B Critical Minerals Reserve is a geopolitical move, offering equity stakes to allies like the US and Japan to build a mine-to-magnet/battery supply chain independent of China. In the US, Trump has gone further—converting federal grants into equity stakes in companies like MP Materials and Lithium Americas. This marks a shift from subsidies to strategic ownership, mimicking China’s industrial policy to secure supply chains. With the upcoming Australian Government visit to Washington, I expect a roadmap to develop over coming months.

Over the next decade, these dynamics will make Australia a cornerstone of Western industrial security. Expect higher valuations for Australian resource projects, accelerated investment in processing capacity, and deeper integration into defence and EV supply chains. As materials become constrained, Australia’s role will evolve from supplier to strategic partner, shaping global energy and technology ecosystems.

This is no longer a commodities story. It’s a contest of sovereignty, security, and strategic control.

Critical Minerals Thought Piece – Author: Joe Kaderavek

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Hunter Wardman
Next

MakCorp’s Steve Rosewell interviews Engage IR partners Joe Kaderavek & John Wardman