u/BenjaminScott09

Everyone says they saw the winners coming after the chart goes vertical.

PLTR was “too expensive.”
RKLB was “too speculative.”
ASTS was “too risky.”
NVDA was “priced in.”
AMD was “dead money.”

Then they all ran.

So what is the current version of that? Not necessarily the same sector, but the same type of setup: big market, strong narrative, real catalyst path, and still enough doubt that most people are not comfortable buying it.

My current list is something like:

• NBIS for AI cloud / neocloud exposure
• LUNR for space infrastructure
• KTOS for defense drones
• SOUN for voice AI
• NRED as a tiny copper exploration lottery ticket
• NBTX for high-risk biotech upside

Not saying any of these are guaranteed. Most high-upside names are messy. But the best entries usually look uncomfortable before they look obvious.

What is your highest-conviction uncomfortable pick?

Copper is doing something the headlines do not fully explain.

Even with talk about surplus and high inventories, the price is still sitting around $5.93 to $5.95 per lb and holding close to multi week highs.

That matters because price tends to reflect expectations, not just current conditions.

Short term, there are mixed signals. Inventories are elevated and the ICSG is calling for a small surplus. At the same time, copper is still up roughly 27 to 29 percent year over year and not breaking down.

That usually means the market is looking past near term noise.

The bigger drivers are still in place. Electrification, data centers, and grid expansion are long cycle demand sources, while supply remains slow to respond. Even recent pullbacks have held well above prior ranges, which suggests a higher base level for the metal.

That context feeds directly into exploration.

NovaRed Mining (NRED) is not trading spot copper. It is positioned as future supply. The company controls more than 16000 hectares in a proven BC copper belt and is moving toward drill targets with its 2026 geophysics program.

When copper holds near highs despite mixed data, it tends to keep attention on the pipeline of future supply.

NFA.

The U.S. battery storage market just had a record year: 18.9 GW installed in 2025, up 52% from 2024. That alone is a major signal. But the bigger number is the forecast: around 500 GWh of U.S. storage additions expected from 2026 to 2031.

That is the grid preparing for a different kind of demand curve. AI data centers, electrification, and renewable growth all create load patterns that are harder to manage with old infrastructure. Storage gives the system flexibility. It can shave peaks, provide backup, reduce demand charges, and optimize when power is pulled from solar, the grid, or backup generation.

This is where companies with battery-backed microgrid models become more interesting. They are not just selling power. They are selling control over when and how power is used.

That is the lane NХХT is trying to build into. Its PPAs combine solar, batteries, backup generation, and intelligent energy management. As customers face higher power demand and reliability concerns, that full stack becomes easier to understand.

The battery boom is not just about EVs anymore. It is about keeping the grid stable while demand keeps rising.

Not advice.

A lot of updates say "we expanded the project" without changing much.

This one actually changes the scale.

NovaRed Mining (NRЕD) just added about 4573 hectares through the Trojan Condor corridor, bringing the total Wilmac project size to roughly 16077 hectares.

That is not a small addition. It takes the project from a single large block into something closer to a district footprint.

The structure of the deal also matters. NRЕD can earn a 70 percent interest by paying $250000 in stages, issuing 3 million units, and funding about $8.5M in exploration, including $1.5M in 2026.

That tells you two things. First, the company is committing capital to test the ground. Second, the option is structured around exploration progress, not just holding land.

Location still anchors the story. The expanded project sits in the Quesnel porphyry belt about 10 km from Copper Mountain, a producing operation. That keeps the geological model consistent across the entire land package.

What changes with size is optionality.

Instead of one or two targets, the company now controls a corridor where multiple zones can be tested within the same system. In porphyry exploration, that matters because large deposits often show up as clusters of related anomalies.

NRЕD is still pre drill, with about 80 line kilometres of geophysics planned. The difference now is that the same program can test a wider system.

NFA.

At what point does a land package stop being a single project and start being something the market treats as a district?

NRЕD just moved about 35 percent in a single session, and that kind of move usually has more behind it than just one headline.

NovaRed Mining (NRЕD) has already been trending higher over the past months, trading between roughly C$0.05 and C$2.05 over the past year. With a market cap near C$58M before today’s move, it was still sitting in the early stage exploration category.

Moves like this tend to happen when a few factors line up at once.

First, the setup has been building. The company outlined about 80 line kilometres of IP and AMT surveys across its 11504 hectare Wilmac project. That is the stage where targets start to become more defined ahead of drilling.

Second, the location keeps coming back into focus. Wilmac sits about 10 km from Copper Mountain, a producing mine with about 345 million tonnes of reserves at 0.256 percent copper and 1.3 million ounces of gold. That gives the project a clear geological reference point.

Third, the broader copper narrative has been strengthening. Policy discussion around supply security and ongoing consolidation among larger miners has been pushing attention toward early stage assets in known belts.

When those elements combine, price can move before new data is released.

The important part is what comes next. A 35 percent move brings attention, but follow through usually depends on new information, especially anything tied to drill targets or timelines.

NFA.

Do you see moves like this as momentum to trade around, or as early positioning ahead of the next set of results?

There is a shift happening in mining capital, and it is starting to show up in deal flow.

Large institutions have been moving attention from gold and silver into base metals. JPMorgan has pointed to rotation into copper, and you can see it in how major producers are behaving.

Freeport-McMoRan, one of the largest copper miners, has seen strong share performance tied to copper demand expectations. At the same time, consolidation activity is picking up. Hudbay moved to acquire Arizona Sonoran’s Cactus project, and Boliden has been investing in exploration assets in British Columbia.

This matters because large miners constantly need new projects to replace declining reserves. They rarely explore from scratch. Instead, they acquire or partner with smaller companies once projects reach a certain level of definition.

That creates a pipeline effect.

Early stage projects in proven belts become more relevant when capital is looking for the next set of assets.

NovaRed Mining (NRED) sits in that lane. The company controls 11504 hectares in the Quesnel porphyry belt, about 10 km from Copper Mountain. That places it within trucking distance of existing infrastructure and inside a district where copper systems are already proven.

If a discovery is made, proximity matters. Assets within 10 to 50 km of existing operations are easier to evaluate, integrate, and potentially acquire.

Right now, NRED is still at the stage of defining targets through geophysics, with about 80 line kilometres planned for 2026. There is no resource and no drilling results yet.

The interest comes from positioning. When majors start consolidating and rotating capital, they tend to look in known belts first.

NFA.