When Silver Bullet Mines Corp. (TSXV: SBMI | OTCQB: SBMCF) began extending its access road from the Columbia Mine toward the Gold Queen Mine, the objective was straightforward: reach the second of two past-producing mines within its Columbia / Gold Queen Complex. Along the way, the company discovered a third.The Steamboat Mine appears in historical records, but its precise location had been lost over time. Silver Bullet's field team rediscovered it unexpectedly while clearing the new road, uncovering remnants of an earlier mining operation, including underground rail tracks, mule harnesses, bags and empty dynamite boxes."This was a serious mine," Peter Clausi, Vice President of Capital Markets and a Director of Silver Bullet Mines, told InvestorNews host Tracy Hughes during a recent interview. "And if they were using mules, history will tell you there's a certain grade of gold that goes with that."The discovery came as Silver Bullet reported four newly identified zones it considers prospective for high-grade gold, all located beside the new access road. The company has also identified what it believes are thousands of tons of mineralized material in historical surface stockpiles, likely associated with previous operations at the Gold Queen Mine.The potential significance of those discoveries remains subject to assay results. Clausi acknowledged the distinction between what the field team can observe and what Silver Bullet can establish through technical analysis and disclose under Canada's NI 43-101 framework."The eye sees a lot," he said. "But let's see what the assay lab tells us."Results from samples taken from the first of the newly identified zones are expected shortly, according to Clausi. Some samples are being submitted to an independent ISO-certified laboratory in addition to testing conducted through the company's own facilities.Of the new developments, the historical stockpiles could have the most immediate implications for Silver Bullet's economics. Unlike material that must first be drilled, blasted and removed from underground, stockpiled material has already been mined and brought to surface, potentially eliminating a substantial portion of the extraction costs associated with conventional mining."It reduces our processing cost because the cost of extraction has already been incurred by somebody else," Clausi explained. Disclaimer: Video interviews and other video content published by InvestorNews are produced as part of paid media services. The issuer or company featured in this video has compensated InvestorNews for the creation and publication of such content. The views expressed in these interviews are those of the interviewees or guests and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of InvestorNews, its writers, or its affiliates. For full details, please refer to our complete disclaimer at www.investornews.com/disclaimer

Quantum eMotion Corp. (NYSE American: QNC | TSXV: QNC) is preparing for a significant expansion of its cybersecurity business following its definitive agreement to acquire Plurilock Security Inc. (TSXV: PLUR | OTCQB: PLCKF). The proposed transaction brings together Quantum eMotion’s proprietary quantum technology and Plurilock’s established commercial operations, creating an opportunity to accelerate the introduction of quantum cybersecurity solutions to government agencies and major corporations.During a recent InvestorNews interview hosted by Tracy Hughes, Dr. Francis Bellido, President, CEO and Director of Quantum eMotion, and Ian Paterson, CEO of Plurilock Security, discussed the strategic rationale behind the acquisition, the commercial opportunities emerging from quantum computing and the growing urgency surrounding cybersecurity threats.For Bellido, the acquisition addresses one of the greatest challenges facing technology companies: transforming years of research and development into commercial revenue. Quantum eMotion has invested substantially in developing proprietary quantum random number generation technology, but establishing a commercial sales organization requires different expertise. Plurilock offers an existing platform with customer relationships, technical advisory capabilities and an established record of commercial execution.Paterson explained that Plurilock has grown substantially since going public in 2020, lifting annual revenue from roughly C$500,000 to nearly C$61 million in 2025. He said about half its business comes from public-sector customers, with the rest from large commercial enterprises. In August, its Integra Networks subsidiary was named one of the contract holders under a five-year NATO cybersecurity procurement framework, giving the company its first position to compete for NATO task orders.The combination is particularly attractive because Plurilock already works with institutions evaluating emerging cybersecurity technologies. Rather than building a new commercial organization, Quantum eMotion intends to introduce its proprietary products through established customer relationships. Paterson believes this approach could substantially accelerate commercialization while allowing Plurilock to expand beyond distributing third-party solutions into selling technology owned by the combined organization.The transaction also has important financial implications. Paterson highlighted Quantum eMotion’s stronger balance sheet, access to major U.S. capital markets and the potential for improved margins through proprietary technology sales. Plurilock has been working toward profitable growth, and the acquisition could provide additional resources to support that transition. For Quantum eMotion, the objective is to accelerate revenue generation while reducing some of the commercial risks associated with bringing new technology to market. Hughes also questioned Bellido about the recent appointment of Bernard Crotty, former Chairman and CEO of Certicom, as an independent director. Bellido explained that the appointment reflects Quantum eMotion’s efforts to strengthen corporate governance following its NYSE American listing. Crotty brings extensive experience in cryptography, corporate leadership and law, including his involvement with Certicom, which was acquired by Research In Motion, now BlackBerry.To access the complete InvestorNews.com column - https://bit.ly/4hXEsBkDisclaimer: Video interviews and other video content published by InvestorNews are produced as part of paid media services. The issuer or company featured in this video has compensated InvestorNews for the creation and publication of such content. The views expressed in these interviews are those of the interviewees or guests and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of InvestorNews, its writers, or its affiliates. For full details, please refer to our complete disclaimer at www.investornews.com/disclaimer

The critical minerals boom may be real, but Christopher Ecclestone believes the market is approaching a more discriminating phase, one in which simply owning a project containing a strategically important metal will no longer be enough. During a recent InvestorTalk interview hosted by Tracy Hughes, Ecclestone, Principal and Mining Strategist at Hallgarten + Company, discussed the central argument behind his latest monthly resource review, Critical Metals, Trump Demand. His thesis is potentially uncomfortable for a sector enjoying extraordinary political attention. Some of today’s critical mineral shortages are structural, some are temporary, and others may prove considerably less severe than the prevailing narrative suggests.“A lot of this is being driven at the moment by Trump,” Ecclestone said, pointing particularly to the Trump administration’s focus on China and the vulnerability of Western mineral supply chains. But political attention, he cautioned, should not be confused with permanent commodity fundamentals. The challenge is determining which commodities face enduring supply constraints capable of supporting new mines and processing capacity over many years, and which are experiencing shortages that could disappear before many development-stage projects ever reach production.That distinction is particularly important in mining, where projects conceived during periods of exceptionally high prices may require years of permitting, financing, construction and commissioning before producing their first commercial material. If a shortage disappears during that period, the economics that originally attracted capital can change dramatically. “What we need to do now is work out which of these investments in critical metals have a long-term good prospect because the shortage is going to be long-term,” Ecclestone said, “and which of them is just temporary.”For Ecclestone, antimony may be providing an early warning. He described it as the “canary in the coal mine,” pointing to the sharp retreat in prices after the extraordinary surge that followed China’s export restrictions. His concern is not that antimony has ceased to be strategically important, but that the price movement demonstrates how quickly the economics surrounding a supposedly acute shortage can change. A geopolitical supply disruption can create extraordinary prices, but those same prices encourage alternative sourcing, substitution, inventory adjustments, recycling and new production.Ecclestone applied similar skepticism to gallium and germanium. China dominates global gallium production and has used export controls as part of its broader critical minerals policy, yet semiconductor and other downstream manufacturing outside China has continued. For Ecclestone, that raises questions about how impermeable such restrictions really are and whether material is continuing to find its way into international markets through alternative channels. His broader point is that Chinese dominance remains strategically important, but global supply chains can be more adaptive than the most dramatic shortage scenarios imply.The conversation also turned to the remarkable resurgence of mining finance in Canada. TMX Group reports that mining companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange raised approximately C$16 billion in equity capital during 2025, with 54 new mining listings during the year. Ecclestone was actually less impressed by the number of new listings than by the amount of capital raised, arguing that conventional listing statistics do not necessarily capture the full level of activity because resource companies frequently reach the public markets through Capital Pool Companies and reverse takeovers.To read the full column, go to: https://bit.ly/4dVZLBQ