Ann: Letter to Shareholders, page-10

Long time reader, first time poster.

I first invested in EQR back in 2019 when they were known as SEI. As a relatively "unsophisticated" investor, I first looked into the company after buying a tungsten plated wedding ring.

Curious about the metal I looked it up and realised it has enormous strategic potential. It didn't take long at all to discover that Mt Carbine was the largest untapped resource in Aus at the time, and given competition was limited I decided it was a wise investment.

As a primary school teacher I know very little about mining (but have learnt a LOT from reading every post on here over the years), but I'm one of those people (and there are a LOT!) who think electric cars = lithium = buy.

Anyway, it's been pleasing to see the numerous developments in EQRs story since I first bought in....and I have topped up regularly (and occasionally sold down, such as when the price surged last year). But nearly 5 years later my investment makes up an oversized proportion of my net wealth (not an overly risky one but still oversized)...but is still in the red.

Now if you had told me in 2019 that EQR would become the largest tungsten producer outside of China and have Federal government backing I would have seen dollar signs. If I had also known that the US would be banning the import of Chinese tungsten from 2026 while the spot price continues to rise, I would have expected a massive windfall.

Now I know that operations like this take time, but my question is this: why are there not more "unsophisticated investors" like myself floating around and buying on speculation? The future prospects of EQR seemed obvious to a newbie like me in 2019, so where are all the buyers?

It happens with almost every company that captures the attention for having a competitive edge. BNPL valuations surged to unrealistic levels....a company would say they found rare earths and though it will take 3 years to dig it out and sell it, buyers would suddenly appear and pump their price to the moon.

I know the wise heads here say that the market is waiting for money in the bank, but that doesn't seem to stop people buying other random mining stocks. I find it bizarre and frustrating, but I'm still committed to sticking with it.

The comments about mortgages and rent compelled me to make my first post here. I bought this stock before my son was born, and I'll have no choice but to enter the housing
market before he gets to school age late 2025. I have no intention to pump and dump, but at this stage I can't afford to have a decent chunk of my deposit sitting in the red.

Frustrating. Where are the buyers who can actually see that the above facts I mentioned make this a screaming buy?