Daily Brief Energy/Materials: Gold, Zijin Gold, KH Neochem Co Ltd, Crude Oil, Goliath Resources , Hunting PLC, Intermin Resources, Chemcon Speciality Chemicals, Akzo Nobel NV, Condor Energies and more

• Gold’s latest surge shows rising implied volatility but little sign of market stress, suggesting limited parallels with the explosive 1980 bull market.
• Tuesday’s correction was the largest selloff in 12 years and marked the end of a series of successively larger positive moves.   
• Rising implied vols and strong Call demand reveal active trading but not the manic levels typically seen near a major blowoff.

• 9M 2025 unaudited results (17 Oct): 1.03 Moz gold, US$905 m profit, 26% margin; operational ramp intact despite AISC at US$1,574/oz.
• Strong listing: IPO HK$71.6 → current HK$131.3 (+83%), backed by US$1.6 bn cornerstones (GIC, BlackRock etc.).
• Valuation & risk: Trades ~8.5× EV/EBITDA; fair value HK$115–145/sh; key risks — execution, Kazakhstan policy, Colombia security.

• Japan’s chemicals industry is finally undergoing a long-overdue consolidation that should lead to fewer companies, higher profitability, and less volatility.
• These changes may be driving significant mispricing. Like most segments, RoE drives most of the variance in PBR, but with more frequent and far larger outliers.
• KH Neochem, Daicel, and Mitsui Chemicals are the undervalued outliers, and all three are positioned for rapid growth in our view.

• Crude oil futures were trending higher Wednesday after markets finally found some support, coming after the heavy losses so far in October that had seen benchmarks challenge post-Covid lows.
• Front-month Dec25 ICE Brent futures were trading at $63.12/b (2034 BST) versus Tuesday’s settle of $61.32/b, while Dec25 NYMEX WTI was at $59.21/b against a previous close of $57.24/b.
• Prices rebounded on reports that talks between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin had been put on hold, increasing the threat of sanctions on Russia and broader supply disruptions from attacks on infrastructure.

• Goliath Resources provides investors with exposure to gold, silver, and copper resource exploration, as well as leverage to an increasing in-ground inventory with discovery upside, during a gold price market that has reached new all-time highs.
• The downside is limited by the expected significant positive news flow ongoing in 2026.
• Since our last update, the Company completed more than 64,000 m of drilling providing infill, depth, and lateral testing of the Surebet prospect.

• In a Q3 update, Hunting has narrowed FY25 EBITDA guidance towards the lower end of the existing U$135m-145m range, noting that this remains slightly above our existing FY25 estimate.
• This broadly-based group has performed substantially in line with management expectations although EMEA re-structuring has perhaps been a modest drag.
• Underlying cash flow/year-end net cash looks to be slightly better than we anticipated.

• Horizon Minerals Limited (ASX:HRZ) is an emerging junior gold producer with 1.8moz of gold resources located around the Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie regions of Western Australia.
• HRZ has released its September 2025 quarterly report which provides a progress update on mining, exploration and development activities.
• Revenue of $35.8m was generated from gold sales at Boorara with another $3.64m received as a distribution from the Phillips Find JV.

• Chemcon holds a dominant market position in its niche specialty chemical products, being the sole manufacturer of HMDS and the largest manufacturer of CMIC in India. This provides a significant competitive advantage.
• The company is demonstrating a strong financial recovery, with improving margins and a significant turnaround in operating and free cash flow in the latest fiscal year, following a period of decline. This is supported by high resilience and market momentum scores.
• Despite recent recovery, Chemcon faces challenges from a poor long-term growth track record, with negative 3-year compound annual growth rates in revenue, net income, and EPS. The suspension of dividends for the past two years also signals underlying business pressure.

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• In this edition: • AkzoNobel | a Janus-faced case?
• • BE Semiconductor Industries | as forecasted, order intake improved strongly; launches new EUR 60m share buyback program • Heineken | presents new medium term strategy and targets at today’s CMD • RELX Group | 9M25 trading update shows no surprises (as it should be) • Aalberts | foresees FY25 EBITA-margin of 13%, 50bps below market consensus • Kendrion | completes sale of its China business

• Condor’s inaugural well in Uzbekistan has intersected 28.5 meters of net gas pay within the productive carbonate reservoir; which in line with expectations.
• The company now plans to drill a 1,000-meter horizontal section through this interval, with results anticipated in November.
• IP rates are estimated between 13–20 mmcf/d, representing a potentially significant uplift in output.