June 11th, 2026 | 07:20 CEST
Gold, Silver, Defence, AI, or the Nasdaq? SpaceX Heads for the US Indices – Defying Weakness with Lahontan Gold
A remarkable phenomenon is currently unfolding in the markets: virtually everything is weakening. From gold to silver, from high-tech to low-tech, whether AI or hydrogen—every sector is undergoing a correction. So far, however, the pullback remains modest when measured against the extraordinary gains achieved over the past 14 months following the tariff-driven sell-off triggered by Donald Trump. During that period, the Nasdaq effectively doubled. Traders know that a volatile interim low will now be reached, particularly over the summer, before the markets look forward to 2027 with renewed hope. This period needs to be bridged, and there may also be a need for hedging. Historically, gold has served this role well, often gaining value when other asset classes came under pressure. Yet gold itself has been one of the best-performing asset classes over the past two years, leading to some profit-taking here as well. Whether the S&P 500 can absorb additional heavyweights such as SpaceX, OpenAI, and Databricks following its historic rally remains to be seen. A fast-track inclusion of SpaceX into the S&P indices was reportedly rejected by S&P Dow Jones, while NASDAQ, Russell, and MSCI are set to list it within a few trading days. This should be exciting! Where are the tangible opportunities for investors?
time to read: 6 minutes
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Author:
André Will-Laudien
ISIN:
LAHONTAN GOLD CORP | CA50732M1014 | TSXV: LG , OTCQB: LGCXF , SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP | US84615Q1031 | NASDAQ: SPCX
Table of contents:
Author
André Will-Laudien
Born in Munich, he first studied economics and graduated in business administration at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in 1995. As he was involved with the stock market at a very early stage, he now has more than 30 years of experience in the capital markets.
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70% of Global ETF Assets Are Concentrated in the US
Global assets invested in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recently totalled nearly USD 17 trillion. The US market clearly dominates the landscape, accounting for roughly 70% of all ETF assets worldwide. In the US, ETFs account for about 40% of total market assets and account for around one-third of daily trading volume. Against this backdrop, the emergence of potential new market giants such as SpaceX is anything but trivial. With an expected initial valuation of roughly USD 1.8 to USD 2.2 trillion, SpaceX would enter the market as a "MAG7"-sized company from day joining the exclusive club of trillion-dollar valuations. Actually, a renaming to "MAG8" may now be in order. What investors should keep in mind is that ETFs tracking major indices are not required to purchase shares of new constituents until the official inclusion date and index weighting have been announced.
SpaceX: Offering Range Set at USD 135 to USD 162 Until 6:00 pm Today
The subscription price range has been set for the past two weeks. A total of 555.555 million new shares will be issued. However, the company will have an enormous 13.1 billion shares outstanding, implying an initial free float of only around 5% to 7% of total shares. Elon Musk owns approximately 42% of SpaceX. Thanks to a special dual-class share structure with enhanced voting rights, he controls roughly 82% to 85% of the company's total voting power. Other major shareholders include the Founders Fund, Fidelity (10%), Alphabet (7.5%), Sequoia Capital, as well as smaller stakes held by Baillie Gifford, Andreessen Horowitz, Valor Equity Partners, DFJ Growth, and Gigafund. In total, 449 investors participated in SpaceX before the IPO, with thousands of new investors now expected to join the shareholder base.
Not all existing shareholders are subject to lock-up restrictions. However, most early investors must continue to hold their shares for at least 366 days, as must Elon Musk in his role as controlling shareholder. As a result, the initial supply of freely tradable shares will be very limited, creating a structure that could support higher valuations if demand proves strong. How the stock ultimately performs remains difficult to predict, as only a relatively small group of investors will initially be able to trade the shares. Unlike a typical IPO, the very high initial valuation of nearly USD 2 trillion leaves little room for appreciation, especially since the entire group is in the red. On the other hand, the listing is likely to create a new generation of multimillionaires—and even billionaires—among employees, executives, and long-time associates of Elon Musk. The excitement surrounding the offering is so intense that it may well generate more attention than the FIFA World Cup group-stage match between Canada and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
In Challenging Markets, Gold Remains a Reliable Guide
From SpaceX to precious metals. Scientific evidence suggests that gold can indeed play a stabilizing role in a portfolio during times of crisis, even if it does not offer absolute protection against losses. A frequently cited 2010 study by Dirk Baur and Brian Lucey identifies gold as a so-called "safe haven" for stock markets during periods of extreme stress and shows a low-to-negative correlation with risky assets. A study by the World Gold Council, based on market data from recent decades, also shows that even a 5% to 10% allocation to gold can reduce the volatility of a traditional stock-bond portfolio and improve risk-adjusted returns. Historical events such as the 2008 financial crisis, the 2010 eurozone debt crisis, or the 2020 COVID-19 crash demonstrate that gold often performs well when confidence in financial markets or currencies declines. For investors, gold is therefore less of a yield booster and more of a strategic diversifier, whose value lies primarily in its ability to cushion extreme risks within a portfolio.
Lahontan Gold: Santa Fe Exceeds Previous Models
There is plenty of gold in the US state of Nevada, where over 250 million ounces have historically been mined. Canadian developer Lahontan Gold is developing the "Santa Fe" gold-silver project on-site, which is currently on a straight path toward upcoming production. The core project comprises a historic mine where, between 1988 and 1995, approximately 359,000 ounces of gold and 702,000 ounces of silver were produced via open-pit mining and heap leaching. Today, Santa Fe holds a NI 43-101-compliant resource of approximately 1.95 million ounces of gold equivalent, of which 1.54 million ounces are classified in the higher-grade "Indicated" category. The combination of existing infrastructure, advanced permitting status, and oxidized mineralization gives Lahontan a development advantage over many competitors in the sector. Rapid implementation is expected within just a few months.
IIF host Lyndsay Malchuck gets to the bottom of the facts in Nevada and interviews CEO and founder Kimberly Ann.
New Drilling Reveals Additional Gold Zones
The latest drilling results from the 2026 program provide new insights that further underscore the deposit's potential. In the Calvada area, a drill hole intersected 90.8 m averaging 0.44 g/t gold equivalent (AuEq), confirming a thick zone of oxide mineralization below the previously defined resource boundaries. Within this section, 12.3 m grading 1.22 g/t AuEq were identified, indicating locally significantly higher-grade zones. Even more significant, however, is the discovery of the new "Slab West" zone. There, Lahontan encountered gold mineralization in four out of five exploration drill holes, including 35 m grading 0.34 g/t AuEq and 61 m grading 0.26 g/t AuEq. The newly discovered structure lies outside the existing resource areas, has a large spatial extent, and remains open both along strike and at depth.
The Year 2027 as a Possible Turning Point in the Company's Development
A major catalyst remains the update to the resource estimate and the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) announced for Q3. This is because the previous PEA was based on a gold price of just USD 1,950 per ounce, whereas gold has since traded above USD 5,000 at times. Based on the current gold price of around USD 4,000, the company has already calculated a post-tax net present value (NPV) of approximately USD 472 million and an exceptionally high internal rate of return of 66.6%. This contrasts with a market valuation of only about CAD 145 million. Further potential is suggested by investigations of historic heap-leach pads, where approximately 16 million tons of material were once processed. If economically recoverable residual metals can be proven, Lahontan could utilize already crushed material, thereby tapping into an efficient additional source of production. Concurrently, management is working on obtaining permits for operational commencement in 2027. Following the successful financing of over CAD 13 million in April, the company's flexibility and scope have increased significantly. The discovery of "Slab West" suggests that the geological system has not yet been fully mapped. If the company succeeds in incorporating the new zones into future resource models and further improving the economic indicators, the stock's appreciation is likely to continue rapidly. Extremely exciting!
The stock market is not very encouraging at the moment. No matter where investors park their money, prices are falling. This is primarily due to the strong upward surges since April 2025. SpaceX is an interesting "wild card" for a potential tech rally. International investors remain firmly focused on critical metals and, in this climate of uncertainty, naturally on gold and silver. Here, Lahontan Gold can provide solid solutions and offers opportunities for medium-term diversification.
Conflict of interest
Pursuant to §85 of the German Securities Trading Act (WpHG), we point out that Apaton Finance GmbH as well as partners, authors or employees of Apaton Finance GmbH (hereinafter referred to as "Relevant Persons") currently hold or hold shares or other financial instruments of the aforementioned companies and speculate on their price developments. In this respect, they intend to sell or acquire shares or other financial instruments of the companies (hereinafter each referred to as a "Transaction"). Transactions may thereby influence the respective price of the shares or other financial instruments of the Company.
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