Scarcity Shapes Top Pick Selections at CEM’s 2026 Scottsdale Event 

Heading into CEM’s biggest event yet last weekend, investors were looking for what the world needs now, with the strongest interest going to companies tied to essential materials, resources, and infrastructure.

That search for relevance and resilience helped shape this year’s Top Pick selections in Scottsdale, reflecting a clear preference for companies exposed to global supply constraints and tangible market need.

“Scarcity was a big part of the conversation in Scottsdale,” said Ryan Iverson, CEM’s portfolio manager and host of the Investor Breakout Exchange, which selected the Top 5 Picks from 70 attending companies.

“There was clear interest in companies tied to essential supply, hard assets, and infrastructure with real market needs. In a choppy market, that tends to stand out,” he said.

Each of the Top 5 Picks gave investors exposure to sectors where supply still matters and execution can still move the story, Iverson added.

Top Picks

Here is your early and exclusive look at the Top Five Picks from the 2026 CEM Scottsdale Capital Event and why they stood out in a market looking for strategic value stemming from scarcity and supply the world still needs. 

TSXV: CCDS | OTCQB: CCDSF

Carrier Connect Data Solutions Inc.

Carrier Connect Data Solutions returned to the Top Pick line-up in Scottsdale after scoring a similar accolade at the CEM AlphaNorth Capital Event in the Bahamas earlier this year. The recognition comes as the global race to deploy artificial intelligence has created a bottleneck at the heart of the digital economy, with data-centre capacity falling short just as demand surges. The company’s strategy is to acquire smaller cash-flowing Tier II and Tier III data centres from private owners or non-core sellers, then scale those assets under a public-market model. The thesis is built around rising demand for computing power as supply constraints tighten in the data-centre market, which is predicted to grow from about US$114 billion in 2023 to roughly US$365 billion by 2034. Carrier now has five data centres under management after completing its Saint John acquisition, giving it a footprint across Vancouver, Ottawa, Saint John, and Perth, Australia.

Why It Was Picked:

• Carrier has already built a multi-site platform with visible embedded upside. It outlines annual revenue potential of C$8.55 million across Vancouver, Ottawa, and Saint John, plus A$4 million from Perth, giving investors a clearer sense of what the existing portfolio could look like as utilization improves. That matters because Scottsdale investors were rewarding companies that could point to operating assets, multiple markets, and measurable expansion potential, not just a broad AI infrastructure pitch. 
• Recent developments suggest Carrier’s next phase is about filling capacity, deepening customer relationships, and lifting revenue per site. That was reinforced by the company’s five-year co-location agreement with Ross Video at its Ottawa facilities, covering 30 kilowatts across eight racks starting in April 2026.
• The company’s latest catalyst list includes further acquisitions, upgrades in Vancouver, Perth, and Ottawa, and increased U.S. investor outreach following its OTCQB listing. Just as important, Carrier signed a non-binding LOI in March to acquire Morewave’s network connectivity and delivery assets, which would expand the platform into recurring connectivity and last-mile services if completed. That gives investors a clearer path to a broader digital infrastructure business rather than a simple collection of data-centre assets.

NYSE-American: GRO

Brazil Potash Corp.

Brazil Potash, another past CEM Top Pick, is advancing its Autazes Project in Amazonas as a domestic potash source for one of the world’s most important agricultural markets at a time when food security, fertilizer supply and geopolitics remain tightly linked. 

Brazil is the world’s largest net exporter of agricultural products, yet it still relies on imports for about 98% of its potash supply and accounts for roughly 22% of global demand. Brazil Potash is positioning Autazes as an in-country answer to that gap, with projected production of 2.4 million tonnes per year, enough to supply about 17% of Brazil’s current consumption. The project is permitted for construction and in an early build stage, with binding offtake contracts covering 91% of nameplate capacity and more than US$310 million of paid-in capital, giving the story more commercial and execution weight than it had earlier in the year when it was selected as a Top Pick in the Bahamas. 

Why It Was Picked:

• Autazes offers a structural logistics edge into Brazil’s core farming regions. The company says the project could deliver potash to customers at about 71% lower transportation cost than foreign competitors and cut total transit time from roughly 107 days to about 2.5 days. In a bulk commodity business, that kind of delivered-cost and delivery-time advantage can matter as much as the resource itself. 
• The project now carries more visible financial and third-party validation than it did earlier this year. Brazil Potash points to more than US$310 million of paid-in capital and highlights Franco-Nevada’s royalty option agreement, along with its earlier US$10 million IPO investment, as added support for the company as it moves deeper into the construction financing phase.
• The execution story has broadened beyond permits and offtake into local alignment and project-readiness. Since the Bahamas event, Brazil Potash has formalized a cooperation agreement with the Mura Indigenous Council covering 37 villages, while also delivering on 13 local community training MOUs. The company’s next milestones include powerline construction, funding of major plant components, an asset-level equity partner, and construction debt, giving investors a clearer picture of how it plans to move from a permitted project to a financed and buildable one. 

TSXV: ALDE | OTCQX: ADBRF

Aldebaran Resources Inc.

Aldebaran’s Altar project in San Juan, Argentina, is a very large copper deposit at a time when the world is struggling to find enough new copper supply. Its latest resource estimate outlines more than 31 billion pounds of copper, plus meaningful gold and silver credits, making it one of the biggest undeveloped copper projects still controlled by a junior company. In a market worried about future copper shortages, that kind of scale matters because large new deposits are rare, and they are the ones most likely to attract long-term strategic interest. 

Since its last Top Pick selection in early 2025, Aldebaran has moved from showing how big Altar is to showing what it could actually be worth. Its 2025 PEA gave investors a first real look at the project’s economics, outlining an after-tax NPV8 of US$2.0 billion, a 20.5% internal rate of return and a four-year payback at long-term prices of US$4.35 per pound copper and US$2,500 per ounce gold. The company is now working toward a pre-feasibility study in 2027, while drilling continues to upgrade more of the resource into higher-confidence categories that can support the next stage of development. 

Why It Was Picked:

• The project now has numbers investors can work with. The 2025 PEA gave the market a clearer picture of what Altar could look like as a mine, including a strong after-tax value, a solid return, and a relatively quick payback for a project of this size. That matters because big deposits get more attention when investors can start to see how they might actually turn into a business. 
• The company’s latest presentation shows Altar trading at a discount to peers, while also arguing that copper projects often become more valuable as they move from resource stage to PEA, then to PFS and beyond. In other words, Scottsdale investors were not just looking at what Altar is today. They were looking at what it could become if the company keeps derisking it.
• There is a clear line of near-term catalysts. Aldebaran is not standing still after the PEA. The current plan calls for more drill results, an updated mineral resource estimate in 2026, an application in 2027 for Argentina’s large-project incentive program, and a pre-feasibility study in 2027. That gives investors several points along the way where the story could strengthen, rather than one distant end goal.

TSXV: ALTU | OTCQB: ALTUF

Altura Energy Corp.

The ongoing Iran war has thrust Altura Energy into sharper focus as disruptions in Qatar highlight the strategic value of secure North American helium supply. That matters because helium is not a niche gas. It is essential for MRI systems, semiconductors, fibre optics, aerospace, and other advanced technologies, yet the market remains highly concentrated and vulnerable to shocks. Last month, Qatar, which accounts for nearly one-third of global helium production, was hit by LNG disruptions tied to the US-Iran conflict, sending helium prices sharply higher and exposing how little spare supply the market really has. Against that backdrop, Altura’s Arizona helium position offers investors exposure to a domestic growth story in a commodity where supply security has suddenly become a lot more important.

Why It Was Picked:

• Altura gives investors exposure to a portfolio of helium assets in Arizona with both production and exploration upside. The company’s core position is the 15,594-acre Pinta South Helium Field, where it is targeting low-risk growth through existing wells at Saddle Horse Draw, non-operated production exposure at Navajo Springs, and additional upside at Puerco Ridge. This gives investors more than a single-well helium story. 
• Altura is not starting from scratch. Its strategy is built around existing wells, existing processing access, and relatively low-risk field work, including recompletions, tubing installs, and bringing shut-in wells back online at Saddle Horse Draw. That makes the story easier for investors to follow because the first phase is about improving and expanding from a known base rather than betting everything on one new drill hole. 
• Around Navajo Springs, Altura says the surrounding acreage could support up to 64 additional wells in the primary formation, while Puerco Ridge adds exploration upside through planned 2D seismic work and deeper targets. The company with about $2.4 million in cash and funded for production growth, gives investors a clearer path from a small helium story to a broader helium platform. 

TSX: GCU | OTCQB: GCUMF

Gunnison Copper Corp.

Gunnison is building a U.S. copper story at a time when domestic supply has become a much bigger strategic issue. In Arizona, the company already has production at Johnson Camp Mine, where copper cathode production began in August 2025, first sale followed in September 2025, and production using Rio Tinto’s Nuton sulfide leach technology started in December 2025. At the same time, it is advancing the much larger 100%-owned Gunnison Project, where the newly filed 2026 PEA outlines a 21-year mine life, average annual copper cathode production of 174 million pounds in the first 15 years, total recovered copper of about 3.2 billion pounds, and an after-tax NPV8 of US$1.959 billion with a 22.5% IRR and 3.9-year payback at a base-case copper price of US$4.60 per pound. The company says that level of output could potentially supply up to 11% of U.S. refined copper production from mineralized material. 

Why It Was Picked:

• Gunnison gives investors both current production and larger development upside. Johnson Camp is already producing copper cathode in Arizona, while the Gunnison Project provides the bigger second leg. That mattered in Scottsdale because investors were rewarding companies that could point to operating assets as well as visible growth behind them. 
• The new PEA gave the market a clearer value case. Gunnison is no longer just a resource and permitting story. The 2026 PEA laid out a long mine life, strong projected output and solid economics, giving investors a more concrete sense of what the project could look like as a business. 
• The story is tied directly to the U.S. push for domestic copper. Gunnison highlights US$13.9 million in Section 48C tax credits for Johnson Camp, copper’s addition to the U.S. critical minerals list, and a state-led Arizona permitting path built around amendments rather than starting from scratch. That gives Gunnison extra relevance in a market placing more value on secure North American supply.

Outstanding Performers

Along with the Top Picks, these five companies completed the group of 10 names that stood out at the Investor Breakout Exchange in Scottsdale last weekend.

6. Midnight Sun Mining Corp. (TSXV: MMA | OTCQX: MDNGF)
7. Skeena Gold + Silver (TSX | NYSE: SKE)
8. Laiva Gold Inc. (Private)
9. Talisker Resources Ltd. (TSX: TSK | OTCQB: TSKFF)
10. Scottie Resources Corp. (TSXV: SCOT | OTCQB: SCTSF)
    

Honourable Mentions

These companies were not part of the final Top 10, but they stood out for the quality of their execution and the momentum they carried into Scottsdale.

Upcoming Event

Bermuda Capital Event

June 12–14, 2026

CEM now turns to the 3rd Annual Bermuda Capital Event, which will be held June 12 to 14 at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess & Beach Club. The event will once again connect growth-stage issuers in resources, technology, biotech, and special situations with active senior capital markets professionals through a full day of scheduled one-on-one meetings.

Warm Regards and Happy Investing,
Fabian Dawson

Weekly Insight

Each week, CEM Partner and Portfolio Manager Ryan Iverson spotlights the ideas and companies sparking investor interest from emerging growth stories to the Top Picks featured across CEM’s Capital Events. This series brings real insights from the innovators shaping tomorrow’s markets and reveals where investors are finding the next breakout opportunities.

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