Category Archives: Critical Materials

Global Economy Making Clean Energy Transition From Fossil Fuels to Renewables

Global Economy Making Clean Energy Transition From Fossil Fuels to Renewables
According to recent Washington Post article, 2015 was a breakout year for clean energy investments with over $325 billion invested into the sector. What is shocking about this figure is that it happened during a year when oil crashed from above $100 per barrel to 10 year lows. Why are lithium stocks soaring and renewable energy demand increasing when oil is so cheap?
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Copper and Base Metals May Be on Verge Of Major Breakout After Glencore Cuts Production

Copper and Base Metals May Be on Verge Of Major Breakout After Glencore Cuts Production
For the past two weeks I have written to my premium subscribers to look at copper and the industrial metals as I saw deep pocketed private equity funds and billionaires such as Carl Icahn and KKR taking big bets on beaten down Dr. Copper hitting five year lows. I knew that a bottom could be forming and that we could be near the final turn. It was my first copper bet in many years. Now it appears that the call of a bottom in copper and industrial metals could be confirmed by the recent news that Glencore is cutting global production of zinc. Copper and nickel could be next. The Commodity Giants such as Glencore are in great financial duress right now shutting down mines left and right that are losing money at these low commodity prices. They recently shut down two African Mines.
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Jeb Handwerger, “Prices for rare earths could be making a comeback.”

Commodities have seen a broad decline, but prices for rare-earth elements are poised for a recovery. That may come as a surprise following the bankruptcy filing by U.S. rare-earth miner and producer Molycorp Inc. earlier this year, and given the uncertainty surrounding metals demand and the economy in China, a country which controls nearly all of the world’s rare-earth market.
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Lithium Ion Battery Growth Boosting These Junior Miners Seeing High Volume Breakouts

Lithium Ion Battery Growth Boosting These Junior Miners Seeing High Volume Breakouts
Lithium and graphite are two of the most important materials for lithium ion batteries which have seen a huge increase in consumption over the past decade. Annual growth is around 20% which means demand doubles every five years at this point. The main driver is the increase in use of smartphones, laptops and tablets in addition to the increasing popularity of Tesla's electric cars. Increasing volume and price rises have recently come into some of our featured companies...
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Are You Ready For The US Lithium Ion Battery Boom?

espite gold correcting, major investment interest increases for the lithium ion battery market which is growing at a breathtaking pace. Demand could double over the next decade as the US is now developing a lithium battery supply chain which could emerge over the coming years.
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Deal with Chinese Rare Earth Giant Sends Junior Soaring on Record Volume

Deal with Chinese Rare Earth Giant Sends Junior Soaring on Record Volume
For years, I have told my readers about Elliot Lake and its ideal location for rare earth mining and processing since it had a history of mining these radioactive materials. However, as rare earth and uranium prices corrected the asset struggled to stay economically attractive. The price traded below $.05 and was one of the stocks left for dead. This changed drastically this week as the share prices skyrocketed on record volume on a major deal with a large Chinese Rare Earth Company.
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U.S. Rare Earth Crisis Hits Mainstream Media with 60 Minutes Special

U.S. Rare Earth Crisis Hits Mainstream Media with 60 Minutes Special
For years I have been writing about the coming US rare earth crisis all over the internet and highlighting the support of an independent US rare earth supply chain. This past Sunday evening in hit the mainstream media with a 60 Minutes piece on the Chinese monopoly of the rare earths and how the rare earth technology which was developed in the US was sent overseas for just pennies. For the past forty years many of our best technologies were shipped overseas in the search for cheap labor. The cost was our intellectual property. The rare earth market began when the TV entered the American household. Now the rare earths especially the heavies have seen a huge demand increase in the past few years as the smartphones enter almost every pocket and in new military technologies such as guided missiles.
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Heavy Rare Earth Prices Moving Higher Since November 2014

Heavy Rare Earth Prices Moving Higher Since November 2014
Heavy rare earth prices have started bouncing higher for these minerals since late November. Increasing tensions with China and The West over natural gas in the South China Seas could continue to support higher heavy rare earth prices. Terbium and dysprosium are two heavy rare earths that are critical for our latest defense technologies and all of this supply currently comes from China. This lack of a secure source is putting our national security and our latest technologies at risk for a supply shortfall.
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Majors Focus On Acquiring Large Polymetallic PGM Projects In North America

Majors Focus On Acquiring Large Polymetallic PGM Projects In North America
For weeks I highlighted that the low valuations in the junior resource space will attract large miners especially in the platinum and palladium (PGM) space which has a huge supply demand imbalance. This past week Antofagasta offered $.45 per share for junior miner Duluth Metals Twin Metals Ni-PGM deposit in Minnesota. The Twin Metals Deposit is similar to this junior in the Yukon. Dundee put out a research note after the transaction which showed if this junior was bought out at the same valuation as Duluth it would be priced at $1.85 share. Today's price in the mid fifty cent range is quite cheap especially as we see the growing interest in Platinum and Palladium sources outside South Africa.
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