April 5, 2021

The US has a metals problem

Years of neglecting its critical metal supplies is catching up with the United States, as demand for the raw materials needed to build a new green economy that rejects fossil fuels gears up.
April 2, 2021

Renforth continues to unlock huge VMS/ sulfide nickel system at Surimeau, Quebec

Though early stage, the possibility of widespread sulfide nickel mineralization at Surimeau looks promising. The grades and rock value given here are conservative; the 0.224% Ni used to calculate the rock value of US$41.83 per tonne is based on only three intercepts from three holes drilled at Surimeau, less than 200m. Highlights from summer 2020 grab sampling show grades up to 0.495% Ni. If those grades start showing up in drill core, Renforth could really be onto something.
April 2, 2021

Victory Resources names new CEO as it expands exploration focus to battery metals

As Victory Resources Corp. (CSE: VR) (FWB: VR61) (OTC: VRCFF) continues to scale up mining operations on multiple properties across North America, the company has made a significant management change to reflect its broadening exploration focus that now includes battery metals.
March 31, 2021

We are drowning in plastic

As the fight against the coronavirus continues to take center stage, an insidious environmental problem is getting worse: plastic pollution.

The global health crisis has prompted a rush for single-use plastic just as governments around the world were taking steps to curtail or ban its usage. Demand has surged for everything from face shields and gloves to takeaway food containers and bubble wrap for online shopping — most of which cannot be recycled and is ending up as waste.
March 30, 2021

Rick Mills Podcast: Copper Will Be the Key Commodity for Green Energy Push

Mainstream media and the large mining companies are finally catching on to what we at AOTH have been saying for the past two years: the copper market is heading for a severe supply shortage due to a perfect storm of under-exploration/ lack of discovery of new deposits, clashing with a huge increase in demand due to electrification and decarbonization.
March 27, 2021

Graphite One: America’s climate plan comes down to building domestic critical mineral supply

The common denominator for each countries climate action plan is electric vehicles; that’s easy to identify. But whether economies can acquire sufficient raw materials to reach “full electrification” is another story — it's a problem that has yet to be solved.

For years, the US has been heavily reliant on foreign supply of minerals required for key areas such as national defense, electronics and medical equipment, and its EV sector is no different.

Under Trump’s executive order (September 2020), graphite was identified as one of four minerals considered essential to the nation’s “national security, foreign policy and economy.”
March 23, 2021

Competition for energy and battery metals intensifying

Goldman Sachs says that the next structural bull market for commodities will be driven by spending on green energy.

The fossil-fueled based transportation system needs to be electrified, and the switch must be made from oil, gas, and coal-powered power plants to those which run on solar, wind and thorium-produced nuclear energy. If we have any hope of cleaning up the planet, before the point of no return, a massive decarbonization needs to take place.

In a recent report, commodities consultancy Wood Mackenzie said an investment of over $1 trillion will be required in key energy transition metals over the next 15 years, just to meet the growing needs of decarbonization.
March 21, 2021

Arctic mines face thawing permafrost disaster

The thawing of permafrost is yet another manifestation of climate change, that populations living near it will have to deal with in the coming decades as global warming accelerates, particularly in the polar regions

Mining is often deemed complicit in the rise of greenhouse gas emissions, given its use of heavy machinery and ground disturbance, but in this case, in areas where the ground is permanently frozen but starting to thaw, operations can be negatively impacted, and big miners are having to shell out millions. We have seen the implications of thawing permafrost at Teck’s Red Dog Mine in Alaska, and at Norilsk Nickel’s Oktyabrsky and Taimyrsky mines in Siberia.

The problem is not going away; in fact, there is every indication it will get worse.
March 16, 2021

Call for domestic mining of critical minerals is finally being answered

North America relies heavily on foreign supplies of critical minerals — the raw materials it needs to become a leader in high technology, transportation, energy, and defense. Materials like lithium, graphite, and tin.

For years, the United States and Canada did not bother to explore for these minerals and build mines. Globalization brought with it the mentality that all countries are free traders, and friends. Dirty mining and processing? NIMBY. Let China do it, let the DRC do it, let whoever do it.

China recognized opportunity knocking and answered the door
March 12, 2021

Copper shortage narrative goes mainstream

Mainstream media and the large mining companies are finally catching on to what we at AOTH have been saying for the past two years: the copper market is heading for a severe supply shortage due to a perfect storm of under-exploration/ lack of discovery of new deposits, clashing with a huge increase in demand due to electrification and decarbonization.

Copper is trading over $4.00 a pound this year on rapidly tightening physical markets, rebounding economic growth especially in China, the top metals consumer, and the expectation that the era of low inflation in key economies may soon be over.
March 6, 2021

Lithium prices take off, graphite demand to surge 9X on EV battery growth

Currently, only 1% of the world’s vehicles are electric, but by 2030 they are expected to represent about 11% of new car sales, according to commodities consultant Wood Mackenzie.

Like lithium, graphite is indispensable to the global shift towards electric vehicles; it is the second-largest component in lithium-ion batteries by weight, with each EV containing between 40 and 60 kg of material.
March 6, 2021

Biden’s massive infrastructure plan might be expensive but well worth it

Is America’s infrastructure spending worth it? So far, the answer would lean towards a yes.

A report published by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) this week has validated the nation’s recent success in improving its infrastructure, while justifying the need for additional government spending.
February 26, 2021

Bitter US cold snap is a sign of the times

2021.02.26 The polar vortex is at it again. The weather phenomenon responsible for […]
February 23, 2021

Commodities and soon Juniors in vogue

2021.02.23 Gold and copper are up, the dollar is down, and bond yields […]
February 10, 2021

Nickel, graphite to benefit from explosive growth in battery storage market

2021.02.10 The challenges most countries are facing right now are daunting. Not only […]
January 28, 2021

Max Increases the CESAR Copper-Silver Landholdings to Over 2,000 Sq. Km.

2021.01.28 Max Resource Corp (TSX.V:MXR; OTC:MXROF; Frankfurt:M1D2) has procured a major section of […]
November 6, 2020

Canada’s warming Arctic implications

2020.11.06 Canada’s identity is inextricably tied to the United States, and Canadians share […]
October 27, 2020
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Re-elected BC NDP pressing ahead with LNG disaster

2020.10.27 British Columbia’s NDP government was re-elected on Saturday with a comfortable majority, […]
August 22, 2020

Melting ice exposing mineral wealth

2020.08.22 Emily Riedel steps gingerly as she walks along the ice hugging the […]
July 17, 2020

As palladium market sizzles, PDM ready to drill LK project

2020.07.17 Palladium prices have slipped back a bit since the pre-pandemic record high […]
June 26, 2020

Saving the planet with clean and green

2020.06.26 Lockdowns and reduced industrial activity aimed at reducing the spread of the […]
November 30, 2019

Lower-priced platinum keeping palladium supply in check

2019.11.30 Palladium prices are marching up again despite the platinum-group element (PGE) losing […]
October 12, 2019

Palladium is an unsung green superhero

2019.10.12 Smog from vehicle emissions is estimated to cause a third of the […]
October 5, 2019

Feeding the world vs saving the planet

2019.10.05 When China closed its door to all US agricultural exports in August, […]
October 3, 2019

When the levee breaks

2019.10.03 In John Steinbeck’s epic novel ‘The Grapes of Wrath’, a poor family […]
August 22, 2019

Fresh water crisis unfolding

2019.08.22 When planetary scientists search for life on other planets the first thing they look for is […]
August 16, 2019

Impressive exploration upside with Palladium One

2019.08.16 Palladium One Mining (TSX-V:PDM, FRA:7N11)  is exploring for platinum group elements (PGEs) at […]
August 16, 2019

A steady diet of plastic

2019.08.16 People eating fish are advised to watch carefully for bones, but how […]
August 1, 2019

Beetle battle – BC’s last stand

2019.08.01 A warming climate plus decades of mismanagement by various provincial governments threaten […]
July 25, 2019

The day the current stopped

2019.07.25 Anybody who’s ever planted cedar bushes knows how drought-sensitive the little suckers […]
July 17, 2019

Palladium is integral to global transportation, energy shift

2019.07.17 Despite reports of its imminent demise, the internal combustion engine-powered vehicle isn’t […]
July 17, 2019

What’s with all the weird weather?

2019.07.17 In January 2018, something strange happened in the Sahara Desert: it snowed. The […]
July 6, 2019

It’s not easy going green

2019.07.06 As Kermit the Frog used to say, “It’s not easy being green.”. […]
May 18, 2019

Melting ice, Arctic scramble

2019.05.18 In August 2007, a pair of Russian submersibles dropped to the bottom […]
April 11, 2019

Palladium, darling of the PGEs, shifting into high gear

2019.04.11 The platinum group elements (PGEs) consist of six metallic elements found in […]
March 22, 2019

Push for more LNG overshadows fracking-caused earthquakes

2019.03.22 LNG Canada is getting more ambitious in its plans to build BC’s […]
March 22, 2019

Push for more LNG overshadows fracking-caused earthquakes

2019.03.22 LNG Canada is getting more ambitious in its plans to build BC’s […]
February 16, 2019

The Big Lies perpetuated by Big Oil & Gas

2019.02.16 I always enjoy watching the Alberta government’s television ad on the Kinder Morgan […]
January 30, 2019

New Brunswick nuclear energy vs BC LNG

2019.01.30 The nuclear powered energy train has left the station in the Eastern […]
January 18, 2019

Choose thorium-fueled reactors instead of Site C

2019.01.18 I was flying through the Twitterverse when I came across this doozy […]
January 10, 2019

How the BC NDP sold the environment down the river

2019.01.10 There once was a time when the New Democratic Party of British […]
December 16, 2018

BC earthquakes and fracking

2018.12.16 There is no fracking going on right now in northeastern British Columbia, […]
December 1, 2018

Bottled water bamboozle

2018.12.01 Bottled water is now the most consumed drink sold in a plastic […]
December 1, 2018

Whisky is for drinking; water is for fighting over

2018.12.01 The problem of severe water stress in the United States – and […]
November 17, 2018

The real price of LNG

2018.11.17 “This is a spectacular day for all British Columbians, again not one […]
November 10, 2018

BC’s killer whales v LNG

2018.11.10 The snow-capped mountains north of Vancouver are famous for skiing, but eight […]
October 21, 2018

LNG: Another environmental disaster coming to BC

2018.10.21 A new liquefied natural gas industry in British Columbia that would be […]
October 6, 2018

Uranium’s ugly stepsister

2018.10.06 Most junior resource investors know uranium, and many got in on the […]
August 9, 2018

Resurgent US oil industry priming the economic pump

2018.08.09 Crude oil prices dropped from $110 a barrel in the summer of […]
October 16, 2017

Lithium Supercycle

2017.10.16 The truth, in regards to the world’s mineral resources, is that we […]
May 27, 2017

Earth Overshoot Day

2017.05.27 The second half of the 20th century saw the biggest increase in […]
January 1, 1970

The case for palladium

Discovered by English chemist William Wollaston in 1803, palladium was named after the […]
January 1, 1970

How the US lost the plot on rare earths

On Wednesday morning, a rocket blasted off from Blue Origin’s West Texas facility […]