Another Strictly Boardroom article published last year looked at the role of metals and minerals in the defence industry. The issue of 'critical' or 'strategic' minerals, particularly for the defence industry has been of increased salience in recent years. Whilst the military broadly uses most metals and minerals - it uses buildings, automobiles, and consumer products, just like the rest… Read this post →
Last year I presented a keynote at the Argus Media-Metal Pages China Metals Week in Guangzhou, entitled "Which markets are the future stars of the 'critical metals' industry?" The presentation looks at which of the critical metals, those defined as small important metal markets with supply constraints, have the potential to outgrow their current constraints and become large, industrial metals… Read this post →
A few months ago my PhD supervisor, Allan Trench, presented a paper co-authored with myself and a colleague at CRU Group, Paul Robinson, to the AusIMM New Zealand Branch Annual Conference. Allan's presentation focused on CRU commodity price forecasts, however, the paper we submitted alongside also looked at some of the problems of commodity price forecasting and ways it can be… Read this post →
July brings a chance to take stock on commodity price movements so far in 2015, as we pass the year mid-point; and here in Western Australia we enter the thick of winter, which is only marginally colder than the record summer temperatures being reported in my homeland. Commodity prices however continue to be more of the wintery sort. The mid-year… Read this post →