The latest on Strategic Metals: Retire Overseas Conference in Orlando, Florida

Posted on by Bodo Albrecht

retire-overseas-conference-logo-2With a month to go, time for a reminder of this event. Strategic metals are still a relatively new investment group for private investors. To provide in-depth information on the metals, their applications and price developments, I will be speaking at the “Retire Overseas” conference in Orlando, Florida, on behalf of Tradium GmbH of Germany.

Tradium is a large industrial wholesaler supplying electronics and technology companies around the world with Rare Earth Elements and Strategic Metals. The company added private investments just a few years ago and backed it up by launching Metlock, a bonded high-security storage facility in Frankfurt, Germany.

The conference is hosted by Kathleen Peddicord and Lief Simon, who for many years have offered services and education surrounding retirement and investment planning.

Read more about the conference here: LINK

Looking forward to seeing some of you there!

NY Times: Platinum Demand faces Impact from Electric Car Growth

Posted on by Bodo Albrecht

 

nyt-t-logoThe New York Times just picked up my Reuters discussion from last week. Generally happy to see that the relevance of this movement is gaining foothold in people’s mind. They might have done without the letters “IPMI” in the title. While it’s true that I am the current IPMI chairman, this interview was a personal one and not an official statement by the institute. Here is the link. 

 

Here is the NASDAQ version of the same event.

And here is Yahoo’s version 🙂

Investing.com ….

Reuters Interview / Q&A on the impact of Hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicles on Platinum

Posted on by Bodo Albrecht

Reuters BannerFuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) vs. battery electric vehicles (BEV) – the precious metals industry is rightfully concerned about this battle. While FCEVs will utilize platinum in their fuel cells, BEVs need none, and each electric vehicle sold of either kind means that one less standard emission control catalyst has been sold. Reason for Reuters to inquire about the scale of the potential effects.

I sometimes feel like a doomsday prophet when I’m just tallying up statements and facts from people and governments in charge, that inevitably lead to one conclusion: electrification is near, and there is no sufficient hydrogen supply infrastructure to counter the expansion of electric charging.

Better to deal with the issue now than staring into an abyss a decade down the road. Precious metals, combined with rare earth elements and other “strategic” metals, are indispensable in making a sustainable planet a reality. So let’s focus on a vision for this world in 2040, and start working towards it.

To read a transcript of the Q&A session please click here.

Update: I just discovered the direct link to Reuter’s summary: click here to read.

Meine “Panama Papers”

Posted on by Bodo Albrecht

100-oz-gold-bar-verical-transparancy“Let´s get physical: the golden rules of gold investment” wurde als zweiter Beitrag ins Programm des “Emergency Summit” aufgenommen, einer Konferenz für Investoren, die vom 24.-26.Oktober in Panama City stattfinden wird.

Mehr Infos zur Konferenz gibt´s hier: http://liveandinvestoverseas.com/conf/emergency-offshore-summit-2016/

Titel des ersten Vortrags ist: “Rare opportunities: understanding strategic metal investments”.

Über Ihren Besuch würde ich mich sehr freuen.

 

Emergency Offshore Summit in Panama

Posted on by Bodo Albrecht

With the “Live and Invest Overseas” conference just finished, the next event is already on the horizon. Lief Simon’s “Emergency Offshore Summit” is aimed at investors worried about the political future of the United States after the elections in November. One way or another, instability may be a result, and the conference focuses on legal precautions private investors have at their disposal to hedge against such effects.

The conference will be from October 24-26 in Panama City, Panama, and I will be speaking on two topics: physical investments in strategic metals, and in precious metals. Let’s not make it one of these:

To register for the event please click here. Looking forward to seeing you in Panama!

Platinum Group Metals: staring down a cliff?

Posted on by Bodo Albrecht

TecDay Road to the Future – Drive TrainOne topic of my annual “Metal Megatrends” paper at the recent IPMI conference in Phoenix was sustainable mobility, and its impacts on metal consumption. In fact, if you read the story of how my column for Kitco News started four years ago (see the “Welcome” page of this blog), we have now reached a point where we can answer the question: “What if all cars in the world were electric?”.

The answer is now online on Kitco News (click here to read).

While my paper (available through the IPMI in a little while) was also critical regarding Tesla executives’ role in trash talking hydrogen it should also be disclosed that I am on the long list of people having pre-ordered a Model 3, and I share the admiration of Elon Musk by those who say he is shaping the world by his visions, perhaps in more significant ways than Steve Jobs ever has.

As a result of adding up all the facts in front of us the only logical conclusion is that the era of the internal combustion engine is coming to an end. There will be a long tail, of course, with cars being passed on from some regions of the world to others, and with heavy duty engines as an unresolved issue. What about collector’s cars? Will a “boutique” style infrastructure emerge where we buy fuel in new ways, or is it back to the pharmacy like in the early days of the automobile?

Last but certainly not least: what will happen to pgm markets in the meantime? Assuming that the fuel cell will eventually gain traction, the loss of platinum on emission control catalysts might be offset by the growth of the FCEV. Palladium, which is already used in some fuel cells, might once again play a role as a substitute. Only for rhodium the direction is unclear in this environment.

That said, the unique properties of precious metals have always made them desirable, if not irreplaceable, in technology applications. I am optimistic that new uses will emerge as technologies advance further.

BYD -disrupting the markets for lithium and cobalt

Posted on by Bodo Albrecht

A few weeks ago, during the hype of hundreds of thousands of Tesla Model 3 pre-orders, I saw a report on BYD (“Build Your Dream”), a Chinese car and battery manufacturer. While Tesla are scrambling to determine how they will meet the large demand they just created, BYD is already producing very large amounts of battery-electric vehicles today. I was drawn to their YouTube video (link below, the Spanish title seems to be an error on their part) in which BYD are demonstrating the safety of their lithium iron phosphate batteries.

These batteries are interesting because they are likely to do two things to metal markets:

  1. They will remove the issue of a cobalt shortage which is imminent – standard Li-ion batteries contain about 10% of cobalt, that’s 50kg per Tesla. Arithmetically, there just isn’t enough cobalt available in the world to prevent a market crash. See my earlier report on the topic here, and an excellent analysis by John Petersen titled “EV batteries and the cobalt cliff” here.
  2. The effect on lithium will be inverse: the metal, unchained from cobalt, can now be used more widespread than previously possible.

BYD-E6_3Intrigued by this scenario, I requested an interview with BYD which was promptly granted. I wish other companies were this forthcoming when it comes to asking about their technology. The resulting article was just published on Kitco News today, and it can be viewed here. Hope you will find it interesting.

Tesla Model 3: the car that is

Posted on by Bodo Albrecht

You may feel about Tesla in whichever way you like, but there is no denying that today is the day people will remember as the day when the paradigms of selling cars changed forever. Thousands of people are waiting in line to pay down $1,000 on a car they have never seen, a car that may or may not be shipped in 2017, a car that – according to its creator – doesn’t even exist in its final design yet.

IMG_20160331_095433The picture shows people waiting at a factory owned store in a shopping mall (Short Hills Mall in New Jersey, USA). The line, which security estimated to be at least 200 people, winds throughout the mall and out the door. The line in the other picture shows people waiting for the new iPhone, also released today in what can only be called a marketing blunder. IMG_20160331_095110It is not the Tesla Model 3 other EV manufacturers have to worry about, it’s the way in which Elon Musk and the Tesla brand excite the masses. The Model 3 presale takes thousands of committed EV buyers off the market for at least 4-5 years (1.5 years of waiting time plus a 3 year lease). Whichever product or marketing strategy other brands may come up with, from hereon the market has been captured by Tesla for a very long time. A VERY smart move.

Unlikely Apple or Google will enter the Auto Market – Carlos Ghosn

Posted on by Bodo Albrecht

IMG_5356Carlos Ghosn, CEO of both Renault and Nissan, shared some very relevant insights on why electric vehicles are unstoppable, and why he does not see any of the tech companies enter the automotive market as a producer. Ghosn gave a speech at the opening ceremony and press breakfast of this year’s New York International Auto Show (NYIAS).  My Kitco report (click here to read) focuses on the key aspects, but there was a lot more:

  • Autonomous drive, in his view, is only a milestone since it still requires a driver to hold the wheel, and watch the road. Driver-less cars are the goal the industry is aiming at. The Renault Nissan Alliance will have at least 10 models on the road with “significant” autonomous drive capabilities by 2020.
  • Battery-electric and hydrogen electric are just two sides of the same coin to him. In both cases, infrastructure is lacking, and creating the required infrastructure is the most important role governments and industry will have to play in years to come.
  • The industry is in a complex period of transformation where electronics force car makers into much faster innovation cycles while maintaining safety and quality standards. The focus of the new generation of drivers obtaining their licenses just now will shift from performance to features and convenience.

It was interesting to see how the various manufacturers interpreted the theme at NYIAS, each in their own way. I will put some facts and images together over the weekend to illustrate the scene.

Beijing JiYa: Optimistic for Gallium

Posted on by Bodo Albrecht

DSC_0666While prices for several technology metals keep edging down, there may be light at the end of the tunnel for some of them. This week’s “Tech Metals Insider” report sheds light on the Gallium market and its perspectives. Click here to read the full report.