Copper Mining isn't as simple as find rock, dig rock, sell rock: instead, it is a marvelously complex process where poor decisions and cutting corners on due diligence can result in billions lost.
My observation is because green goals have nothing to do with reality, they are wishes and dreams of some idealized vision a few people have. It is not hard to argue that they will never be achieved as they are physical impossibilities.
For those who are interested, Ernest Schedyder's book "The War Below" offers a fine discussion of the tradeoffs of mining vs. social interests. Thanks Mr. Penquin for the excellent description of the process!
Sooner or later, we will "discover" the facts of energy density and how it relates to resource need. Until then, we will dig, dig, dig, and dig some more.
Another takeaway on this excellent presentation eminates from the fact that China refines 45% of the world's copoer ore. Obviously, China is operating with a long term strategy for this mineral and many others (rare earths e.g.). Meanwhile leaders in the U.S. (and other western democracies), diven by uninformed public perceptions instead of expert advice, are not focusing on the realities of mining, energy, and other related strategic issues. We are witnessing in real time the potential decline of one civilization and rise of another, as has happened in history so many times. The hope is that the public will be woken up in time so that the "leaders" of our society, who are really "followers," will redirect policies, and this article is a necessary step for that purpose. Thank you for so clearly and directly making the point.
Yes, it has parallels with Rare Earths for sure. And it also gives us a glimpse of how much copper it takes to rapidly move a nation from poverty to the middle class.
Great essay. As a petroleum geoscientist it is striking how different the mining industry is from the oil and gas business. The rocks, the exploration techniques, the extraction technologies, it's all different. The oil and gas industry gets a lot of press, the mining industry gets much less. Thanks for shedding some light on an important part of modern life.
And both industries rely heavily on skilled professionals such as yourself. There’s a lot of very industry specific knowledge and local geology knowledge. Id go out on a limb and say it takes a long time for a person to really master those techniques and it’s not an overnight switch. Hypothetically, how long would it take to feel comfortable switching industries?
I think it would take a while. Scientifically, I don't think it would take me long to get up to speed. But getting to the point of being able to provide material contributions and add value--that would take a little time.
Let's expand on this in bite. Many people mistakenly believe have resources that means you have all the assoicated usefulness of work out of it. You don't mone for copper & get pipes, wire, fittings. You have take the resourse and refine it-turn it into useful products. Oil is best example foe this. Most people mistakenly think gas and oil are the same thing, but gasoline is a derivative of 🛢, oil must be refine. And a serect is in resources sector is that not all resources are created equal. Oil has different grades, gravity, & weight all that-when refined-yeild different products. Base metals are a little different you are more consider with ore grades and byproducts. Therefore every field or mone is different that will ultimately yeild different results. As a result geographic location with large resources may not yeild high production. Look at the United States with copper. The U.S. has one of the largest deposits in the world yet because of regulations, it won't be developed. Look at Venezuela 🇻🇪 even before U.S. sanctions really took hold, although home to the "largest" proved reverse, it's oil wasn't sought after because its quality is trash.
Fantastic article. On many levels, from the details of a difficult industry to the almost unfathomable disconnect with green goals.
Thank you! Yes, so much of the green goals seem totally disconnected from the physical reality.
My observation is because green goals have nothing to do with reality, they are wishes and dreams of some idealized vision a few people have. It is not hard to argue that they will never be achieved as they are physical impossibilities.
Excellent article, thank you
More likely just another wealth transfer scam. The Ruling Elites won't be content until they own everything.
Thank you! Agreed that it’s not about reality as much as it is a political target.
Excellent comprehensive article. Should be required reading in general, so people can get an idea where copper comes from.
Separating the dilute copper from massive volumes of unwanted materials is extremely energy intensive and can be costly.
The same is true for carbon capture and storage. In compliment see:
https://tucoschild.substack.com/p/carbon-capture-green-grift-and-taxpayers
Thank you! And yes, it does have a lot do do with the Sherwood principle which you explained very nicely.
For those who are interested, Ernest Schedyder's book "The War Below" offers a fine discussion of the tradeoffs of mining vs. social interests. Thanks Mr. Penquin for the excellent description of the process!
Sooner or later, we will "discover" the facts of energy density and how it relates to resource need. Until then, we will dig, dig, dig, and dig some more.
Thank you! Hopefully we’ll discover that sooner than later.
amen to that!
Another takeaway on this excellent presentation eminates from the fact that China refines 45% of the world's copoer ore. Obviously, China is operating with a long term strategy for this mineral and many others (rare earths e.g.). Meanwhile leaders in the U.S. (and other western democracies), diven by uninformed public perceptions instead of expert advice, are not focusing on the realities of mining, energy, and other related strategic issues. We are witnessing in real time the potential decline of one civilization and rise of another, as has happened in history so many times. The hope is that the public will be woken up in time so that the "leaders" of our society, who are really "followers," will redirect policies, and this article is a necessary step for that purpose. Thank you for so clearly and directly making the point.
Yes, it has parallels with Rare Earths for sure. And it also gives us a glimpse of how much copper it takes to rapidly move a nation from poverty to the middle class.
Typo: "copper"
This is really great stuff. You’re taking a highly abstract subject and making it incredibly readable and entertaining. Keep it up!
Thank you! That’s the goal!
Great essay. As a petroleum geoscientist it is striking how different the mining industry is from the oil and gas business. The rocks, the exploration techniques, the extraction technologies, it's all different. The oil and gas industry gets a lot of press, the mining industry gets much less. Thanks for shedding some light on an important part of modern life.
And both industries rely heavily on skilled professionals such as yourself. There’s a lot of very industry specific knowledge and local geology knowledge. Id go out on a limb and say it takes a long time for a person to really master those techniques and it’s not an overnight switch. Hypothetically, how long would it take to feel comfortable switching industries?
I think it would take a while. Scientifically, I don't think it would take me long to get up to speed. But getting to the point of being able to provide material contributions and add value--that would take a little time.
I sometimes forget as a resource investor that knowing how the mining infustry operates is not common knowledge. Though it should be.
Your writings are easy to follow and educational, much appreciated.
🙏
Good one - I appreciate the deep analysis. Substack articles tend to go a little deeper than click bites in X and FB - LOL
Thank you!
Let's expand on this in bite. Many people mistakenly believe have resources that means you have all the assoicated usefulness of work out of it. You don't mone for copper & get pipes, wire, fittings. You have take the resourse and refine it-turn it into useful products. Oil is best example foe this. Most people mistakenly think gas and oil are the same thing, but gasoline is a derivative of 🛢, oil must be refine. And a serect is in resources sector is that not all resources are created equal. Oil has different grades, gravity, & weight all that-when refined-yeild different products. Base metals are a little different you are more consider with ore grades and byproducts. Therefore every field or mone is different that will ultimately yeild different results. As a result geographic location with large resources may not yeild high production. Look at the United States with copper. The U.S. has one of the largest deposits in the world yet because of regulations, it won't be developed. Look at Venezuela 🇻🇪 even before U.S. sanctions really took hold, although home to the "largest" proved reverse, it's oil wasn't sought after because its quality is trash.
Agreed. It does matter if you find a massive new oil discovery in California, it might as well be on Mars!