Metals (General): Iron, Steel, Nickel, Lithium, Aluminum, Elements, Copper, Gold Silver, Rare-Earths

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Metals

• Metals:

  • Australia is rich in minerals and is the world's largest producer of iron ore (essential for steel production) and lithium (key component in batteries); Source: Visual Capitalist

  • Most Mined Metals: Source: Visual Capitalist 

    • iron ore (93.3% of total)

    • industrial metals (6.6% of total):

      • aluminum, chromium, copper, manganese, etc.

  • technology and precious metals (0.05%):

    • tin, rare earth oxides, molybdenum, cobalt, etc.

    • Cobalt: used for batteries; Democratic Republic of Congo: 75% of world’s cobalt supply; Source: Bloomberg

  • Titanium: important for defense, aerospace, automotives, and medicine; Source: Visual Capitalist 

• 10 largest metal markets: Source: Visual Capitalist 

  • iron ore, gold, copper, aluminum, nickel, zinc, silver, molybdenum, palladium, and lead

  • metals are important in infrastructure and energy

Iron and Steel

• America's 4 largest steel producers: Nucor, Cleveland-Cliffs, U.S. Steel, Steel Dynamics; Source: Barron's

• iron: world’s most mined metal; iron ore is primarily used to make steel; Source: Visual Capitalist 

Steel

• primarily used in construction, manufacturing, transportation, and energy sectors: strength, durability, and versatility; 25% of U.S. steel is imported; Source: Al Jazeera

• steel: made from iron; used in cars, buildings, refrigerators, washing machines, cargo ships, surgical scalpels; it can be recycled over and over again; Source: World Steel Association 

• China is the world’s largest producer; Source: Visual Capitalist 

Nickel

• crucial material for EV batteries; Indonesia: world's largest nickel industry: 50% of world's refined nickel + 2/3 of its mined nickel; Source: Economist and Fortune

Lithium

• electric vehicle batteries; Australia and Chile: top producers; Source: Visual Capitalist and Economist

  • rechargeable batteries, EV batteries, energy-storage systems; Source: USGS 

  • devices: cell phones, cameras, toys, toothbrushes, and pacemakers; Source: Visual Capitalist 

  • Albemarle: world’s largest lithium producer; Source: Lithium 

Aluminum

• Alcoa: America's largest aluminum producer; Source: Bloomberg

• world’s 2nd most used metal (after iron): electronic devices, aircraft parts; Source: Visual Capitalist 

  • important for transportation, packaging, construction, consumer durables, electrical transmission lines, and machinery; Source: USGS 

Elements

• zinc: primarily used in galvanization process: acts as a protective layer for iron and steel against corrosion; zinc coatings play a crucial role in public transportation and infrastructure by extending the life of steel used in bridge rails, support structures, railway trucks; Source: Visual Capitalist 

• cobalt: essential different technologies: electric vehicle batteries, portable devices (smartphones, tablets, and laptops), and jet engines; Democratic Republic of Congo is world’s largest producer (73% of global output); Source: Visual Capitalist and WSJ 

• nickel: essential for electric vehicle batteries; Source: WSJ 

  • important for stainless steel, superalloys, and rechargeable batteries; Source: USGS 

Copper

• Chile (27%) and Peru (10%): world’s largest copper producers; Source: Visual Capitalist 

• critical for global energy transition and digital transformation: electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, data centers, AI infrastructure and smart grids; Source: UNCTAD

• China: 60% of global copper ore imports + 45% of world's refined copper production: Source: UNCTAD

• copper: essential for clean energy technologies: high electrical conductivity and durability (ensures effective transmission of electricity and heat: enhances overall performance and sustainability of technologies), high ductility, malleability, corrosion resistance, versatility, superior heat dissipation capabilities, 100% recyclability rate (can be reused multiple times without any performance declines), antimicrobial properties; Source: Visual Capitalist and Visual Capitalist and Visual Capitalist and Visual Capitalist 

  • wind turbines, solar panels, EV batteries, infrastructure, clean energy, transportation, defense, consumer electronics, healthcare, currency, data centers

• relationship with copper and gold prices: when one rises, the other tends to fall; in an economic downturn, for instance, gold climbs as investors seek a haven; copper prices dip as manufacturing and construction slow; Source: Visual Capitalist 

Gold

• delivered 10.9% annual return (on average) over past 25 years - driven by global crises that generated strong returns: 2008 financial crisis, COVID-19 pandemic, high inflation; Source: Visual Capitalist

• gold mining is more energy-intensive and produces more emissions than silver mining; Source: Visual Capitalist

• gold discovery mainly from 3 countries: China, Australia, South Africa; fabricated gold is used toward jewelry, computers, communications equipment, spacecraft, jet aircraft engines; Source: USGS

• Fort Knox (the U.S. Bullion Depository: located in Kentucky) holds over 50% of the Treasury's $428 billion gold reserves; Source: Visual Capitalist

• Newmont: world’s largest gold miner; Source: Reuters

• 24 carat: pure gold with no other metals; Source: World Gold Council 

• America has the world’s largest gold reserves: more than 50% are stored at Fort Knox in Kentucky; Source: Visual Capitalist 

• countries maintain gold reserves for 3 key reasons; Source: Visual Capitalist

  • (1) stable and dependable store of value,

  • (2) currency stability

  • (3) diversification 

• U.S. central bank reserves (8,000 tonnes), China central bank reserves (2,200 tonnes: steadily increasing its reserves to diversify foreign exchange reserves away from U.S. Treasury bonds); Source: Visual Capitalist

• Nevada accounts for 72% of America’s production; Source: Visual Capitalist 

• lack of new gold discoveries + stagnating gold production: casts doubts on future of gold supply; Source: Visual Capitalist 

Silver

• 4 countries producing the most silver: Mexico, China, Peru, and Russia; Source: U.S. Money Reserve

• silver: found in almost every electronic device with a switch or button: metal with the highest electrical conductivity; reputation as “safe haven” investment during economic turmoil; Source: Investopedia and Visual Capitalist 

• buy silver in 2 basic ways: as physical bullion or silver-backed securities; silver often performs in an opposite way to traditional securities so can be an invaluable way to diversify a portfolio; physical commodity: it has an intrinsic value which means its immune to inflation; Source: Business Insider 

Rare Earths (REEs)

• MP Materials (American company): Western Hemisphere's largest source of rare-earth minerals; Mojave Desert (across California and Nevada): Western Hemisphere's largest source of rare-earth minerals; Source: WSJ

• 17 metallic elements in periodic table made of scandium, yttrium, lanthanides; difficult and expensive to extract; everyday technologies (smartphones, wind turbines, LED lights), EV batteries, cancer treatments, MRI scanners, military equipment; Source: CNN

• China: world's largest rare earth reserves (such as lithium and zirconium); Source: Statista

  • 40% of known global rare earth reserves

  • electronics and battery production

• Rare Earth applications: Source: Visual Capitalist

  • Yttrium: radar systems, lasers, television screens

  • Samarium, Gadolinium, Terbium, Dysprosium, Lutetium, Scandium: military applications, electric motors, next-gen electronics (used in core products for: Lockheed Martin, Tesla, Apple)

• America's rare earth imports are sourced from: China (70%), Malaysia (13%), Japan (6%), Estonia (5%); Source: Visual Capitalist