Energy return on investment (“EROI” or “EROEI”) is a measure of the surplus energy to that required to produce the energy. A high EROI provides society with abundant, low-cost energy. This in turn allows the development and sustenance of complex industrial societies. A low EROI provides a restricted amount of…
The nitrogen group elements are group 15 of the periodic table. They comprise nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), arsenic (As), antimony (Sb), bismuth (Bi) and muscovium (Mc). The last element has only been prepared synthetically. This group includes two of the three elements most important to plant life: nitrogen and phosphorus…
A shift to 100% renewable (wind and PV) energy is considered by many to be a necessary move to ensure sustainability of our current society. However, there are many hurdles to that goal being realised. This note will consider just one – the extraordinary amount of additional copper supply that…
Diamonds were first discovered in South Africa in 1867. This and subsequent discoveries dramatically increased potential supply and put downward pressure on price. In 1888 Cecil Rhodes formed De Beers Consolidated Mines with the successful objective of forming a monopoly over diamond production. Dwaneng Diamond mine in Botswana, owned 50%…
The common theme in the quotes below is that fiat currency, such as the USD, always reverts to zero value. This is surprisingly supported by central bankers themselves, as you will see below. Further, the continued issue of money, as has been the case for the last 10 years, tends…
Last week I described the relationship between gross metal value in a concentrate and the net percentage, which can be surprisingly low, of the gross that a seller will receive. You can read that article here. The following is a brief description of the forms in which copper is sold…