One resource industry dwarfs the rest of them put together: energy.
The mega-shift of the 21st century is urbanization. For the first time in human history, more people live in cities than in rural areas. The consequences of this pivotal moment are attracting billionaire moguls across the globe, and they are all looking for a profit center to attach themselves to.
In terms of fuel for cars, gasoline, made up of oil, accounts for the overwhelming majority of existing consumption, but this is changing dramatically because of the hyper-growth of electric vehicles on our roads.
In the energy sector, nothing is more bullish for one source of fuel than for another to be too expensive. In other words, oil demand picks up when natural gas is getting expensive, and lithium demand explodes when oil becomes overpriced.
Right now, oil is snapping out of a prolonged bear market, and that means inflation is headed higher and the time to position with gold and silver investments is approaching, but it’s not here yet. 52-week highs are needed to get investors focused on precious metals when cryptocurrencies and blockchain investments keep shattering every record in the book.
But what is ripe for massive gains is the “white petroleum”: lithium. It’s becoming a strategic element and, as I see it, the next 1-3 years will radically change how the world looks at its importance for the green revolution.
Nearly half of the world’s supply comes from one place: the Lithium Triangle, in South America. The reason is that the geological conditions to mine and extract lithium are the best in Chile. Australia is second, but most of their supply isn’t brine, which is much cheaper to produce.
In my investment career, I’ve learned a valuable lesson: researching small-cap stocks in order to identify the company that will deliver a 1,000% return can be done in one of two ways:
A. Find a lottery ticket with increased odds of winning. These are exploration plays, and if they hit the mother lode, the company could become worth 10 times more, and even 100 times more.