The Power Current with Chris Berry

Clear Commodity Network

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Investing
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Find the Latest News and Information into the Development of the World’s Electric Energy Renaissance

Jun 23

The Rare Earth Bottleneck Isn't Mining—It's Processing

In this episode of Power Current, host Chris Berry sits down with Flemming Bjørnslev of Aquatech to explore one of the biggest challenges facing the global rare earth industry: processing. Flemming explains why the future of Western rare earth supply chains depends not only on discovering new deposits, but on building the technical expertise to separate, refine, and produce high-purity materials at commercial scale. The conversation covers the growing role of water management, solvent extraction, zero-liquid discharge systems, and integrated process design in creating bankable rare earth projects across North America, Latin America, Australia, and beyond. Chris and Flemming also discuss the geopolitical forces reshaping critical mineral supply chains, the rise of clay-hosted rare earth deposits, and why early technical partnerships are becoming essential for successful project development. Whether you're interested in rare earths, critical minerals, or the technologies enabling the energy transition, this episode offers a timely look at one of the industry's most important bottlenecks.

48 min
May 27

The New Cold War Will Be Fought With Minerals | Tomasz Nadrowski

My guest today is Mr Tomasz Nadrowski, portfolio manager of the Amvest Terraden Critical Minerals Fund and author of the terrific new book titled “Mineral War – China’s Quest for Weapons of Mineral Destruction”. Tomasz has spent over 15 years managing commodity mining equity portfolios for a host of institutional clients and was a Director at the World Economic Forum and VP of Business Development at AngloGold Ashanti, then the world’s largest gold producer. Tomasz is unique in that he is both a market practitioner and historian. In today’s pod we cover a host of topics including Chinese industrial history, the build versus buy argument and consolidation in the rare earths space, how governments can send better “signals” to private sector investors, and what the next five years will look like as governments and capital compete for a seat at the critical metals table. If you enjoyed this discussion, please share it far and wide and don’t forget to like and subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen.

53 min
May 5

The "Trail of Tears" in the Nickel Market

My guest today is Martin Turenne, President and CEO of FPX Nickel. Martin has a decade and a half of markets experience – almost all in the nickel market and has some really interesting views on market structure and the future direction for nickel. In this conversation we cover a wide range of topics including the “trail of tears” in the nickel market, the OPEC-like dominance of Indonesian nickel production, and how the Indonesian government is looking to sustain this through quotas and vertical integration. We then look at the role of partners in asset development, Japan’s strategic foresight in nickel and other markets, and how a “green premium” for nickel could be structured. We close by examining just how concentrated geopolitical risk is in nickel relative to other metals. As FPX is a publicly traded company, it’s essential to remember to do your own due diligence on the story before making any decisions. If you enjoyed this discussion, please share it far and wide and don’t forget to like and subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen.

48 min
Apr 27

Pricing Geopolitical Risk - The Tungsten and Gallium Bull Markets

Chris Berry interviews Christian Kargl-Simard, CEO of Blue Moon Metals, about his transition from metallurgical engineering into the world of junior base and critical metal production. Kargl-Simard shares insights on Blue Moon’s portfolio of five brownfield, permitted assets located in stable jurisdictions such as the United States and Norway. A primary focus of the discussion is the critical role of geopolitics in the mining sector, highlighting how the need for domestic security of supply is driving intense interest in tungsten, gallium, and germanium. He outlines his operational strategy, specifically a "hub and spoke" model centered around the Springer asset in Nevada, which aims to minimize risk and accelerate the timeline to production. Finally, the episode explores the surge of capital from U.S. institutional investors following Blue Moon’s NASDAQ listing and why the current critical metals narrative represents a multi-decade shift in global supply chains.

52 min
Mar 29

Sulfuric Acid: Understanding its Importance and the Current Disruptions in this Critical Chemical

While the war in Iran has put a spotlight on oil prices and the risk of a global energy shock, a number of critical chemical inputs are also under threat. One of the most important — and least talked about — is sulfuric acid. As the West races to scale up mining projects, reliable access to inputs like sulfuric acid is essential. So what happens if that supply is disrupted or cut off entirely? Consider that 70% of sulfuric acid is produced from elemental sulfur, and 80% of that elemental sulfur is a byproduct of oil and gas production — meaning a single geopolitical shock could ripple across multiple industries simultaneously. Are there viable substitutes? How do other industries that depend on sulfuric acid respond to a supply crunch? And does limited supply simply go to the highest bidder? Here to address these questions and more is Sangita Kannan, a PhD candidate at the Colorado School of Mines. Sangita is a chemical engineer turned mineral economist whose research sits at the intersection of mineral economics, public policy, and the technical fields surrounding the manufacture of critical materials.

46 min
Mar 10

Supply Chain Armageddon with Bryan Bille of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence

Last week I was visiting investors and companies on the West Coast of the US for a project I’m working on and the predominant topic was Geopolitics. Specifically, how to interpret it, how to price it, and how to build a business in a highly strategic sector as the rules seemingly continue to change. Metals prices are broadly WAY UP so equity investors should be happy and the companies themselves should also be taking advantage of this moment and raising as much capital as is prudent. That said, there’s still a sense of concern in the markets and it rests at the foot of government. Talk of stockpiling and price floors is all the rage, but beyond the Beltway here in DC there are legitimate concerns that these policies are optimal and will not cause unintended consequences. With those questions in mind, my guest today is Bryan Bille, Head of Geopolitical Risk and Policy Analysis at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. If you enjoyed this discussion, please share it far and wide and don’t forget to like and subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen. Thanks again and we’ll see you next time.

56 min
Feb 20

Understanding Opportunities with Saskatchewan Alumina with Canadian Energy Metals

Hello and welcome back to this episode of The Power Current. The Power Current is a podcast that tries to provide clarity around what happens when commodities, geopolitics and technology all collide. The Power Current is a production of the Clear Commodity Network. Today we're looking at company building in the critical metals space in Saskatchewan with Christopher Hopkins, CEO of Canadian Energy Metals Corp or CEMC. CEMC is a privately held company developed being a project in Saskatchewan focusing on alumina and downstream products such as high purity aluminum and others. Christopher is a leader in the resource sector and has decades of experience in the markets and environmental sciences. Before becoming CEO of CEMC, Christopher successfully led multiple projects in the oil patch. Our discussion covers lessons learned from company building, Canada-US dynamics, how the company differentiates itself through processing, and how to choose the right partners to build a resilient and dynamic company. Since we discuss companies in this episode, I or family members may own securities in any companies mentioned. As always, please do your own extensive due diligence. If you enjoyed this discussion, please share it far and wide, and don't forget to like and subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen. Thanks again and we'll see you next time.

32 min
Feb 13

How Mineral Stockpiling Policy and Economics are on a Collision Course

Industrial policy debates around critical metals continue to rage in national and financial capitals. What works best? Price floors? Export controls? Tariffs? A mixture? I wanted to flesh out these and other questions with two individuals that have been steeped in the policy and financial questions that the markets are struggling to answer: Arnab Datta and Alex Turnbull. Arnab is the Managing Director of Policy Implementation at Employ America and Alex is a well-known investor and researcher in the energy transition ecosystem. After getting their thoughts on the general state of play in the critical metals markets, we delve into price floors, the proper balance between the public and private sector, cost of capital, the MP Materials deal challenges, and what the next five years might look like. As a reminder we do mention companies in this episode so please do your own due diligence before making any investment decisions. If you enjoyed this discussion, please share it far and wide and don’t forget to like and subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen. Thanks again and we’ll see you next time.

1 hr

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out of 5

3 Ratings

Valuable insights with too much judgy ESG propaganda

Jan 25

Gggarden

I enjoy this podcast. I have learned a lot and will continue to listen. I just have to ignore the “if you think don’t EVs are the future you’re a Luddite” holier than thou attitude of the host. He probably believed oil was dead in 2020 and will be by 2030, and then again in 2050 and will continue being wrong along with the IEA and EIA. But hey keep dreaming brother, maybe one day you’ll be right!