Mar 16, 20165 minTalking Justice – Miners and the mined: are we doomed always to exploit?A visit to Zambia’s Copper Belt by metal trader Anthony Lipmann was the start of a surprising turn of events When we turn on the light, I...
Mar 2, 20165 minHow Rhodium lost its Mojo (and how, like Austin Powers, it might get it back…)It is not immediately obvious how to establish a link between Austin Powers and Rhodium – but I’ll try. It centres, essentially, on...
Feb 22, 20167 minDrakelands Tungsten Mine – Could this be the most popular mine in the world?Who would be a miner? If your name happens to be Glencore, Anglo, BHP, Vedanta, Rio you might be wondering what kind of model made you...
Feb 8, 20164 minA China DiaryJinzhou I have been in China twenty-four hours and no one has mentioned the crisis. Perhaps it is just too cold to talk, as the...
Nov 4, 20154 minTo Hf or Hf not? Who cares about Hafnium?Perhaps the recent history of Hafnium can best illustrate the question – ‘What are minor metal merchants for?’ A minor metals trader of...
Oct 28, 20155 minThe Trouble with VW was that their Porkies were Green not WhiteWouldn’t it be great if the VW crisis (which was essentially caused by the pretence of greenness, and therefore a green lie not a white...
Oct 15, 20153 minHow Much Metal Does a Man Need?I often think of Tolstoy’s story, ‘How much land does a man need?’ (1886) in relation to vast ambition often found in metal people. Let...
Sep 30, 20153 minThe True Cost of ManipulationIt was a great wheeze wasn’t it? Buy up a few LME warehouses. Stuff them with metal and make it difficult for title-owners to deliver...
Sep 17, 20155 minFrom Cows to EarphonesBy Harry Sherwood What do farmed cows and your iPod earphones have in common? Magnets. Magnets play an integral part in day to day life...