Minerals I plan to hoard
I have a hobby of reading the police blotters in small town papers in search of the entertaining antics of petty criminals. Lately, I’ve noticed a uptick in a very particular crime: the theft of copper. With the price of copper hovering around $6,000 per ton, it’s no surprise people are grabbing it where ever ...
I have a hobby of reading the police blotters in small town papers in search of the entertaining antics of petty criminals. Lately, I've noticed a uptick in a very particular crime: the theft of copper. With the price of copper hovering around $6,000 per ton, it's no surprise people are grabbing it where ever they can find it, sometimes while it's still transmitting electricity. While thefts are a nuisance in the U.S., they can lead to major blackouts in countries like South Africa where miles of cable sometimes disappear in broad daylight.
High copper prices are no surprise. The stuff is included in just about every structure humans build or product we make. Asia is fueling the demand. And there's a limit on supply. A team of Yale researchers, led by Thomas Graedel, recently determined that if you look for copper in the U.S., you'll find "roughly a third in the ground, a third in use, and a third in the trash."
So I began to wonder. What other materials do we take for granted now that will be in high demand in the near future? Here's what I plan to start hoarding...
High copper prices are no surprise. The stuff is included in just about every structure humans build or product we make. Asia is fueling the demand. And there’s a limit on supply. A team of Yale researchers, led by Thomas Graedel, recently determined that if you look for copper in the U.S., you’ll find “roughly a third in the ground, a third in use, and a third in the trash.”
So I began to wonder. What other materials do we take for granted now that will be in high demand in the near future? Here’s what I plan to start hoarding…
- Platinum – If we’re going to have a hydrogen economy, we’ll need lots of platinum. No one can agree how much we’ll need, but current technology requires 1 gram for every kilowatt of energy a fuel cell generates. If we wanted to convert all automobiles to fuel cell-power, some predict that we’d run out of platinum before replacing 1/4 of the world’s current fleet. Most platinum comes from South Africa and Siberia.
- Tantalum – Known as “Coltan” in Africa, this stuff is notorious as the mineral mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and used in every cell phone. In fact, it’s used in just about every small electronic device made, but it’s also found in Australia, Canada, Brazil, and China. Profits from Coltan mining in the DRC almost exclusively end up in the hands of the occupying Rwandan army according to the U.N. I think I’ll stick with hoarding other minerals for now.
- Zinc – Used to galvanize steel, Zinc is plentiful and available just about everywhere, but there simply aren’t enough producers and they aren’t coming online fast enough.
More from Foreign Policy
Lessons for the Next War
Twelve experts weigh in on how to prevent, deter, and—if necessary—fight the next conflict.
It’s High Time to Prepare for Russia’s Collapse
Not planning for the possibility of disintegration betrays a dangerous lack of imagination.
Turkey Is Sending Cold War-Era Cluster Bombs to Ukraine
The artillery-fired cluster munitions could be lethal to Russian troops—and Ukrainian civilians.
Congrats, You’re a Member of Congress. Now Listen Up.
Some brief foreign-policy advice for the newest members of the U.S. legislature.
Sign up for Morning Brief
Foreign Policy’s flagship daily newsletter with what’s coming up around the world today. Delivered weekdays.
By submitting your email, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.
