Copper smashing $14,000/ton on the LME with nearby contracts trading at a steep $99.50 backwardation is wild to watch. On one hand, Dan Yergin and S&P Global are saying this 50% surge is structural due to AI data centers, grid expansion, and 15-year mine permitting lags; on the other hand, a massive chunk of this price action is pure speculative stockpiling before a tariff that may not happen.

If the US Commerce Department stalls or waters down the tariff, that massive US inventory hoard could unwind quickly, but the underlying physical deficit for AI hardware and power transmission isn't going anywhere. How are you guys viewing copper right now, legitimate structural supercycle or a temporary front running bubble?

Been tracking all three and the numbers are wild. Gold's been grinding higher on central bank buying, especially China adding to reserves nearly every month. Silver had an absolutely massive run, up something like 170 percent over the back half of last year alone. Copper's the quieter story but it's up over 50 percent year over year and just hit multi month highs on tariff related stockpiling. Feels like the whole metals complex is having a moment at the same time, not just one metal.

Despite war in Ukraine, Western countries still import Russian uranium to fuel nuclear reactors

The Fed pivoting back to rate hikes to fight this summer inflation has shaken up the TradFi precious metals models, causing BofA to slash its 2026 gold target by 14% to $4,360/oz. However, BofA noted that silver and platinum actually look more attractive than gold right now, offering at least 10% upside against current spot. It creates a scenario where gold might trade sideways for a few months while industrial silver demand keeps the floor solid.

I'm curious, what does your precious metals barbell look like right now?

This is preaching to the choir here, but still a great overview.

They cited research showing US data center power consumption is on track to balloon from 176 TWh to a mind-blowing 580 TWh by 2028, a more than threefold increase in just two years. We've been talking about the AI demand narrative every day, but seeing the actual scale of it compared to the physical limits of our grid is a huge reality check.

After years of blockchain pilots and experimentation, major financial institutions are increasingly moving real-world assets on-chain.

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has called tokenization the “next generation for markets,” while Forbes highlights what it describes as a $5.5 trillion bet as major banks race to build for tokenized finance.

The bigger question is no longer whether traditional finance will use blockchain, but how much of the financial system eventually moves on-chain.

What do you think will be tokenized at scale first: funds, bonds, commodities, equities or something else?

Starting this as a running list since new deals keep popping up. Will update as more come in, drop a comment if you see one I'm missing.

• REalloys, mine to magnet chain across Saskatchewan, Greenland, and Ohio, first plant coming online soon
• NioCorp, niobium and rare earth project in Nebraska, over 500 million raised
• USA Rare Earth, building its own supply chain, recently agreed to buy a Brazilian producer
• Perpetua Resources, antimony project in Idaho backed by a 2.9 billion Export Import Bank loan

Open to more, this space is moving fast right now.

• Copper hit a record high, but the rally appears to reflect tight supply and disruptions more than a broad acceleration in global growth.
• Electrification, power-grid investment and AI-related infrastructure are supporting demand.
• The result of the demand and supply story means “Dr. Copper” may not be a good indicator of economic health this time.

People keep saying the US needs to find more rare earth deposits, but that's not really the bottleneck. Plenty of countries have the raw ore. The actual chokepoint is processing and refining, separating the elements and turning them into usable magnet material, and China built up decades of expertise and infrastructure there that nobody else really has yet. so even when a mine opens up somewhere else, a lot of that ore still ends up getting shipped to China to get processed. That's the part the new US projects are actually trying to fix.

The Committee on Public Undertakings' comments came in a report covering the progress of India's planned nuclear energy expansion.

It included the recommendations from an earlier report and the responses received from Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) and the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). The report notes DAE's assurance that by 2036 "Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL), Jaduguda plans to double the production by enhancing the existing mine capacity as well as setting up uranium mining projects in Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh".

The committee welcomes the "concrete project roadmap" provided but says "nevertheless, the Committee notes that the timeline for full realisation stretches to 2036, whereas NPCIL's massive capacity additions are front-loaded over the next decade. Any delay in the commissioning of these mining clusters will prolong the strategic sensitivity of relying on imported fuel lines".