For most of the past decade, the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow 21-mile-wide waterway between Iran and Oman — was famous mainly for carrying about one-fifth of the world’s oil. But it was also the invisible artery for something far more specialized: roughly one-third of global helium.

Before the current conflict, Qatar produced about 63 million cubic meters of helium in 2025, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, out of a worldwide total of roughly 190 million cubic meters. That made the Persian Gulf emirate the planet’s second-largest supplier after the United States and by far the dominant exporter outside North America. Virtually all of Qatar’s helium is extracted as a by-product of natural-gas processing at the massive Ras Laffan Industrial City, the world’s largest liquefied-natural-gas facility. The gas is then chilled into liquid form and loaded onto specialized tankers that have no choice but to sail straight through the Strait of Hormuz to reach customers in Asia, Europe and beyond.

The flow was steady and largely unnoticed. On an average day, the equivalent of about 173,000 cubic meters of gaseous helium — or up to 17 metric tons of liquid helium — left Ras Laffan. Semiconductors had quietly become the single biggest user, accounting for more than 20 percent of global demand and powering the AI-chip boom. MRI scanners, which rely on liquid helium to keep their superconducting magnets at near-absolute-zero temperatures, came in a close second. Aerospace companies used it for rocket fuel tanks and satellite testing; research labs needed it for everything from particle accelerators to quantum computers.

That picture changed abruptly in March 2026. Strikes damaged Ras Laffan’s LNG and helium plants, forcing Qatar Energy to halt production. At the same time, the strait was closed to commercial shipping. The result: essentially zero helium now moves through Hormuz. Repairs to the Qatari facilities could take three to five years. Even if the waterway reopened tomorrow, the stranded cryogenic containers and damaged infrastructure mean the shortfall is not measured in weeks but in months.

Analysts warn that prices could double or triple if the disruption drags on. Chipmakers in South Korea and Taiwan, which imported more than 60 percent of their helium from Qatar, are drawing down stockpiles that will last only a few months. Hospitals are scrambling to conserve MRI coolant. Aerospace programs face delays on cryogenics work.

The Strait of Hormuz has always been an oil and fertilizer chokepoint. What the current crisis has shown is that it is now a helium chokepoint too — one that the modern economy, from the factory floor to the operating room, cannot easily substitute.

Intellect is highly and rightly praised, but leaders who win in a sustainable way complement that with empathy.

It is very sound to keep an open mind—staying curious, challenging assumptions, embracing disruption. Yet the most enduring success stories, from corner offices to creative teams, tend to have another often-missed lesson: an open mind without an open heart eventually runs out of runway. An open heart is the willingness to feel what others feel, to sit with vulnerability, and to build trust that no spreadsheet can capture.

An open heart turns colleagues into collaborators, negotiations into partnerships, and bold ideas into movements people actually want to join. Research from emotional-intelligence studies consistently shows that leaders high in empathy drive up to 20% better team performance and innovation—precisely because people feel safe enough to take risks.

In an age of AI and relentless efficiency, conventional intelligence is becoming democratized. The real differentiator is human connection.

You want to be:

• The executive who remembers the personal stakes behind the numbers.

• The founder who admits uncertainty and invites the room to solve it with her.

• The manager who sees the human behind the deadline.

Keep your mind open to new ideas. But keep your heart open to the people who bring them to life. That combination isn’t soft—it’s the sharpest competitive advantage you’ll ever have.

Somewhere in Cotswolds, diamonds are being grown from the sky. No mines. No fossil fuels. Just four ingredients pulled straight from the atmosphere: carbon dioxide captured directly from the air, rainwater, wind power, and sunlight.

The result is Skydiamond, the world’s first verified carbon-negative laboratory-grown diamond. The company uses direct-air-capture technology to extract CO₂, converts it into a high-purity feedstock, and crystallizes it inside plasma reactors running on 100% renewable energy. Every carat produced removes more greenhouse gases than it emits — a 99.79% reduction compared with mined diamonds, according to independent audits. Skydiamond is marketing its gems as not just conflict-free but climate-positive.

The stones are certified under the same 4Cs standards as natural diamonds and are now being set into fine jewelry sold through the company’s own collections. The timing is no accident. Lab-grown diamonds have surged from a niche to roughly one-third of global diamond sales in the past decade, driven by younger buyers who want luxury without the environmental cost.

Skydiamond is carving out the ultra-premium end of that shift: its stones command prices closer to natural diamonds while offering a story that resonates with ESG-focused consumers and high-end jewelers.

For now, production remains boutique. But the company is scaling, with plans to expand its atmospheric diamond “mines” as carbon-capture costs continue to fall.

Ironically, in an industry long defined by scarcity and extraction, once it scales, its competitive advantage may disappear.

But for now, the sales pitch is appealing.

Artificial intelligence is rewriting job descriptions and constantly changing the world of work faster than ever. Yet the single most valuable skill companies are hunting for in 2026 isn’t coding, prompting or data science. It’s analytical thinking. Seven out of 10 employers worldwide consider it essential today, according to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 — the same top ranking it has held for years and is projected to keep through 2030.

The survey of more than 1,000 companies representing 14 million workers paints a clear picture: while AI and big data lead the fastest-growing technical skills, core cognitive abilities like analytical thinking sit in an elite tier that is both critical now and rising in importance.

The full top five core skills:

• Analytical thinking

• Resilience, flexibility and agility

• Leadership and social influence

• Creative thinking

• Motivation and self-awareness

Why Analytical Thinking Still Matters:

AI generates answers at superhuman speed. Humans who can interrogate those answers, spot hidden biases, weigh trade-offs and reach sound conclusions become irreplaceable.

In a world drowning in data and machine output, clear reasoning is the ultimate force multiplier. Organizations that double down on really having the best analytical thinkers will dominate the next decade. The ones that don’t will simply automate yesterday’s thinking with today’s tools.

In the buzzy world of strategic minerals, tungsten has emerged as the unlikely star of 2026, with prices surging to unprecedented heights. Nicknamed the “war metal” for its irreplaceable role in military hardware, tungsten concentrate has climbed from around $40,000 per tonne at the start of 2025 to over $220,000 today—a staggering 550% increase that outpaces even gold’s recent rallies. This rapid ascent, fueled by a perfect storm of demand spikes and supply bottlenecks, has prompted governments to secure reserves and urge industries to rethink their supply chains.

The driving force behind tungsten’s meteoric rise lies in its critical applications amid rising global conflicts. Essential for armor-piercing ammunition, missile guidance systems, and high-temperature jet engines, demand has exploded due to ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, where nations are ramping up defense production. Beyond the battlefield, tungsten’s hardness and heat resistance make it vital for aerospace components, medical shielding, and even photovoltaic wires in solar panels, where usage has jumped over 60% in recent years, adding thousands of tons to annual demand. As AI and electronics sectors boom, this multifaceted need has created a relentless pull on limited resources.

On the supply side, China—controlling over 80% of global production—has tightened the screws with export controls introduced in early 2025 and a 6.5% cut in mining quotas, exacerbating shortages. Declining ore grades and rising extraction costs, now exceeding $100,000 per tonne in some cases, have further strained output, while new overseas projects add minimal capacity—less than 5,000 tons globally this year.

Tungsten’s surge signals a broader diversification shift toward securing critical minerals, with countries like Vietnam and the U.S. working to reduce reliance on China.

The humble metal now holds extraordinary power.

Quantum computing harnesses the two bizarre principles of quantum mechanics—superposition and entanglement—to process information in qubits, allowing it to tackle problems millions of times faster than classical supercomputers.

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Unlike binary bits (0 or 1), qubits exist in multiple states simultaneously, unlocking exponential computational power.

Tech giants are pouring billions into the race. IBM leads with its 1000-qubit processor launched in 2024, aiming for error-corrected systems. Google targets a million-qubit machine by decade’s end. Microsoft, Amazon, and Honeywell offer cloud-based quantum services, while startups like Quantinuum, PsiQuantum, and Quandela focus on photonic and trapped-ion technologies.

Quantum will reshape multiple sectors by solving intractable problems:

• Pharmaceuticals: radical acceleration of drug discovery through molecular simulations.

• Finance: rapid and real-time portfolio optimization and fraud detection.

• Logistics: hyper-efficient real-time routing.

• Energy: modelling of battery chemistries for more efficient green-tech innovations.

• Aerospace and automotive: simulation-led development of advanced materials design.

• Others: enablement of breakthroughs in AI, cybersecurity, climate modelling, and manufacturing.

This technology enables simulations of complex systems that are impossible or “very slow” today, spanning literally all sectors of the modern economy.

On the flip side, quantum threatens current cybersecurity. Shor’s algorithm could crack public-key encryption, exposing data worldwide. A rush to post-quantum cryptography is inevitable.

Blending with AI, the 2026 to 2030 period is likely to mark a real shift to “useful” quantum computing, delivery economically relevant transformative applications and outcomes.

In the shadow of gold’s meme-stock-like rise—trading around $5,150 per ounce as of late February 2026—the mining sector is confronting an unexpected bottleneck: a shortage of sodium cyanide, the chemical workhorse behind roughly 90% of global gold extraction. This essential reagent, used in leaching processes to dissolve gold from ore, is seeing demand skyrocket, leaving producers scrambling and miners exploring alternatives.

The sodium cyanide market, valued at about $2.86 billion in 2025 and projected to grow to $4.33 billion by 2034 at a 4.71% CAGR, has long been tethered to the fortunes of precious metals extraction.

Cyanide supply is dominated by a handful of players, including Draslovka (the world’s largest), Orica, and Chemours. Mining accounts for over 80% of consumption, with the rest split among chemicals, electroplating, and pharmaceuticals.

Prices have climbed steadily, hitting $3,196 per metric ton in the U.S. by December 2025, due to raw material pressures like hydrogen cyanide and caustic soda, alongside robust offtake from heap leaching operations in key regions like North America, Asia-Pacific, and South America.

Global production capacity, estimated at around 1.5 million tons annually for hydrogen cyanide (a precursor), is expanding modestly, with new facilities announced in the U.S. and China to meet rising needs in nylon and animal feed intermediates.

Why the Sudden Shortage? The crunch materialized in late 2025 when Draslovka announced it had sold out its entire 2026 sodium cyanide output—the fastest sell-out in a decade—amid warnings of a global shortfall. This was triggered by the gold price boom, which in turn triggered a wave of mine expansions and new projects. Gold output is expected to rise 5-7% in 2026, but cyanide supply hasn’t kept pace (hydrogen cyanide production growing at less than 2% annually), exacerbated by logistical challenges and regulatory scrutiny over the chemical’s toxicity.

What Major Users Are Doing

Top gold producers like Barrick Gold and Newmont are feeling the pinch, with cyanide costs potentially rising 10-20% for spot buyers. In response, many are locking in long-term contracts or building stockpiles, but alternatives are gaining traction amid environmental pressures and supply risks.

Barrick, for instance, has rolled out Draslovka’s glycine-based leaching technology at commercial scale, blending it with reduced cyanide doses to achieve 85-92% recovery rates while cutting toxicity and costs. This “GlyCat” process, biodegradable and effective for complex ores, is being piloted at sites in Nevada and Africa. Other miners are testing thiosulfate or chloride systems, which offer 90%+ efficiency for certain deposits but require ore-specific tweaks.

In regions with cyanide bans, like parts of Europe, glycine is emerging as a full substitute, potentially reshaping 10-15% of global extraction by 2030.

It appears that a gold-rally driven cyanide shortage, not its toxicity, may be the catalyst that leads to its replacement by safer alternatives.

In a newt profound advance for the future of space exploration, scientists have shown that microbes can extract valuable metals from meteorite material while floating in microgravity aboard the International Space Station. The experiment, called BioAsteroid, was led by researchers from Cornell University and the University of Edinburgh. They placed crushed fragments of an L-chondrite meteorite — a close analog for asteroid rock — in small bioreactors and introduced two common soil microbes: the bacterium Sphingomonas desiccabilis and the fungus Penicillium simplicissimum.

The goal of this research was to see whether biological leaching, a process already used on Earth to mine copper and gold, could work in the weightless environment of space.The results, published this month, were striking. The fungus, in particular, leached out palladium — a platinum-group metal critical for catalytic converters and electronics — more effectively in microgravity than in Earth-based controls. Of 44 elements analyzed, 18 were mobilized by the microbes.

The finding builds on earlier ISS experiments that demonstrated biomining on basalt, a rock similar to lunar and Martian surfaces. But using meteorite material brings the concept closer to asteroid mining, where platinum-group metals could one day be harvested to supply Earth or support lunar bases without the enormous cost of launching refined materials from the planet.

The implications are long-term but far-reaching.

Traditional asteroid mining would require heavy machinery, crushing equipment and vast energy. Biomining, by contrast, is lightweight, low-energy and potentially self-sustaining: microbes could be grown on-site using minimal resources. If scaled, the technique might help make deep-space missions less dependent on Earth resupply.

The work is still early-stage. No one is suggesting microbes will soon be deployed on asteroids. Yet, the experiment offers a glimpse of a future in which biology, not just engineering, helps humanity live and work beyond Earth.

Universal Basic Income (UBI) is often spoken about as one way to radically reduce inequality and the societal ills that go with it. UBI pilots worldwide are providing fresh data on whether this unconditional cash can reshape economies. From rural Kenya to urban Los Angeles, experiments reveal boosts in well-being and poverty reduction, yet highlight fading effects and fiscal strains that question UBI’s sustainability and scalability.

Early Wins in Health and Security

Pilot programs consistently demonstrate short-term gains in mental health and basic needs. In the largest U.S. trial, backed by OpenAI, a few thousand low-income participants in Illinois and Texas received $1,000 monthly for three years. Recipients reported sharp reductions in stress and improved mental health in the first year, alongside better food security.

Similarly, Los Angeles’ BIG:LEAP program, distributing $1,000 monthly to 3,200 poor households for a year, cut food insecurity, enhanced financial resilience for emergencies, and reduced intimate partner violence by enabling exits from abusive situations.

Canada’s 1970s Mincome experiment in Dauphin, Manitoba, slashed hospitalizations by 8.5%, mainly from fewer accidents and mental health issues, while boosting high school graduation rates.

In developing nations, Kenya’s long-term GiveDirectly transfers improved consumption, savings, and local economies, with multipliers up to $2.52 per dollar spent. World Bank analysis of pilots in India, Namibia, and Iran shows poverty drops, better education enrolment, and health gains without major work disincentives.

Concerns Over Work, Inflation, Fade-Out, and Viability

Critics worry about unintended downsides. The U.S. OpenAI study found a 2% dip in labour participation—about 1.3 fewer hours worked weekly—mostly among young single parents prioritizing leisure or family.

Benefits often wane: Mental health and food security improvements in the U.S. trial faded by years two and three, partly due to expiring pandemic aid.

Costs loom large. Iran’s nationwide cash program, replacing subsidies, eroded 75% of its value through inflation and sanctions, while Mongolia’s resource-funded UBI ended amid debt spikes.

Some trials note potential price hikes in isolated markets or resentment from non-recipients in partial pilots.

Viability varies by context. In low-income countries, UBI could replace inefficient multiple subsidies, but requires 7-20% of GDP for meaningful levels, according to World Bank, straining budgets.

Developed nations like Finland and Canada saw pilots axed due to political shifts and rising costs—Mincome folded amid 1970s inflation.

Yet, targeted or gradual rollouts show promise. Alaska’s oil-funded dividend sustains poverty reduction without aggregate job losses.

It appears that UBI excels as an initial poverty floor, not a long-term cure-all, and looses public support when taxes are needed for funding. These pilots suggest that there could be room for UBI, but its success depends on fit-for purpose design, not a cut-and-paste dogmatic implementation that strains the public purse. UBI should be designed as an investment whose returns will exceed the cost of implementation.

In its first full year, Ghana’s Gold Board (GoldBod), launched in May 2025, has transformed the nation’s artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector, channeling informal gold flows into formal channels and delivering billions in foreign exchange amid a push for domestic value addition.

• Export Surge: ASM gold exports jumped from 63.6 tonnes in 2024 to 103 tonnes in 2025, generating over $10 billion in revenue and marking the first time small-scale output outpaced large-scale mining.

• Anti-Smuggling Gains: Formalization captured an incremental 39.4 tonnes previously lost to illicit trade, adding $3.8 billion in forex inflows -- nearly 18 times the Bank of Ghana’s reported trading losses.

• Local Refining Launch: Since February 2026, GoldBod has partnered with Gold Coast Refinery to process 1 tonne of ASM gold weekly (up to 2 tonnes capacity), ending raw exports and capturing refining margins while creating jobs and aiming for LBMA certification.

• Traceability Push: A pilot program targets 600 ASM sites for responsible sourcing, enhancing compliance with global standards and reducing environmental risks tied to illegal “galamsey” operations.

GoldBod’s model offers key lessons for resource-rich nations like Tanzania, DRC or South Africa facing ASM challenges: Centralize state buying to minimize smuggling, integrate local refining for value retention, and prioritize traceability partnerships to attract premium buyers while fostering sustainable community livelihoods.

Artificial intelligence compute is demands are projected to hover near 8% of global power by 2030. Tech giants are looking skyward for solutions. The logic is compelling: Space offers limitless solar energy, natural cooling in the vacuum, and boundless scalability without Earth’s land or grid constraints. Proponents argue that orbital data centres could slash costs by 90% compared to terrestrial ones, harnessing constant sunlight and radiative heat dissipation while avoiding regulatory hurdles on the ground.

Yet challenges abound, including high launch expenses (currently $2,000 per kilogram, expected to drop below $200 by the mid-2030s), radiation hardening for chips, and inter-satellite laser links needing tens of terabits per second for seamless operation.

SpaceX is leading the charge, planning solar-powered AI satellite clusters via its Starship rocket, with Musk predicting space as the “lowest-cost place” for AI within two to three years. A potential merger with xAI could accelerate the goal, funded partly by SpaceX’s anticipated IPO.

Rival Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin has quietly assembled a team for orbital data storage spacecraft, eyeing similar efficiencies. Alphabet’s Google is advancing Project Suncatcher, aiming to deploy TPU-equipped satellites in close formations for high-bandwidth computing, with prototypes launching in 2027.

OpenAI’s Sam Altman has explored acquisitions like Stoke Space to build an orbital fleet, while Nvidia backs startups deploying its GPUs in test satellites.

Even China is racing ahead, vowing space-based AI centres in five years to counter U.S. dominance.

If successful, this celestial pivot could redefine AI infrastructure, turning the night sky into a glittering network of compute power.

It looks like starts are aligning for bold bets to be made by the tech giants.

Back in 2023, there was a materials science breakthrough that could redefine the field. Scientists in 2023 observed, for the first time, metals autonomously repairing microscopic cracks, potentially paving the way for more durable infrastructure and machinery.

Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories and Texas A&M University discovered the phenomenon while testing nanoscale platinum under repeated stress. A fatigue-induced crack fused back together via “cold welding” in a vacuum environment, confirming a decade-old theoretical model.

This intrinsic self-healing reverses the conventional view that metal cracks only worsen, though it is so far limited to nanocrystalline structures and specific conditions. Progress has extended to liquid metals like gallium-based alloys, which use fluidity and a self-forming oxide layer to fill damage and restore conductivity.

Recent advances include low-toxicity formulations for recyclable, room-temperature applications, enhancing performance in flexible electronics and batteries through rapid repair mechanisms.

Commercially, the broader self-healing materials market—including polymers and composites—is surging, projected to grow by $6.29 billion from 2023 to 2028 at a 29.52% CAGR, driven by demand in automotive, aerospace, and construction.

While metal-specific products lag, early adopters like BASF and Covestro are integrating self-healing tech in coatings and parts, with shape memory alloys hinting at metallic potential.

The technology’s benefits are compelling: extended lifespans for engines, bridges, and aircraft could slash maintenance costs and downtime, averting economic losses in the hundreds of billions annually in the US alone.

In electronics, gallium alloys promise resilient wearables and energy storage, improving safety and reliability by autonomously mending breaks.

Commercialization remains in nascent stages, but as research scales, self-healing metals may transform industries reliant on structural integrity.

The World Economic Forum convenes its 56th annual meeting in Davos this week under the theme “A Spirit of Dialogue”. The gathering has evolved from a 1971 European Management Symposium into a pivotal arena for addressing global crises or opportunities like AI disruption, escalating debt exceeding $300 trillion, fractured global trade, etc.

Eye-popping statistics reveal both its allure and contradictions:

• Attendance: A staggering ~3,000 leaders from nearly 130 countries, including ~60 heads of state/government and over 800 CEOs/chairs.

• Economic Boost: The event surges local tourism, transport, and accommodation demand, amplifying winter sports season revenues—though exact figures are hard to obtain.

• Entry Costs: Companies pay up to CHF 600,000 annually for top partnership, with delegation members costing ~CHF 27,000 each, plus sky-high basic attendance fees of around $71,000.

• Security Burden: Swiss taxpayers fork out ~CHF 9 million in additional security costs (split with WEF covering 50%, federal government 25%, and local partners the rest), amid deployments of over 5,000 personnel, snipers, and AI-powered drones.

• Private Jets: ~700–1,000 extra flights (one jet per ~four participants), with traffic tripling since 2023 and a 10% rise between 2025 and 2026—emitting roughly two tonnes of CO2 per hour per jet, equivalent to thousands of average cars’ annual output in one week, highlighting ongoing climate hypocrisy despite sustainability discussions.

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Critics decry Davos as an elitist echo chamber exacerbating inequality, but proponents hail its role in breakthroughs like vaccine alliances and risk forecasting. Amid 2026’s volatile landscape of geopolitical fragmentation and technological acceleration, its usefulness hinges on translating high-level talk into tangible action—or risk fading into irrelevance as global challenges demand more than elite networking.

With gold prices now hovering above $4,400 an ounce after a staggering 64% surge in 2025, mining executives face a perennial quandary: Should they lock in today’s lofty valuations through hedging, or bet on even brighter futures? Or is a project-based case by case approach more suitable? As analysts project prices climbing toward $5,000 by late 2026, driven by geopolitical tensions, Federal Reserve easing, and inflation fears, this debate is presumably raging on amongst traders and producers alike, from Toronto to Johannesburg.

Hedging, at its core, involves using financial instruments like futures or options contracts to secure fixed prices for future gold output. Proponents argue it’s a prudent shield against volatility. For companies burdened by debt or navigating high production costs, this stability can be a lifeline, enhancing borrowing capacity and protecting margins when prices dip. Yet history is littered with cautionary tales. A 2002 NYU Stern study found that heavy hedgers underperformed, as investors prize the upside volatility that gold stocks offer—essentially betting on the metal’s allure as a “safe haven” amid global risks.

Today, with gold’s bull run fuelled by central bank buying and portfolio diversification, many miners shun full hedging to capture potential gains. Forfeiting profits by hedging against a drop that never comes can put a CEO in hot water.

Enter the middle path: partial hedging, an approach where companies secure only a portion of output—say, 20% to 50%—balancing protection with opportunity. This approach suits varying risk profiles. For early-stage projects in exploration or development phases, hedging can de-risk financing, assuring lenders of revenue streams amid uncertain timelines. High-cost operators, vulnerable to energy spikes or labour inflation, might hedge aggressively to safeguard slim margins. Conversely, mature mines with low all-in sustaining costs (below $1,200 an ounce) and robust balance sheets can afford to ride the wave unhedged, leveraging strong cash reserves to weather downturns while reaping windfalls from price spikes. The reward calculus hinges on one’s gold outlook.

Basing the decision to hedge simply on whether one holds bearish or bullish views is dangerously simplistic. In this era of elevated uncertainty, the choice isn’t binary. It’s a tailored strategy, weighing project maturity, cost structures, and market winds.

Hedge smart, not hard.

Ivanhoe Mines has poured its first 99.7%-pure copper anodes at the massive Kamoa-Kakula direct-to-blister smelter just weeks after startup, marking a pivotal turnaround for the world’s fastest-growing copper complex following last year’s seismic setback.

Here are 9 fascinating facts about Kamoa-Kakula:

• Ivanhoe Mines poured its first copper anodes at Kamoa-Kakula’s smelter on Dec. 29, 2025, igniting Africa’s biggest copper processor just weeks after startup.

• The 500,000-tonne-per-year facility churns out 99.7% pure anodes, slashing transport costs and boosting DRC’s export value amid record copper prices.

• Seismic shocks flooded parts of Kakula in 2025, but dewatering now tops 70% on the west side, restarting high-grade mining faster than expected.

• 2026 output eyes 380,000-420,000 tonnes, with sales outpacing production by 20,000 tonnes as stockpiles melt into premium anodes.

• Thousands of jobs and infrastructure upgrades—like roads, schools, and power grids—are turbocharging DRC’s economy, with royalties funding national growth.

• Hydropower and solar energize operations, while closed-loop water recycling shields local biodiversity, setting a green benchmark for African mining.

• Boasting 6.5% average ore grades, Kamoa-Kakula’s low-cost edge could redefine global supply chains for EVs and renewables.

• As copper deficits loom at 600,000 tonnes in 2026, the project’s ramp-up promises relief in a volatile market hungry for clean energy metals.

• AI-driven automation and satellite monitoring slash emissions and boost efficiency, minimizing surface disruption in this underground powerhouse.

Aiming for 550,000 tonnes annualized mid-term, Kamoa-Kakula positions DRC as a copper kingpin, feeding the world’s copper-hunger in the shift to sustainable tech.

The sci-fi like promise of commercial nuclear fusion is to power all of the earth’s energy needs, including those arising AI’s compute power demands, without a single carbon atom emitted. Nuclear fusion replicates stellar reactions to generate limitless clean power. Recent technical breakthroughs are fueling excitement that perhaps as early as next year, clear signs of commercial viability could be given.

Hope-givers so far include:

• In the U.S., the National Ignition Facility (NIF) achieved repeated net-positive energy ignitions, proving fusion can produce more power than it consumes.

• China’s EAST reactor sustained 100 million-degree plasma for over 17 minutes.

• Korea’s KSTAR hit 48 seconds at similar temperatures, and now targets 300 seconds by 2026.

These advances are relevant because containing superhot plasma and preventing instabilities have long been considered core technical hurdles that should be overcome for fusion to be taken seriously. Even Google is chipping in on helping solve these challenges, using DeepMind to conduct plasma simulations and figure out how to stabilize reactions.

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Deals are pouring in to help bring in much needed finance into the push. Trump Media’s $6 billion merger with TAE Technologies aims to break ground on the world’s first utility-scale fusion plant in 2026, starting at 50 megawatts.

Google invested $863 million in Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) and inked a 200-megawatt power purchase.

In the search for power sources that will enable full AI capabilities, all energy sources - proven or otherwise - are on the table. AI Data centres could guzzle as much electricity as entire countries, and fusion promises abundant, zero-emission supply to feed the humanity-saving beasts.

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Yet, pessimism lingers. Fusion’s history is littered with “30 years away” jokes—delays from engineering woes (apart the basic science challenges) like material degradation under extreme conditions still persist. Sceptics warn of hype-over-substance if 2026 pilots flop.

Will 2026 finally be a sunrise year on the path to a limitless-energy future, or be just another year when we conclude that we are still 30 years away? Atleast we wont blame lack of investment for either outcome.

In the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia, where explorers have long chased veins of gold and copper, Trek Metals Ltd. stumbled upon an altogether different treasure: high-grade manganese. What began as a hunt for precious metals at the company’s wholly owned Christmas Creek project has yielded rock chip samples assaying up to 58.4% manganese—nearing the theoretical maximum of 63% for pure manganese oxide.

The discovery, announced in November 2025, emerged during a Phase 2 drilling campaign targeting orogenic gold and intrusion-related copper-gold systems. Outcrops spanning 750 metres of strike length revealed the mineralization, which then vanishes under sand cover, hinting at a larger concealed deposit. A recent high-resolution ground gravity survey, completed in December, bolstered the find by detecting strong anomalies beneath the surface, suggesting two mineralized corridors potentially extending over a kilometre in strike.

Manganese, a critical mineral essential for steel alloys and lithium-ion batteries, is increasingly vital amid global efforts to diversify supply chains away from China’s dominance in refining.

Trek, an ASX-listed junior explorer (TKM), has raised $1 million to fast-track follow-up work, including additional sampling, mapping, and drilling beneath the outcrops. While gold intercepts from the same program show promise, the manganese windfall diversifies Trek’s portfolio in a district-scale play. As battery demand surges with the clean energy transition, this serendipitous find could prove to be a Christmas gift for patient investors—and a reminder that in mining, fortune favours the persistent.

The Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, encompassing the Donets Basin, stands as one of Europe’s most resource-rich sedimentary basins, shaped by ancient tectonic forces and renowned for its vast coal deposits. Spanning approximately 60,000 square km across parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, this geological feature has been of interest to scientists since the 18th century for its complex structure and economic potential.

The Donets Basin was formed during the Late Devonian period around 360-380 million years ago. It originated as a rift zone on the southern edge of the East European Craton. Over time, it evolved into a post-rift sag basin through the Carboniferous and Early Permian eras, accumulating thick layers of sediments—up to 20 km in depth in some areas.

Tectonic compression in the Early Permian led to folding and faulting, creating the distinctive Donbas Foldbelt with its uplifted ridges and thrust faults. The basin’s crystalline basement dates back to the Archean and Proterozoic eras, providing a stable foundation for overlying Paleozoic rocks.

At the heart of Donbas geology lies its Carboniferous coal measures, hosting about 300 coal layers with around 130 workable seams thicker than 0.45 meters. Proven reserves are estimated at around 60 billion tonnes, including anthracite and bituminous types often high in ash and sulphur. These coals contain an average methane content of 14.7 cubic meters per tonne, making the region’s mines among the world’s gassiest.

Beyond coal, the basin boasts significant non-fuel minerals, including billions of tonnes of rock salt in deposits like those near Bakhmut (5.4 billion tonnes proven) and Sloviansk (3.5 billion tonnes), as well as mercury, natural gas, and coalbed methane.

Shale gas potential in the broader Dnieper-Donets system adds to its energy profile, while minor occurrences of lead, zinc, and copper appear in Permian strata.

As exploration techniques advance, the region’s geology continues to reveal insights into ancient environments and resource formation. The geological blessings also offer much-needed hope for future prosperity of the region as a whole.

As of early December, 2025, the gold-silver price ratio stands at approximately 72:1, with gold trading around $4,220 per ounce and silver at $58.60. This metric, which tracks how many ounces of silver buy one ounce of gold, has varied widely over the past century, influenced by economic shifts, supply dynamics, and demand patterns.

Over the last 100 years, the ratio has shown marked volatility, averaging about 50:1 in the 20th century before rising to 60-80:1 in recent decades. It stood at around 30:1 in the 1920s, surged to nearly 100:1 during the Great Depression and World War II in the 1930s-1940s due to gold re-valuations and scarcity fears, then declined to 40-60:1 post-WWII amid improving economic stability. The inflationary 1970s saw compressions to lows of 20-30:1 driven by silver speculation and monetary unrest, while the 1980s-1990s brought expansions to 50-80:1 with gold’s safe-haven appeal. In the 21st century, it averaged 60:1 but spiked to 86:1 in 2020 during the pandemic, reflecting risk aversion, before moderating to 72:1 today as silver benefits from industrial recovery.

These swings highlight gold’s monetary resilience versus silver’s sensitivity to growth cycles.

How does the price ratio compare with the metals’ natural abundance ?

Silver is roughly 20 times more abundant in Earth’s crust than gold, with concentrations of about 0.08 parts per million (ppm) for silver and 0.004 ppm for gold. Despite this suggested “natural” ratio of around 20:1, market prices often elevate it to 50-80:1, underscoring gold’s premium as a store of value.

Another variable at play is the utility of the two metals. Gold’s demand splits roughly 50% jewellery, 40% investment (including 537 metric tons for bars/coins in Q3 2025), and 10% tech/medical. Silver, more industrially oriented, splits 58% in applications like solar panels, EVs, and electronics, 25% jewellery, and 17% investment—driving its volatility amid green tech booms.

Possible Future Trajectories

Analysts project gold trading in the $4,000-$5,000 per ounce range throughout 2026, fuelled by central bank buying and geopolitical risks. Silver forecasts vary: base cases see $60, with bulls at $70-80 amid supply deficits of 200 million ounces annually, though some warn of dips to mid-$40s if industry softens. The ratio could compress toward 60:1 if silver’s dual-role demand surges, signalling undervaluation today—but the ratio could rise further in recessions. Mean reversion investors eye high ratios (>70:1) as silver-buying opportunities in a tightening market.

Regardless of how the ratio plays out, it is great to see renewed interest silver as a respectable industrial metal with a precious metal baseline.

Yttrium, a silvery metal little known outside the industries that use it, has quietly become one of the most watched critical minerals of 2025. The element, atomic number 39, belongs to the rare-earth group. It is found in the same ores as better-known metals such as neodymium, but separating and refining it is expensive and complex. It has the following uses:

• Heat-resistant coatings for aircraft engines and gas turbines

• Bright phosphors in LED lighting and smartphone displays

• High-strength permanent magnets for electric vehicles and wind turbines

• Treatment of inoperable liver cancers (specifically, Yttrium-90 isotopes)

• Components in military lasers, radar and the F-35 fighter jet

Demand for yttrium is rising 5–8% a year, driven by the shift to electric vehicles, renewable energy and modern defence systems.

Who controls yttrium production?

China mines about 60% of the world’s rare earths and refines more than 90% of all yttrium. The two largest producers are state-supported companies: China Rare Earth Group and China Northern Rare Earth Group. Outside China, meaningful supply comes from only two companies:

• Lynas Rare Earths (Australia)

• MP Materials (United States, Mountain Pass mine)

Much of these non-Chinese producers’ output is still sent to China for final processing. China’s grip on supply of the refined metal is what governments are concerned about. When a single country can control almost the entire supply of a metal needed for both civilian technologies and advanced weapons, it creates a clear security risk. In April 2025, Beijing imposed export controls on yttrium and six other heavy rare earths in response to new US tariffs. Prices rose sharply within weeks and several Western manufacturers (who have yttrium as an input material) were forced to cut production. The episode reminded policymakers of China’s 2010 rare-earth embargo against Japan.

The global response so far includes:

• The United States committing hundreds of millions of dollars to new refining plants and strategic stockpiles;

• Mobilisation of The European Union’s Critical Raw Materials Act, aiming for at least 10% domestic or allied supply by 2030;

• Japan and South Korea expanding recycling programmes and signing long-term contracts in Vietnam and Africa;

• Australia and Canada fast-tracking new mines and offering incentives under “friend-shoring” partnerships (buying from allies instead of lowest cost producers);

But for now, China has the bargaining chips.

Building independent supply chains will take years and cost billions of dollars. Until then, yttrium stands as a stark example of how critical minerals have moved from the margins of trade policy to the centre of national security.