Er, lithium is the hottest non-gold commodity going these days. I'd have a punt on a few of the projects but I'm not allowed to.

It's always like this. We've had the rare earths frenzy and the graphite frenzy. Lithium is the new black (for clueless investors).

I can make a fairly good guess as to the next two darlings of the investment world.

I reckon ... iridium and molybdenum

I can't even remember what iridium is used for. Moly just goes into steel, so stick a line through an economic growth forecast.

My "ums" are Sc and V.

Scum?

Most of us recall the elements table...although, at age 79, my memory is more focussed on other things...see my latest post on the 'property' thread...(re: female orgasm!)

SC and Va are Scandium and Valendium...but, on review of those elements, Souvy has a good point. Both are going to be relevant to future electronic requirements.

I hung my hat, and US$10,000, on Ballard hydrogen fuel-cells being a profitable bet...I lost!

Lithium then Sodium then Potassium?

Good days!

Was wondering about Ballard the other day...have they not cracked it yet?

I haven't followed but my instinct tells me they could have been successful had the Govt's of Canada/USA had the political will to do what Kennedy did with the moon landing. They still make hydrogen fuel-cells which drives a motor. I understand many were sold as bus engines to Iceland and some others. When I invested it was on the promise there would be hydrogen refuelling on every interstate...didn't happen.
I have no evidence but I'm sure the lobbiests of the petroleum companies had a hand in it's failure.
Now a barrel of oil is only around $40 it will be difficult for any alternate energy investment. It will require substantial political leadership to move beyond this generations need of instant gratification and to hell with future needs.

This is a paste from a magazine I read...
"Resources that include wind, solar, nuclear, wave, biofuels, biomass, smart grid technologies, magnetics, hydropower, oil, gas, and coal all need to be partnered with entrepreneurs to bring them to life."

We need those energy-involved entrepreneurs like Musk, Branson, Gates.... but they also need support from the politicians to make it happen.
Maggie Thatcher was the last of those political leaders. She closed the coal-mines in UK and incited workers to move to other skills so other forms of energy could be exploited...but she was killed-off.

Maybe that's why Trump has intangible support...the People are fed-up with the political status-quo and are gambling on change....not unlike Brexit ..

Er, scandium is an alloying element that goes into high-performance alloys, not electronics. Vanadium (not Valendium) mostly goes into steel. There is potential for it to be big in batteries (energy storage thingies), not electronics.

I beg to your superior knowledge and apologise for my bad Sp.

I just recognised that SC and V meant periodic elements which I was forced to remember when I went to school...and frankly have never used that info. A quick check told me the name of those elements and the site said they were used in electronic equipment.
Now I cannot find that info as I was advised to always delete toolbar history.... but this advice was given by an inveterate married porn-watcher....NOT ME!!!

No worries. Why would you know more than me about this? I do it for a living. You don't.

Some investor relations people with junior mining outfits don't have a clue about the periodic table either. I'm not going there!

On what 'investor relations or folks that are selling stocks to investors', is it important to know anything about 'periodic tables', minerials, mining, commodities, industrials', or whatever.

Most working class folks I imagine do whatever work they do for the fattest paycheque possible for lodgings, to put food on the table, pay expenses, have dream home, nice car, pay for kids to go to uni & hopefully (using points) fly a dreamliner.

On topic, do you reckon most folks travelling by air really give a crap about what sort of materials, even right down to the batteries, glue, screws, rivets, the metal in an aircraft or who the cabin crew are?

Just get a flight at the least cost, comfy seat - get to wherever destination with few to zero issues, no delays or breakdowns.

If you are putting your own hard-earned money into something then understanding what you are investing in might be a good idea!

IR people rely on potential investors not understanding what they are doing, or what they are actually reading, apart from the headline promises.

The IR people themselves often don't know what they are talking about. Small investors are easy pickings. Large investors can be clueless too. I talk to investment banks and private equity houses all the time. I often get worried about how little they know about something they might put hundreds of millions of dollars (of other peoples' money) into.

Your last paragraph suggests that you don't fly Air Canada much!

not since 2002, that was the last time ever, it was also using points + the add-on booking fees, flying YYZ-LHR-MAN with a 6 hour layover connection wait at LHR to MAN .... so no, I don't get to accumulate points (from anything) or at other peoples expense, such trips by way of an employer or client.

Being retired, its 'fly as cheaply as possible on the shortest route' across the pond or anywhere in North America, I'll take the drunken cabin crew along with crap meals (which I don't ever eat) .... who cares

On stock brokers, brokerage houses, the IA/FA's, a detailed topic discussion for another time.

BTW, have you looked at the TSX listing of Lithium stocks, what a LOL

The two big US listed lithium stocks (symbols) ALB & SQM appear to have done well this past 12 months, or that lithium ETF, then again could it be all hype?

As GoldmanSachs posts, "bigger than gasoline". Maybe GS has its floor guys pumping the 'buy this' to the retail investors?

http://www.goldmansachs.com/our-thin...you/report.pdf

Souvy, question is 'would you buy commodities or equities' that you understand & that you have no insider information on, including lithium stocks?

http://www.miningfeeds.com/lithium-m...-all-countries


http://www.asianmetal.com/LithiumPrice/Lithium.html

.

I wouldn't buy into any commodity unless I was comfortable with the idea of losing all my money.

Lithium is the flavour of the month. This month. I hear about new lithium projects daily. I've seen it all before.

Don't get me going on Goldman Sachs! I have dealt with those insomniac spreadsheet-merchants before.