EPISODE 4. Anthony Milewski and Christian Purefoy talk through gold, copper, nickel, silver, uranium and rare earths to figure out of the long-term macro story holds up against all the current market volatility, tariffs and export controls.

🎙️ Transcript

Conversation between Christian Purefoy and Anthony Milewski. Edited for clarity and readability.

Christian Purefoy:

Welcome back to Boom, Bust and BS with your energy, critical minerals and geopolitical guides: Anthony Milewski and myself. Wild week. Tariffs—on, off, back on. It’s hard to keep up. Markets are reacting fast.

We thought it was time to break down the impact on key commodities. Let’s look at where the macro trends still hold—especially amid this volatility.

Anthony Milewski:

We’ve got to start with rare earths and minor metals. China’s tightening exports again—six or seven more critical mineals hit by restrictions. We’re seeing prices skyrocket. Bismuth was $6 in January. It’s $50 now. Antimony’s been on fire all year.

These are small-volume markets with massive strategic value—96%+ of global refining is in China. That’s not just mining—it’s refining and processing. Even Mountain Pass ships its concentrate to China. That’s how deep the dependency runs.

Christian Purefoy:

So what’s next? We’ve seen this before—like when Japan got cut off and pivoted to Australia. But setting up alternative supply chains takes years.

Anthony Milewski:

Exactly. Even if prices go 5–10x, the supply response is delayed. The minor metal content is such a small part of high-value tech that price hikes won’t kill demand. But if China fully embargoes these minerals—then it’s not about price, it’s about access. Prices could go 100x. And no one’s ready.

Even the U.S. military is ramping investment to build domestic capacity. But the bottleneck is refining—not geology.

Christian Purefoy:

Next up: copper. We saw a recent spike—linked to Trump’s executive order for a Commerce Department review on copper dumping. But copper’s still trending up, despite short-term dips.

Anthony Milewski:

Copper’s a global barometer for economic growth. Supply is the issue—no major mining investment for over a decade. The U.S. used to be a top producer. There are viable projects, but it’ll take years to bring them online. The real issue isn’t scarcity—it’s underinvestment.

Christian Purefoy:

Uranium’s behaving differently. Nuclear is surging—2025 will hit record generation—but uranium prices keep sliding. Why?

Anthony Milewski:

Uranium had a solid run. Now it’s pausing. The timeline for reactor builds is long—years or decades. That delay affects spot pricing. But structurally, the trend is up. Nuclear’s now accepted as clean energy in the West. It’s not going away.

Christian Purefoy:

Let’s talk gold. We’ve got a new op-ed out and a CEO guest lined up soon—talking about $30,000 gold. Not sure I believe that, but the rally is real. Gold equities are roaring.

Anthony Milewski:

Absolutely. I’m long gold. Bought Skeena in BC—it’s high-grade and ready to pop once permitted. I also hold GDX and GDXJ. Even big caps could double or triple from here. This is a prime cycle for gold investors.

Christian Purefoy:

Is the volatility going away? No. Especially not with Trump back in play. That might just add fuel.

Anthony Milewski:

Silver hasn’t even started yet. It’s lagging behind gold but has huge industrial demand. That’ll catch up.

Christian Purefoy:

Final verdict—Boom, Bust, or BS?

Anthony Milewski:

Boom. It’s a precious metals mega bull market—with enough volatility to keep it interesting. But don’t bet your pension on it.