Anthony Milewski: Copper to see All Time Highs in this Cycle
Anthony tells us that Cobalt 27 has just acquired 1.75% of smelter royalties on all future production at Dumont. The “Dumont Project” contains the world’s largest undeveloped, permitted and construction-ready reserve of nickel and cobalt. The company is located in business-friendly Quebec, Canada. They are also looking into other streaming deals and exploration projects with royalty potential.
If you read the news, there is growing unrest in the Congo. Many companies are looking for Cobalt, and there simply aren’t very many plays outside of that region. Over the next year, you will likely see off-take deals with producers and battery makers, and that could drive the market.
He thinks every consumer of cobalt is likely in discussion with producers. The new source of demand appears to be material. Most of Wall Street is expecting 15% of all vehicles will be electric, and that estimate could be low. Therefore it makes sense to begin to acquire the material today.
Tesla continues to work on various projects related to grid storage. The case for vanadium and lead-acid is also strong. There is potential for multiple winners in the grid storage space.
Copper is going to see all-time highs in this cycle and will trade higher than it did in the supercycle. 16% of global demand for copper will come from electric vehicles.
Nickel is different than other metals in that there are two forms of it. You have the low-grade nickel pig iron which is incompatible with lithium-ion batteries. Dumont will be producing the high-grade nickel.
Talking Points From This Week’s Episode
• Cobalt 27 has acquired 1.75% royalties on future production at Dumont.
• Grid Storage will be strong and Vanadium and Lead Acid solutions are options.
• Copper price could exceed the last commodity supercycle.
• Nickel is headed materially higher, he discusses investment plays.
Mr. Milewski is the Chairman of Cobalt 27 and Managing Director at Pala Investments. He has spent his career in various aspects of the mining industry, including as a company director, advisor, founder, and investor. In particular, he has been active in the battery metals commodities including investing in nickel, lithium, and cobalt and actively trading physical cobalt. In 2016, one of the industry’s leading publications, “The Mining Journal,” named him as a Future Mining Leader.
Mr. Milewski has managed numerous mining investments at various stages of development, including exploration, development, production and turnaround situations, and across a broad range of commodities. He has served as a director of both public and private companies. Mr. Milewski is a member of the investment team at Pala Investments Limited, and prior to joining Pala Investments, he worked at Firebird Management LLC.
Mr. Milewski previously worked at Renaissance Capital and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in Moscow, where he focused on advisory and transactional work in metals & mining and oil & gas sectors. He has lived and worked in Africa and Russia, including a year as a Fulbright scholar, and has spent considerable time in Central Asia.
Mr. Milewski holds a B.A. in Russian history from Brigham Young University, an M.A. in Russian and Central Asian Studies from the University of Washington, and a J.D. from the University of Washington. He holds an LLM from the Russian Academy of Sciences.