Gerardo Del Real,
Editor
July 15, 2026
I just got back from the Rule Symposium on Natural Resource Investing. The conference was absolutely jam-packed. The attendees were top-notch. The exhibitors were top-notch. The speakers were top-notch.
And look, almost in unison — from Grant Williams to Rick Rule to Brien Lundin to Byron King to Nick Hodge — all agreed, as I do, that the second half of this year, particularly after September, after the summer doldrums, regardless of geopolitical instability, is likely to see much higher prices in the metals space.
We had gold that dropped briefly below the $4,000 level. It has bounced back up to around the $4,050 level.
Silver bounced from closer to $56 back up over $58, getting close to that $60 range.
Again, what to watch is the 10-year Treasury.
We had a weaker-than-expected inflation report this morning, so June CPI slowed much more than expected. That allowed the 10-year to come back down from the 4.61% level to around 4.55%.
Now, let's be absolutely clear. The market and metals prices, for now, don’t like that 10-year any higher than 4.50%. So that is most definitely something to watch. It’s not a coincidence that the higher the yield on the 10-year, the more the metals get hit.
The higher the 10-year, the tougher it is for the overall indices. The lower the 10-year, obviously, the more we’re going to see metals prices rally. I don’t think that correlation will continue indefinitely, but that is most definitely the correlation that’s in play right now.
An interesting outlier is copper. Copper has had itself a heck of a week. It was closer to $6 just a week ago. It’s now closer to $6.20 on the spot price, sitting around $6.17 per pound.
Back to the Rule Symposium. One thing just about everyone agreed on was that the structural deficits in copper have commenced, and that those deficits will continue. I expect that to lead to much higher prices in the copper space.
An interesting note. There was a great presentation given — and I forget who gave it — about how much copper demand is going to come from AI and data centers. The number was something like 3% of projected demand.
The point being made was that even if that 3% is completely removed, even if you don’t believe the AI or data center story, it is but a fraction of the structural deficit that’s developing in the copper space.
So I think copper goes a lot higher in the near term, the mid-term, and most definitely the long term.
Speaking of copper demand, data centers, and space… Nick gave an excellent presentation on the power of private placements. The presentation was so well received, despite being on Friday at 8:30AM, that our booth was absolutely packed with people asking about Private Placement Intel, the track record, etc.
That led to a sold-out brunch presentation we gave to a group of roughly 80 people.
It was great to be able to share the track record, our process, how we mitigate losses, and how we have an open portfolio with an average gain of 311%. That includes the few positions that are in the red out of nearly 50 positions.
The attendees were sharp and had some great questions, including whether or not we ever do deals outside of the resource space.
The answer is usually no.
In this case, we happen to have access to a tiny pre-IPO company that, as Nick describes it, is building one of the missing pieces of the space economy.
We’re participating well before the broader investing public has a chance to evaluate the story. The company is targeting a critical piece of the emerging space economy with a practical, near-term business model that could evolve into something much larger over time.
If the space economy is going to mature the way many expect, someone will have to build the infrastructure that connects it all. That’s what makes this such a unique, early-stage opportunity — one that gives us a chance to get involved before the company makes its public debut in the coming months.
To learn more about this opportunity, the investment thesis behind it, and how to participate in the deal, check out Private Placement Intel here.
Let's get it,
Gerardo Del Real
Editor, Bizarro World