Gerardo Del Real,
Editor
June 17, 2026
To the moon!
SpaceX went public this past week and shot out of the gate to a $2.5 trillion valuation, minting the world’s first trillionaire along with it.
The commotion surrounding the IPO, with shares up 50% in a few days, also brought along thousands of retail investors hoping to buy themselves a slice of the moon pie.
Initial minimums were set at $500,000 but then reduced to $2,000 to allow for retail participation. Ninety-six percent of the shares are locked up, and funds are having to buy in the open market for liquidity. What could possibly go wrong?
At 129 times trailing revenue, I decided I would watch this one from the sidelines. I don’t know much about space or the technology that will help us achieve our space ambitions.
I do know we’re going to need a lot of stuff to make the things required to make those space ambitions come true.
Copper, silver, lithium, uranium, rare earths, etc.
Which is why the G7 just announced plans to align stockpiling and launch a new platform with an expanded role for the International Energy Agency.
The race is on to diversify supplies of metals vital to defense, technology, and renewable energy and reduce dependence on China. It doesn’t help that China has been willing, and even eager, to flex its critical metals muscles via export restrictions every chance it gets.
The G7’s stated goal is to “reduce dependence on any one supplier outside the G7” (that means China) and partner countries for rare earths and permanent magnets to below 60% by 2030 with an ultimate goal of 50% “as soon as possible.”
“We are committed to working towards establishing harmonized, interoperable mechanisms.... This would start with two pilot critical minerals — lithium and nickel — and aim to avoid undermining competitiveness or imposing excessive cost burdens,” the leaders said in a joint statement.
The mechanisms would later expand to five new minerals each year with a focus on rare earth elements.
The leaders said G7 development finance institutions and export credit agencies should work together, including with the private sector, to back projects and infrastructure.
Reuters reports that, so far, countries have announced 195 projects since the start of 2026, with €64 billion ($74 billion) in investment.
The U.S. is expected to propose legally binding deals with Japan and the EU this month with further deals to follow.
Whether it's tungsten for missiles and drill bits, rare earths for satellites, or copper and uranium for data centers, demand for critical metals will continue to surge over the next several years.
It’s summertime, volume is light, stocks are on sale. Gold and silver look to have bottomed, and I suspect the second half of the year will be as exciting for the resource space as the second half of last year.
I don’t know how SpaceX plays out… but I do know the resource space is going to make fortunes for those who are positioned correctly.
Nick Hodge and I continue to vet opportunities to profit from this trend and should have a brand-new deal for subscribers of Private Placement Intel (PPI) in the coming weeks.
I’m also working on a new pick or two for subscribers of Junior Resource Speculator and Junior Resource Monthly.
Last but not least, I’ll be at the Rule Symposium on Natural Resource Investing July 6–10 in Boca Raton, Florida. Hope to see you there.
Let's get it,
Gerardo Del Real
Editor, Bizarro World