Cold War Resumes
By Andrew Mickey
At the recent G8 summit, Putin seemed to do some major backtracking following his recent threat to aim his missile armada at Europe. Watching this drama unfold, citizens of the free world ask themselves two questions. Why did Putin threaten to shift his target to Europe, and why now?
Recently, the U.S. proposed a missile defense system to protect free world nations from what it sees as the dangerous ambitions of emerging nuclear programs in North Korea and especially Iran. The plan suggests that radar defense systems be utilized in Czechoslovakia, and anti-missile interceptors be built in Poland.
Putin immediately attacked the new buildings in Poland as a veiled threat to Russia’s security, and promised that he would aim Russia’s missiles toward Europe if the U.S. did not come up with another solution.
Clearly, Putin has got his eye on making Russia an even bigger global player. But I wouldn’t worry about the missile system too much. Putin is already making his move with natural resource warfare.
Putin and his industrialist oligarch cronies have been steadily manipulating the global natural resource market to their own benefit. All investors have to do is watch what Russia is doing to get a little boost for your portfolio.
Anyone who’s been around the investment world for a little while knows the value of a prediction… pretty low. But if someone controlled the market, it would be wise to listen up, right?
That’s why I pay attention to the Kremlin-friendly Russian nickel and cobalt powerhouse Norilsk Nickel when it makes a prediction. A little over a year ago in February 2006, Norilsk quietly issued a press release to combat rumors that it didn’t have enough cobalt to meet its forward supply contracts. The release contained the statement:
“Norilsk Nickel has predicted cobalt prices will soon rise to above $12 per lb as demand improves.”
What a shocker! Norilsk controls about 20% of the world’s cobalt supply. With such a large percentage of world cobalt supply under its control, it’s no wonder its prediction came true. Now, cobalt trades for around $30 per pound.
Norilsk and the Kremlin have proven that cobalt prices can be controlled by limiting supply through production. Cobalt demand is surging because of its use in large batteries that power hybrid cars. Cobalt is also used in batteries powering every electronic device that the Chinese and Indian population can’t get enough of. Demand is far outstripping supply.
With cobalt this high, I seriously doubt Norilsk will let cobalt prices fall even if it could. In fact, there are unconfirmed reports that Norilsk is seeing its cobalt production decline.
Clearly things are coming together for a big crunch in the cobalt market. But this crunch has created a tremendous buying opportunity in one small company that is sitting on a mountain of cobalt valued in the billions. But there’s a lot more to it than that, learn the full story here.
That’s all for now,
Andrew Mickey
Founder, Small-Cap Commodity Prospector
Africa’s $10 Billion Secret! As the Kremlin moves to control the world’s commodity markets, a tiny $2 mining stock has secured a $10 billion fortune on Africa’s rugged coast. Get in now and you could see a tenfold gain by Sept. 22, 2007. Read on for all the details...
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