CHARTS: How the sulphuric acid crunch is driving up critical minerals costs
- •Hey everyone, just read this article on Mining.com about the sulphuric acid crunch ( full article here ) and wanted to share my thoughts.
- •Secondly, how much of that cost gets passed on to consumers.
- •What are your thoughts on this?
Hey everyone, just read this article on Mining.com about the sulphuric acid crunch (full article here) and wanted to share my thoughts. This isn't exactly groundbreaking news for those of us who've been keeping an eye on the supply chain issues post-COVID, but the specific impact on critical minerals like lithium and nickel, and subsequently EV production, really got me thinking. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence's warnings about rising production costs because of this acid shortage are definitely something to pay close attention to. I've been diversifying my portfolio a bit more into materials, especially with an eye on the green energy transition, and this just adds another layer of complexity to the raw material sourcing.
My concern here is twofold: firstly, the direct impact on companies involved in extraction and processing – their margins are going to feel the squeeze. Secondly, how much of that cost gets passed on to consumers. With inflation already a beast, higher EV prices would definitely slow adoption, which has broader implications for decarbonization goals that a lot of us are invested in, directly or indirectly. I've been looking at some of the gold-backed options as a hedge against this kind of volatility, and honestly, it’s comforting to have something tangible. It reminds me, I was actually messing around with the Gold IRA Blueprint calculator the other day, just trying to project potential growth for a portion of my retirement savings; it’s a neat tool if you're curious about how gold can fit into your long-term strategy, especially when industrial commodities are getting squeezed like this.
What are your thoughts on this? Is anyone here invested directly in companies that would be heavily impacted by these rising acid costs? Are you seeing any innovative solutions to this problem, or do you think it's just another hurdle we'll eventually overcome? Always keen to hear diverse perspectives from this community. Cheers!