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Vanadium Vs Lithium
I think many of you will be interested in the summary at the bottom of this message, which highlights various data points about the Vanadium markets and applications versus Lithium. I will first mention how I plan to profit and which companies interest me most then will get into general data on the two metals.
There are not many ways to play it, but Largo Resources is a producer with operations out of Brazil and is trading in the US/Canada (LGO). Although my investment of choice (I own a decent bit of Largo and leap call options) is clearly Phenom Resources (PHNM/PHNMF), which owns the largest and highest grade primary Vanadium deposit in North America (near surface) and it is growing.
I expect Phenom to spin out their gold/copper assets into a new public company sometime in the late 2nd quarter and we should hear about their intentions soon. That means all shareholders of PHNM/PHNMF will be getting a piece of that company`"for free" and it allows for more concise raising of capital and new investor interest in both entities. The Vanadium price is up 40% since November 1st ($7.30 to $10.20 per lb) and I believe we've seen this cycle bottom already.
The surfacing Vanadium centric technology applications that I'm seeing are astounding! Here's just one new finding: The strange, brain-like memory of vanadium dioxide - Big Think
Did you read that?! It's short but opens up possibilities of potential demand and brand new applications in glass, phone/computer screens, and who knows what else....
As usual, we snooze and we will lose! I strongly encourage you to have exposure to V205 BEFORE things start popping off. Various projections show extremely robust growth rates for Vanadium usage starting NOW over the next decade. This potential 30-40% CAGR will be driven by adoption of industrial scale redox flow batteries (VRFB), additional usage in stainless steel (add 2% V205=approximately double the strength), various solid state battery applications, and I believe strongly, in the electric vehicle battery market (which obviously is not included in any current growth projections-it will SHOCK the market if I'm correct/early on this view).
The industrial market for VRFB's should be comparable to the electric vehicle market in size, currently dominated by Lithium-ion batteries, over the next 5-10 years. However, I believe that primary Vanadium style batteries will disrupt Lithium for the standard slot in EV's as well. This will take time, and I will be able to elaborate on new technologies surfacing out of Asia very soon in more detail. Know this, there is a company showing a full EV battery recharge in less than 30 seconds! Besides claims of nearly twice the distance on that full charge vs Lithium, half the cost, a 20-25 plus year life cycle with zero need to replace the Vanadium, and most importantly, it removes the significant inflammatory/explosion risks inherent in Lithium batteries. These claims are extraordinary but I think they are real! Think about that for a moment.
PHNM went to $2 twice in 2018 with just an option and a 43-101 resource at Carlin South. Now, it's PEA stage, over 50% bigger, and they own it outright with all payments/earn-ins completed. I remain very excited about their potential to find a mega gold system underneath the Vanadium deposit. But, just the asset we already have of this fascinating clean battery metal in another strong Vanadium market (coming-imminent!) could drive the share price much higher this time.
Scroll through the summary below and I would encourage you to click on source links/articles to really begin to get more of a feel of what is happening here. It won't take you long, and it might be the difference in terms of whether you take this theme seriously or not. This is not a comprehensive list but you'll know more about Vanadium than 99.8% of other investors!
Lithium vs Vanadium
Lithium-
Flammable
Life span is short
Overall bad for the environment
Requires protection from usage to maintain safe operation
Vanadium-
100% Recyclability
50% less CO2 emission to Lithium
Average life span of VRFB is 25 years with minimal maintenance
A wide range of unexplored markets
100% discharge of energy
Production/Supply
2020 most recent numbers (measured in metric tons-MT)
China- 69,960
Russia- 19,533
South Africa- 8584
Brazil- 7582
India- 10
United States 17
Amount Per year produced (measured in metric tons-MT)
2016- 85.43
2017- 81.89
2018- 84.95
2019- 98.72
2020- 105.78
Demand
Global consumption of Vanadium has increased 7% from 2020 to 2021.
Predominantly use of the increase is the steel industry 92% usage of Vanadium
Battery industries for vanadium leaves in tremendous upside. Markets expect a demand to grow to a minimum of CAGR (compound annual growth rate) 41% by 2031.
Usages
Steel-
Refine structures of low alloy steel
Reduce the sensitivity of steel
Increase its strength and toughness
Battery-
Vanadium reflux flow battery (VRFB’s)
The Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries Market was valued at USD 171.91 Million in 2020 and is projected to reach USD 697.91 Million by 2028.
What it is? It functions as a storage for energy through solar or wind. It is more efficient than lithium.
How it works? It goes through a process of separating the electrolytes negative and positive storing them through the solar or wind energy provided. At the same level of a lithium battery, it is longer lasting. Lithium is at about 3000 cycles of usage life of 10-15 years. Vanadium is at about 15000 cycles at a lower maintenance it would last about 25 years.
Efficiency- 50% cost reduction of usage
Vflow- length of energy
Small 6hrs
Large 10hrs
EV Charging Station
Locations- Korea, Australia
Vsunenergy, Powermyhome, Vflow
Car-
Vanadium in car batteries were being used in Hybrid and EV
Car makers when done right will be able to charge EV within 6 min
10 years ago there was many developments but no funding in order to continue these. They developed a car that would go 375 miles on a full charge.
Refer to Vflow Spec information
Markets with Minimal usage/possibility-
Tools
Axels
Pistons
Ceramics as pigments
Space Vehicles
Nuclear reactors
Aircraft carriers
Why the excitement over Vanadium?
Opportunity-
Cost of Lithium is 10x of what it was.
With the EV demand there is only enough supply of lithium until 2030
Vanadium charges faster, last longer, and is more powerful than lithium
Storage capacity will have a to increase 5x by 2050 in the US (video :57)* Contract with California 134 million contract
90% of vanadium is used for steel, only 12% is used for cars/EV will need them (Safety) (:18)**
Vanadium to grow to a minimum of CAGR (compound annual growth rate) 41% by 2031. Excluding the EV space.
Solid State Battery Patent- Source
Leads to a whole other market Electronics (see examples 1 and 9 bottom of the page)
10.4 Billion dollar market in computers- Vanadium being used as a glass memory vs. crystalline. ***
Health****
Unexplored avenues of what Vanadium can really do.
Sources
https://www.utilitydive.com/news/california-funds-60-mwh-tribal-long-duration-storage-project-with-nations/636098/ - California 134 million contract
* https://youtu.be/pQlG46F87Fs
** https://youtu.be/gvmt4E7Ye2c
*** https://bigthink.com/the-future/vanadium-dioxide-glass-memory/
How to Beat the Banks with Crypto Income
Eric Muschinski is the founder and Chief Investment Officer at Phenom Ventures, editor of the GoldInvestmentLetter.com, and editor of EliteInvestments.com. Eric has over 25 years of experience in capital markets with a primary focus on equities and alternative investment asset classes to generate absolute returns. For additional information sign up for our free E-Letter at https://www.goldinvestmentletter.com/ In a world of prevailing low to negative rates, securing above-average income-related returns from various asset classes has become a significant challenge for investors. In this episode, Eric explains how he uses the cryptocurrency space to generate income-related returns in excess of 8% in a low-risk manner that provides minimal risk to the principal. He also elaborates on specific cryptocurrencies he is targeting to facilitate this process and advises investors on how to avoid the most dangerous pitfalls in what has become a highly volatile asset class. With new episodes being released every other week, make sure to subscribe and hit that notification bell to never miss an episode.
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Eric Muschinski & Roger Hirst discuss the value proposition from the Junior miners and the risk/reward for owning them. They are the only opportunities in the market right now that present asymmetric returns similar to cryptocurrency. Together they dive into 4 specific junior mining companies that have an incredible upside. In this new series, Eric uses his extensive experience to give incredible insight into the movements of the precious metals and cryptocurrency space. With new episodes being released every other week, make sure to subscribe and hit that notification bell to never miss an episode.
Can Gold Keep Up With Bitcoin in 2021?
Eric Muschinski, CEO and Founder of Gold Investment Letter, tells you about the only gold investment he thinks will keep up with cryptocurrencies in 2021. In this new series, Eric uses his extensive experience to give incredible insight into the movements of the precious metals and cryptocurrency space. With new episodes being released every other week, make sure to subscribe and hit that notification bell to never miss an episode.
Crypto or Junior Miners—Who Wins in 2021?
A Glimpse into My Past is Revealing the Future
Elite and Premium members have been privy to the core message below as of late (although not the old broker stories!). I have dripped over and over and often straight up pounded the table to encourage GIL subscribers to accumulate Bitcoin and Ethereum for quite awhile. Besides making my first recommendation here at GIL to buy BTC in 2016 at $500 ish, we have had a clear strategy since the spring of 2018 (when BTC broke down into the $7,000's) to start building a serious position for the next bull run, which is clearly in motion!
Owning some bitcoin into the late 2017 run to $20k was nice, but it was funny money! I sold around $2,500 and announced that publicly here in our e-letter, right before it RIPPED to almost $20K in just a few months! I bought back in between $8,700-$9,500 and was able to flip it fast in the mid $17,000's near the peak. Although it was again, small dough. But during that summer of 2017 I had begun a deeper dive into bitcoin, blockchain, and cryptocurrencies in general. The price action into January 2018 caused me to accelerate my learning. That is primarily because of the memories it stirred up from when I was a young stockbroker during the internet stock bubble in late 1999-early 2000.
Back then was the first time in my life that I had ever made any "real" money, and it came fast and furious! Not just in transaction fees, but my client accounts and mine had gone up between 8X to 15X in a matter of 5 months! I actually felt deeply compelled to write down the account values of my top ten people in early October 1999 before leaving for a trip. This was done on the back of my business card and taped to my wall! I felt like I "knew" that the lows were in and that something big was on the horizon. They were not large accounts, but these were the faithful few who had followed me to a new firm about a year earlier in November 1998.
During the 2nd half of 1999, a prevailing concern was the "year 2000" issue, which predicted utter chaos as software in various sectors weren't programmed to go past 1999 (including the banks-apparently!). However, I had formed a contrarian viewpoint and it was cemented when I heard economist Ed Yardeni say that he was expecting a melt up in early 2000, not a melt down in stock markets, as was the prevailing consensus. I thought that the hype and fear around imminent disaster was over baked into the market, while the internet names were subtly being accumulated by smart money.
Fear and Crickets to MANIA in a Blink of an Eye
*This is all very relevant to gold and our mining stock investments which I get into below.
The entire year from October 1998 until November 1999, I had focused on making sure that somebody (anybody!) bought shares in my favorite stock at the time, ALPNET! I chipped away day in and out to build our position in AILP and some days I didn't get anyone to take action. Other days, I was able to get a small new account with the pitch or have a client buy $2k worth (our firm minimum). My close customers knew that I had serious conviction though, and added shares periodically between $1.50-$1.80 during the 2nd half of 1999. I was making a big bet on Alpnet, just like I had done 2 years earlier in a company called Modacad, which became a career making bet and lifesaving home run!
Then between the middle of November 1999 and February 2000 (not even 100 days), Alpnet's share price went from 1.50 to $10.50! Not only that, but I was zeroed in on the action, convincing the majority of my clients to top up when we saw the stock finally break $2 on volume, which had been formidable resistance for a long time. I then had everyone sell half of their positions right around $6 per share, which was still in December, if I recall. Then, "they" shook the trees on the late comers piling in on pure momentum and AILP pulled back abruptly to $4. But I saw further gains coming, and support firming, so we went all back in again at $4-$4.20!
4-5 weeks later a fund manager was recommending it on CNBC and AILP traded over 10 million shares and hit $10.50 exactly! Notably, I was the only buyer in sight on MANY days over the previous 12-18 months. I began cashing everyone in on about 2/3 of our positions between $9-$10 on the CNBC highs that same day. Fast forward to March 2000 when the highs were being put in on the NASDAQ, and I started buying AILP back around $7. I was looking to duplicate the magic I had from selling at $6, buying back in at $4, then basically calling the top to the day. Not to mention that I was proven right after a very long stretch as a lone buyer in the wilderness! The internet hype was still in the air and many of us were caught up in the HIGH of making so much money so quickly.
Now fast forward 18 months later to late 2001 (well into a nasty recession) and Alpnet was acquired for just .21 cents, while I bought it all the way back down! We gave virtually ALL of it back. And when I say "all" that includes most of the other enormous trades and gains we had between Q4 1999 into Q2 2000. I picked many fast 30-40-50% winning trades along with multiple triples, quadruples, and even more 8-10X hits. What an experience now that I think back!
The lessons I learned during that time were Invaluable, but I was burnt out and completely broke by early 2002. I was also flipped upside down in 2009 at the absolute worst time! Forced to puke out of my positions at the lows so I could pay my bills and eat! This was also an expensive but very valuable lesson. I've had to learn the hard way many times during my investing and trading career. But these cumulative errors and setbacks are exactly why I have a very formidable toolbox to utilize today. So, why did I just walk through a 1999-2000 cautionary tale during the internet boom? Because...It is about to happen AGAIN, are YOU ready for it?!
I believe that the largest creation and transfer of wealth in human history has begun!
2021---Gold and Especially Bitcoin Will Pounce
Whether you like it or not gold investors, some BIG money has already started to wade into bitcoin under the "digital gold" premise. I personally see these two assets as perfect partners! Together they are and will eat up fiat currency market share globally. But sadly, most gold bugs (I am a gold BULL and don't wish to get stepped on like a bug after this bull market ends!) either hate bitcoin or blow it off entirely, which is NOT a good idea! Most bitcoin loyalists say that bitcoin is the "better version" of gold and that it will "Capture X or Y market share from gold". The majority of gold investors do not understand bitcoin at all and the majority of crypto investors do not understand gold at all! Yet BOTH assets will attract massive amounts of capital and savings globally at an accelerated pace moving forward.
It is my contention and strong belief that gains in Bitcoin will continue to SMASH every other asset class that exists over the next 5-10 years (just as it has done over the last 1-5-10 years). This includes gold and silver. The only shot that "our" sector has to keep up with 100%-500% annual gains are via very select junior gold and silver mining stocks. Gold is simply not designed to blast off like bitcoin, nor would I want it to be! Gold is already at an extremely mature stage and commands a massive market value worth over $11 Trillion USD. BTC is only $350 Billion, which is less than approximately 20 individual companies value today. BTC has more room to gain in % terms by far but that means it will have to TRIPLE against every 10% bump in the gold price!
In terms of gold, silver, and mining sector investments, 90% of YOU are underweight. How about the rest of the investors out there that don't even understand it?! We still have less than a 1% global allocation to gold, which is ridiculous. If you have been a subscriber here for a while and still own no physical gold or silver, and have a "play money" allocation into mining shares, I don't know what to tell you! For the rest of us, we've got this area covered in our sleep, and it is going to be a very fun 2021 and beyond! But the crypto area is where I am very concerned that our readers will finally be taking time to learn more about it and buy into the sector when Bitcoin is in the hundreds of thousands per, or in the millions (which is just a matter of time!).
But those of us who have TAKEN ACTION early on are now about to see our spoils accelerate Madly! I have put in close to 5,000 hours studying AND using crypto and blockchain technology over the past 3 years (give or take 1,000 hours). 1/2 of this time was put in during 2020, and yes I am behind on sleep! This fervor was driven by the huge mistake that I made in the early 2000's, as the internet was rising up and about to become such a disruptive and integral to all of our lives. I focused on making quick money trading and investing in "hot stocks" whose business model descriptions included "buzzwords" like e-commerce, bandwidth, web browsers, ISP's, online marketing, SEO, banner ads, and many more.
The error I made was not putting in the work, time, and energy to dig beneath the surface and understand JUST HOW MASSIVE things were about to change! Those who did, are VERY rich now. Even if you sold vacuum cleaners back in 2002, if you were early to start Google/Internet search advertising, you would be the largest vacuum distributor in the world!
URGENCY
Once $20,000 BTC breaks, watch what happens. SEE YA! A massive amount of institutional capital will be jolted into hyper alert mode to BUY MORE and FAST. The problem is that there is NO FLOAT. Bitcoin is VERY scarce. I"m observing a myriad of signs and signals that having over 40% of my entire net worth in Crypto at this time is absolutely merited! That's right, 40%. Some of the smartest money that I know who come from old school backgrounds in traditional capital markets, venture capital, and macro investing, are 50-80% in crypto! I'm sorry all, but $hit is about to get WILD!
I believe that we are HOURS to maybe DAYS away from Bitcoin trading above $20,000 and blowing wide open! It is VERY close, hence this long write up tonight, because I am WATCHING it about to happen...
Your Options
I am convinced that Bitcoin will be trading 4x to 10x higher than it is today, within 12 months. If I'm even marginally close on those projections, it means that it is not too late! In fact, I can tell you that I am strongly convinced that it is still early, but the tipping point is imminent.
Now what? Well, you best be buying some Bitcoin and Ethereum at a minimum! If you want more important alerts and updates as this market SOARS in 2021, it would be foolish not to join GIL Premium. The price is doubling in 2 weeks as well and I am likely shutting down new membership sometime in Q1. The Elite waiting list should be considered quickly also if you are a high net worth individual, family office, or professional investor of any sort. Premium is paramount and WAY too cheap! Both or either memberships can be secured here:
If you want to play catch up FAST (even just on the education of this incredible movement), or are already involved but want to add octane to your BTC/ETH holdings positions, go grab one of my crypto special reports that I just put out last week:
Don't worry too much about the prices, they are peanuts compared to what you get and what's coming! People who purchase the Tier 3 package (up to 10 max) will have direct access to me via text and my cell number. I'm sharing extra time right now so that you can get moving! I want to help ensure (at least for the next 2-4 weeks) that those who step up now will be able to facilitate what you want to buy quickly. Even if it's just to get started, open up a crypto based account, and have your US Dollars or Euros etc on the ready to buy once Bitcoin busts $20k. By the way, I will be plunging in the last of my purchases when that occurs!
Decentralized Finance, or "DeFi"as it's commonly known, is about to turn every single corner of our financial system on its head. I know it's coming because it is already here! I'm using various platforms to generate over 5% interest on some of my Bitcoin and Ethereum holdings. I am getting over 8% interest on US Dollar savings! It's real, and there are many other opportunities to accrue very attractive rates in some of the most exciting companies/coins around. Gold, silver, and mining stocks are actually quite an integral beneficiary of this current and future financial paradigm shift. There are abundant investments to deploy capital in this/our sector alone. So, I will not cover any crypto tokens, coins, etc. outside of Bitcoin here in the GIL E-Letter.
It's important to note that you do not have to buy an entire Bitcoin for $19,200 (currently). The blockchain was brilliantly designed to break down as small as one-hundred millionth of a Bitcoin, called a "Satoshi". This means you that can put $5, $50, or $200 into it. You can use Paypal, Cash App, Coinbase (if US based), and I love Binance.com if you live anywhere outside of the US for Bitcoin purchases and hundreds of various Alt coins if you wish. Here is a link to receive 10% kickbacks on any/all commissions that you pay for life:
I will highlight this sector once we burst through $20k because it will be immensely important for us as gold investors, opportunists, and traders alike. But, outside of BTC, you will need to be on the Tier 2 or Tier 3 crypto report list, an elite member, or at least a premium member to receive more content on these matters.
Lastly, I do not recommend GBTC as a viable supplement for your exposure to Bitcoin! You're going to pay a 25% premium to NAV because you're lazy? Open an account and buy Cryptocurrency! It isn't going away. Blockchain stocks are not the same as owning Bitcoin or Ethereum etc either. Yes, we own several o them with huge upside, but none of them are "miners". Why pay their capex, opex, exchange listing fees, and management salaries to mine exactly what I can easily buy directly myself!
And whatever you do next, please PAY ATTENTION and spend time LEARNING because EVERYTHING is about to change! The internet, mobile, social media, and many other enormous value creations that changed our world have NOTHING on what is coming. Now is not the time to be asleep...
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Real Vision: Why Gold Miners? Why Now?
Roger Hirst is joined by Eric Muschinski, CEO and Founder of Gold Investment Letter, to talk about why now could be an exciting time to invest in gold miners. Whilst much of the world has been in lockdown, financial markets have continued to operate, often with spectacular results. Why Gold Miners? Why Now? And how to play it.