So, we all know oil ruled the 20th century. Wars were fought over it. Fortunes were made. Countries rose and fell. But the future? It’s not going to run on gasoline and greasy pipelines. It’s going to run on some wild, barely-pronounceable elements hiding in obscure corners of the periodic table.
Welcome to the Monexis Guide to Investing in Tomorrow’s Scarcity. We’re diving into the dusty vault of forgotten minerals, overlooked elements, and space-age stuff that could make early investors very happy.
What Makes Something the Next Oil, Anyway?
Before we get weird, let’s be real. For a resource to explode in value, it has to check a few boxes:
· People want it. Like, a lot.
· There’s not much of it, or it’s hard to get.
· It powers stuff everyone’s obsessed with (hello, AI and EVs).
· It’s stuck in places where politics get spicy.
Think of lithium. Ten years ago, it sounded like a drug ad side effect. Now? It’s in every Tesla and iPhone battery. In 2012, lithium carbonate traded around $4,000/ton. By the end of 2022? Try $84,000 in some markets. Yep. That’s a 2,000% ride.
Now imagine spotting that kind of surge before the hype. That’s what we’re here for.
1. Gallium & Germanium – The Tiny Titans Behind Big Tech
These two metals sound like alien currencies, but they’re actually essential for modern tech. Gallium is used in 5G networks and solar panels. Germanium helps infrared optics and high-efficiency chips do their thing.
In July 2023, China (which controls over 90% of global gallium supply) slapped export restrictions on both elements. Germanium production? Mostly comes from four countries — China, Russia, Canada, and Belgium.
Before restrictions, gallium was trading under $300/kg. Now, some contracts hit $500/kg and rising. The EU called these metals “strategically indispensable.” Translation? Investors are quietly buying in.
2. Helium-3 – The Moon’s Shiny Promise
Helium-3 is rare on Earth, but all over the Moon’s surface. It’s a dream fuel for nuclear fusion — no radioactive waste, no meltdown risk. Sounds fake? It’s not.
NASA’s Artemis mission aims to return to the Moon by 2026. China’s lunar ambitions include helium-3 extraction. One lunar scoop could hold enough helium-3 to power 1,000 homes for a year.
The catch? Mining the Moon isn’t exactly on Robinhood yet. But Monexis users are already tracking early private space companies like Ispace and Astrobotic— both received over $100M in funding each between 2020 and 2024.
3. Phosphorus – The Farmer’s Secret Gold
No phosphorus = no crops = no food. It’s not flashy, but it’s crucial. Morocco holds 70% of the world’s known phosphorus rock. Yes, one country.
In 2023, India imported over 8 million tons of phosphorus-based fertilizers. And with global food demand set to rise 60% by 2050, supply is getting tight.
Investment tip? Keep an eye on recycling tech like struvite recovery systems, which pull phosphorus from wastewater. A startup in Canada turned this into a $50M business by mid-2023. Monexis reports growing retail interest in “agri-tech metals.”
4. Graphene: The Invisible Wonder
Imagine a material thinner than paper, stronger than steel, and a better conductor than copper. That’s graphene. One atom thick and discovered in 2004 by two physicists who later won a Nobel Prize.
Graphene-based batteries can charge in 15 minutes and last 5x longer. Samsung and Huawei have invested over $1.2 billion combined into graphene R&D as of 2022.
Still early days, but stocks like Applied Graphene Materials (AGM) and Haydale have been floating under the radar. Last year, AGM’s market cap was under £15 million—a speck compared to its tech potential.
5. Fluorspar: Fluoride’s Industrial Cousin
It’s not just for toothpaste. Fluorspar (aka fluorite) is vital in aluminum smelting, steel refining, and lithium battery production.
China owns over 60% of global fluorspar reserves. The U.S. imports 100% of its supply. In 2021, prices averaged $300/ton. By early 2024, they reached $500/ton, thanks to demand from EV producers like BYD and Volkswagen.
A small Mexican mining firm, Koura, was acquired for $1.3B in 2023, purely for its fluorspar potential. Not exactly a sleeper.
6. Tokenized Resources: Blockchain Meets Bedrock
You can now own a chunk of a lithium mine without stepping foot in Bolivia. Blockchain is slicing up ownership of physical resources into digital tokens.
A project in Argentina tokenized 35 tons of lithium. On monexis.org, crypto investors jumped in using USDT, ETH, and even DOGE. Each token was backed by 0.5 kg of physical lithium stored under government oversight.
It’s early, but tokenization adds liquidity to clunky markets. No need to buy land and permits—just hold a token. Welcome to resource investing, 3.0.
7. Geopolitics: Where It Gets Messy (and Profitable)
Resources often lie in unstable regions. Congo has 70% of the world’s cobalt. Kazakhstan? Huge uranium fields. Indonesia dominates nickel.
But when governments nationalize industries (looking at you, Bolivia and Chile), stock prices swing. In 2022, lithium giant SQM dropped 18% in a day after Chile announced partial state control.
Monexis now offers regional risk heatmaps showing geopolitical volatility, infrastructure quality, and export reliability. Traders use it to time entries before national policy shifts shake the market.
8. Getting In: How to Invest in These Oddball Resources
Alright, so you’ve read about Helium-3, Gallium, and all these underdog materials no one’s talking about at dinner parties (yet). Now comes the fun part — actually getting some skin in the game.
You don’t need to dig through a mine in Bolivia or smuggle germanium out of a lab. But you do need to know how to play your cards right. Here’s how smart folks are making moves — without betting the farm.
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Option 1: Direct Stocks — High Risk, Higher Reward
Let’s start with junior mining companies. These are small-cap exploration firms sitting on early-stage resource deposits — often before the market even cares. They’re like the garage bands of the commodities world. Some never make it big. Others become Metallica.
Tips for Investing in Direct Resource Stocks:
Do your homework: Look for companies with proven reserves, solid management, and funding. A shiny website isn’t enough.
Read the drill reports: Seriously. If a company is announcing “assays,” check the numbers (monexis.org often posts summaries under their “Emerging Markets” tab).
Watch geopolitical risk: If the mine’s in a politically unstable country, prepare for headlines to move prices overnight.
Examples to watch:
Nano One Materials (Canada) – battery materials innovator
First Quantum Minerals – copper & nickel plays in Africa
Ispace Inc. – Japan’s bet on lunar mining (yep, space is now public)
Warning: These stocks can swing 30–50% in a week. Not for the faint-hearted or short-term thinkers.
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Option 2: Strategic Metal ETFs — Safer, Simpler Entry
If direct stocks feel like juggling flaming rocks, ETFs (Exchange-Traded Funds) offer a more balanced ride. They bundle companies together, giving you broad exposure with lower risk.
Top ETFs for Scarce Resource Exposure:
REMX (VanEck Rare Earth/Strategic Metals ETF)
Focuses on companies involved in rare earth and strategic metals — like lithium, gallium, and scandium. As of late 2024, REMX was up 28% YTD.
BATT (Amplify Lithium & Battery Tech ETF)
Covers the full supply chain — from lithium miners to EV battery makers. Good for riding the energy storage wave.
LIT (Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF)
More focused on lithium-specific tech. Heavy on players like Albemarle and Ganfeng Lithium.
Monexis Pro Tip: Use the ETF Screener on Monexis to compare expense ratios, historical returns, and material exposure — especially if you’re looking to match with your long-term ESG strategy.
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Option 3: Crypto + Real Assets — Tokenized Resource Investing
Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of tokenized commodities. This is where the Monexis platform shines for next-gen investors.
Let’s say you want exposure to a rare earth deposit in Argentina, but don’t want to deal with foreign taxes, paperwork, and exchange rates. Now you can buy a token that represents a fractional share of that deposit — backed by a smart contract.
How Tokenized Assets Work:
You buy a digital token (think ERC-20 or similar), often priced in stablecoins.
That token is backed by real-world assets (like 10kg of lithium or 1% ownership in a mining claim).
Monexis now tracks over 30 tokenized real asset projects, updated weekly under the “Asset Blockchain Index.”
Benefits of Tokenized Investing:
Low entry barrier — get in with $50 or less
Global access — trade across borders without red tape
24/7 liquidity — unlike traditional mining stocks that stop at 4PM
Caution: These markets are still the Wild West. In Q2 2024, three token-backed cobalt projects were paused due to regulatory pressure. Always check the legal disclosures and third-party audits.
Final Thoughts: Tomorrow’s Titans Are Hiding in the Dirt
One day it’s dirt. The next day? It’s worth more than gold. That’s the strange beauty of resource investing. If oil was the king of yesterday, these weird, wonderful materials are the dukes and duchesses of the digital age.
So whether you’re buying tokens backed by moon rocks or scouting the next graphite disruptor—Monexis is your front-row seat to the future of scarcity.
Keep digging.