I hope your holiday weekend(s) were great!

We had Canada’s holiday last week and our Memorial Day weekend just past. 

I spent the week between the two holidays in Vancouver British Columbia. I met with a lot of old friends, dropped off some baby presents, and took the temperature of the mining sector. 

Every bull market climbs a wall of worry. And we’re in worry mode right now. Investors are worried about the U.S. debt ceiling, about further rate hikes, about inflation, and about life in general. 

Those macro-factors aren’t limited to mining, either. Unless your company has a newly launched artificial intelligence option, the stock is probably down a bit. That’s okay, as long as we’re patient.

But we also had some great news break recently. 

Giant carmaker Ford (NYSE: F) announced a series of agreements to take lithium from mining companies. The deals are for both refined and raw lithium. The agreements speak volumes about the commitment of Ford to developing and selling electric vehicles (EVs) in the U.S.

We wrote a Grove Essay “Ford’s Lithium Play” about it.

But it’s more than just a commitment to EVs. Ford’s agreement provides much-needed liquidity to the mining sector. With a deal in hand, mining companies will find it much easier to borrow money at better terms. And it will allow them to raise capital at better terms than without it.

That’s great news for our positions in the mining space. We need investors to come into these companies and lift the share prices.

Sincerely,
Matt Badiali