The Most Important Metal You’ve Never Heard Of and Why It Matters.

The US doesn’t produce enough of the stuff, but we know who does. [The Rude Awakening] May 01, 2023 [WEBSITE]( | [UNSUBSCRIBE]( The Most Important Metal You’ve Never Heard Of and Why It Matters. - This metal is used in everything from steel to aerospace. - But while the US produces it domestically, it’s insufficient to meet all the demand. - Unfortunately for the US, the countries that export it aren’t on the friendliest terms. [Response Requested]( 1/1000th of an ounce of gold available As a Rude Awakening reader, Jim Rickards is offering you 1/1000th of an ounce of gold when you upgrade your account. It will come in the form of a “Gold Back” - a new type of gold currency that’s starting to spread across America ([click here to view](. If you have not responded to Jim’s offer yet, and want to know how to claim yours… Please click the link below for details. [Click here to learn how to claim your new Gold Back Currency<]( Thanks! Amber Anderson Customer Service [Click Here To Learn More]( [Sean Ring] SEAN RING Good morning from an overcast Asti! This week is another one on the Astigiani (AH-stee-johnny) calendar, where almost everyone has the first few days off. It’s the festival of our patron saint, San Secondo (Secundus in Latin). He was an Asti patrician and a subaltern officer in the imperial army who was beheaded at Asti under Emperor Hadrian. The modern church is in Piazza San Secondo, where Micah plays with his friends on Friday nights. [SJN] Piazza San Secondo and its church. Credit: Sean Ring We’ll join the festivities later today. In the meantime, I watched an interesting video this weekend from Real Vision titled “[Getting In Early to Metals and Miners]( Disclosure: I’m long [GDXJ]( right now in my retirement portfolio. That’s the Junior Miners’ ETF. But the chatter on gold isn’t what caught my ear. It was the chatter about another metal barely anyone had heard of. What’s Vanadium? One day, I remember taking out my toolset to fix something in the apartment. As I grabbed my screwdriver, the lettering on the shaft was glinting in my eye. I turned the screwdriver gently to read the inscription. I thought it was going to be the manufacturer. [SJN] Credit: Sean Ring Instead, it read, “CHROME VANADIUM.” I thought to myself, “What the heck is chrome vanadium?” Quickly, chrome vanadium is an alloy made of chrome and vanadium. Not too hard, that one! But what’s vanadium? And why didn’t my science teachers ever mention it? Vanadium is a chemical element that’s a hard, silvery-grey, ductile, and malleable transition metal. Without getting too into the weeds, transition metals are generally known for their high melting and boiling points and ability to form complex ions and compounds with other elements. They’re also typically good conductors of heat and electricity, and many exhibit magnetic properties. Some examples of transition metals include iron, copper, nickel, titanium, vanadium, zinc, and gold. These elements have a wide range of applications in industry, technology, and everyday life, including in the manufacture of alloys, electronics, and batteries, as well as in the production of various chemicals and materials. That is, they’re essential. On its own, vanadium is found in many minerals, including vanadinite, patronite, and carnotite. It’s usually produced as a byproduct of other mining operations. Vanadium has several important industrial uses. [[CHART] Could Inflation Hit 20%+ In 2023?]( [Click here to learn more]( Take a close look at this scary chart pictured here… What you see is the money supply in America… And as you can see, the number of dollars in circulation has exploded in the last few years. In fact, more than 80% of all dollars to ever exist have been printed since just 2020 alone! Which is why some say inflation could soon explode even higher than it is now, to 20% or more. And if you’re at or near retirement age you must take action now to protect yourself… otherwise you risk losing everything. [Simply click here now to see how to survive America’s deadly inflation crisis](. [Click Here To Learn More]( What Are Vanadium’s Top Five Uses? Vanadium possesses incredible usefulness in a wide range of industries. Its top five uses are (bolds mine): - Steel production: The most significant use of vanadium is as an alloying element in steel. When added to steel, vanadium improves its strength, toughness, and heat resistance. - Superalloys: Vanadium produces high-performance alloys called superalloys, used in the aerospace industry and other high-tech applications that require materials that can withstand extreme temperatures and stresses. - Chemical catalysts: Vanadium is used as a catalyst in the production of several chemicals, including sulfuric acid and maleic anhydride. - Energy storage: Vanadium redox batteries are rechargeable flow batteries that use vanadium ions in different oxidation states to store energy. These batteries have the potential to store large amounts of energy and could be used for grid-scale energy storage or in electric vehicles. - Medical applications: Vanadium has been investigated for potential medicinal uses, including treating diabetes and cancer. Some studies have shown that vanadium compounds can help regulate blood sugar levels and inhibit the growth of cancer cells. However, more research is needed to fully understand the potential benefits and risks of using vanadium in medicine. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the United States doesn’t have enough of the stuff. Guess who does? What Are the Top Vanadium-Producing Countries? Just America’s luck… The top vanadium-producing countries in the world are: - China: China is the largest vanadium producer, accounting for over 60% of global production. Most vanadium in China is produced as a byproduct of steel production. - Russia: Russia is the second-largest vanadium producer, accounting for around 16% of global production. The country produces vanadium from several mines, including the Kachkanar mine in the Ural Mountains. - South Africa: South Africa is the third, accounting for around 13% of global production. The country produces vanadium from the Bushveld Complex, a large igneous rock formation. - Brazil: Brazil is the fourth, accounting for around 5% of global production. The country produces vanadium from the Maracás Menchen Mine, located in Bahia. - India: India is the fifth, accounting for around 2% of global production. The country produces vanadium from several mines, including the Rampura Agucha Mine in Rajasthan. What a coincidence… If you rearrange the first initials of those countries, you get BRICS! You know, those guys who are frantically trying to de-dollarize. And who are the top five countries America imports vanadium from? [According to the US Geological Survey]( Canada accounts for 26% of vanadium imports. The next four are, unsurprisingly, China (14%), Brazil (10%), and South Africa (9%). As for substituting vanadium, the [USGS]( says the aerospace industry is out of luck: Steels containing various combinations of other alloying elements can be substituted for steels containing vanadium. Certain metals, such as manganese, molybdenum, niobium (columbium), titanium, and tungsten, are to some degree interchangeable with vanadium as alloying elements in steel. Platinum and nickel can replace vanadium compounds as catalysts in some chemical processes. Currently, no acceptable substitute for vanadium is available for use in aerospace titanium alloys. But what about everyday folk? An Everyday Use of Vanadium. Let’s get back to my chrome vanadium alloy screwdriver. Apparently, it rivals Leonard Read’s pencil in “[I, Pencil]( As we mentioned, chrome vanadium is a type of steel alloy that contains both chromium and vanadium. It’s made through steelmaking, which involves melting iron and other metals in a furnace and adding various alloys and elements to create a specific type of steel with the maker’s desired properties. Chrome vanadium steel is known for its strength and durability. It’s known as high-strength, low-alloy (HSLA) steel. That steel has a combination of toughness, hardness, and wear resistance. Chrome vanadium steel is commonly used in manufacturing tools, such as wrenches, sockets, and other hand tools, and in automotive and industrial applications requiring high strength and durability. It’s also used to construct high-performance engine parts and suspension components in racing and performance vehicles. In addition to its strength and durability, chrome vanadium steel is also known for its resistance to corrosion and oxidation. That makes it suitable for use in harsh environments where other types of steel may be prone to rust and degradation over time. Wrap Up If you’ve read The Rude for a while, you know I was against the Russia sanctions from Day 1. And I’ve been proven correct repeatedly over this past year and a bit. The only people who are paying for this mess are Americans and Europeans. So what should you do? As America and Europe won’t import vanadium from Russia, that will put overwhelming upwards pressure on vanadium’s price. I will look for companies that produce vanadium and, hopefully, get in cheaply. I suggest you do the same. Since The Rude is a big picture daily, I don’t write about single stock picks. However, some opportunities may lie with Bushveld Minerals (a South African company whose stock trades in London), Largo Resources (Canada), and Vanadium Corporation (Canada). These are not recommendations, only potential opportunities. I don’t plan to buy any of these companies over the next 48 hours, at least. Have a great week ahead! All the best, [Sean Ring] Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening In Case You Missed It… Increasing Income Beats Saving More… Here’s How. [Sean Ring] SEAN RING Happy Friday from a warm and sunny Asti! I was drinking my morning coffee when I watched the most extraordinary video. I’ll share it with you later on. But it got me thinking about what I did to get my lifestyle to the point where I was genuinely comfortable and happy. The Rude’s Four Pillars to Financial Freedom are examples. - I’ve got a second passport that allowed me to move to Italy. - I own online businesses in writing and teaching, allowing me to be location independent. - I own a bit of crypto, though that didn’t make me rich. Perhaps we should change that bit to “own a bit of gold, silver, or crypto.” - And my health, luckily, has dramatically improved lately. (I think that cursed vaccine and its pernicious effects have finally left my system.) Financially speaking, though, I’ve increased my income dramatically and lowered my costs as far as possible (without cutting out the fun stuff). There’s a lower limit to how much you can cut your costs. Sooner or later, you have to pay for food, shelter, travel, and, yes, entertainment. As Elektra King said to James Bond in The World is Not Enough, “There’s no point in living if you can’t feel alive.” And with that, the great news is there’s no upper limit to what you can earn. Or, more accurately, the only limit to your earning potential is your imagination. In his book Automatic Wealth, author Michael Masterson (Mark Morgan Ford) outlined four steps that I think work to this day: - Increasing your income. - Saving most of that extra money. - Investing it in a combination of real estate, stocks, and bonds. - Using your spare time (and some of your spare money) to start your own business. Masterson followed that plan with this quote: This system differs from most pinch-and-save programs in that it recognizes an important truth: to get rich in less than forty years, you have to radically increase your income. Simple, but not easy. At this point, Thoreau is worth listening to: Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler. “Cash is Trash” World-beating hedge fund manager Ray Dalio is famous for saying, “Cash is trash,” but we must put this into context. Saving money and sticking it in a checking account that earns zero interest is silly. But what if you’re saving for a house? What else are you going to do? Many took this as a call to invest in stocks, crypto, and other risky assets. Thanks to Chairman Pow, you can invest in 3-month t-bills and roll them until you need the cash. At present, you’ll earn 5.135% annually. It doesn’t beat inflation, but it’s better than a poke in the eye. So saving more has its benefits, especially now. But saving more of an increased income is better. The question is, how do you generate that extra income? [Was Nord Stream Attack Biden’s Covert “Act of War”?]( [Click here to learn more]( This [new video provides shocking details]( about the attack on Russia’s Nord Stream pipeline. Not only was this a covert “act of war”… But [this new evidence]( all but PROVES Biden had something to do with it… And it could have a devastating impact on you and EVERY American citizen. [Click here to watch this critical presentation NOW](. [Click Here To Learn More]( What Attributes Lead to Higher Income Like you, I’m constantly looking for extra income. Whether it’s by writing more, teaching more, learning a new monetizing skill, or investing better, my eyes are always open. But if I were to distill it down to a few attributes, this is what my perfect opportunity has: - It’s relatively cheap. Courses on Udemy that cost $10 on sale? I almost always buy one, just in case. It costs a few beers. But something that starts getting up into the triple and quadruple digits? I’m happy to fork out as long as I think I’ll make a few multiples off it. For instance, I bought an Excel course on Udemy for about $12, memorized it, and taught it to bankers for a few years. I made over $50,000. It was an enormous return on investment. I spent well over $1,000 in my lifetime on writing courses. That’s been an even more significant return. - It’s not too time-consuming. That Excel course was 11 hours long. For me, that’s easy. But ideally, I’d like to spend less time, if I can, and get more of a return. It depends on your concentration skills, the time you have, and the desire to learn. Some things take much less time to learn, especially if you have a mentor. - It’s something I enjoy. Business, finance, options, technology… send it all day long. If you’re going to learn something to earn more, the easiest way to start is to learn something you already enjoy. Know stock investing but aren’t sure about options? That’s fine, one follows the next, and you’ll almost certainly enjoy that. - It’ll move the needle income-wise. There’s no point in spending $1,000 to make $100. Spend that $1,000 to make $10,000. You don’t have to make it all at once, but set the timer for a year. A 10x return is something Warren Buffett himself would jump at. - It’ll enhance my knowledge base. Is it something that I can write about? Is it something I can eventually teach? Is it something that rounds out my knowledge of a particular area? Does it invite me to learn industry secrets I didn’t have access to before? Let’s face it, we all want to be more intelligent, interesting, and insightful. We want people to think we’re warm and competent. We’re happy to “sing for our supper.” What skills will complement those you already possess? A good test is the 4% Challenge. It’s easy to improve if you only go from 100% to 104%. You’re tested, but not to the point of frustration. You’ll learn but not exhaust your brain. Moving four percent at a time allows you to learn comfortably. For example, if you know the ins and outs of stock trading, learning to trade calls is a 4% step. Once you’ve mastered that, learning how to trade puts would be another 4% step. Then learning vertical spreads would be another 4% step, and so on. Where You Can Find These Opportunities Last night, Jim Rickards’ “[Mystery Banker]( was unmasked! [Zach Scheidt]( is the man Jim’s worked with for many years. He’s invented a method I’m interested in learning more about. Zach’s “[Income Matrix]( is a method he’s used to generate sensible but chunky returns on his indicators. What I like about Zach’s method is that it’s relatively cheap, won’t take up too much time, is enjoyable, will move the income needle, and enhances my market knowledge. That Jim Rickards wholeheartedly recommends [Zach’s method]( puts the cherry on top. Finally, did you know that Zach has seven children? He can’t afford to mess up with that many mouths to feed! Let’s use that to our advantage… Wrap Up I hope today’s piece helps you decide to go forth and conquer. And if you’re ready to make a potentially lifestyle-altering leap, just [watch this video from Jim and Zach](. Pro tip: watch it on 2x speed. You won’t miss anything, but it’ll go faster. You can adjust the speed by clicking on the settings wheel in the bottom right corner of the video. Then click the “2x.” Sometimes big moves require deep breaths and calm before you move forward. It’s entirely up to you, and I’m cheering for you from here. Here’s to you! Have a wonderful weekend. All the best, [Sean Ring] Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening [Paradigm]( ☰ ⊗ [ARCHIVE]( [ABOUT]( [Contact Us]( © 2023 Paradigm Press, LLC. 808 Saint Paul Street, Baltimore MD 21202. By submitting your email address, you consent to Paradigm Press, LLC. delivering daily email issues and advertisements. To end your Rude Awakening e-mail subscription and associated external offers sent from Rude Awakening, feel free to [click here.]( Please note: the mailbox associated with this email address is not monitored, so do not reply to this message. We welcome comments or suggestions at feedback@rudeawakening.info. 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