7 Things Every Person Should Know About The Natural Resources Industry
Apr 04
Lately I’ve been giving a lot of thought about why the broader mineral exploration industry isn’t nearly as popular as it should be, given its absolutely undeniable importance to every person in the entire world!
I’ve also been thinking about moves the industry might make as a whole to become more popular.
Yes, it’s a BIG multi-faceted topic of conversation. There are plenty of layers to this onion. But I believe a lack of education and willingness to entertain new audiences is at the root of the problem (legalized treasury looting by executives content with funding their lifestyles and little else is also a big problem, but a discussion for another day). I’d suggest our industry needs a Chief Promotional Officer! Someone like Rex Murphy, for instance, could be a candidate for the critically needed position! He’d tour North America telling inspiring stories about Canadian miners and prospectors, the hardest type of workers and bravest type of individuals. Stories about people who risked life and limbs chasing the Canadian dream – the next big discovery! And fortunes in them thar hills! Stories about the people who built Canada.
…or something along those lines, just a little idea for now that you can feel free to build on.
If you didn’t watch Murphy’s speech, “Has Trudeau Destroyed Canada’s Resource Future”, you should. It was one of the real gems from VRIC back in January.
Here are 8 of Murphy’s most quote-worthy comments and questions:
- You guys here are involved in 1 of the 2 principal industries of the entire world. There are 2 basic requirements for everything that is in the 21st century economies. They’re energy, because without energy nothing moves. And they are minerals. These are the basic constituents of every technological, every industrial, and every form of welfare that we have.
- The entire basis of this civilization vanishes without energy and minerals.
- In the original moments of the confederation of this country, what were the driving forces? What were the pioneer energies? It began with the explorers and the miners! Mining, geography, and pioneering are intricately intertwined.
- And what was the character of the people involved in those early days? The immense capacity to take severe risks. A physical heartiness that we perhaps have forgotten what it is. The ability to live off the barest of resources while still pursuing some possibility of self-advancement. These are the people who brought this country to the station that it is today! It is only a country so prosperous as our own that can afford to forget the original sources of that prosperity.
- You can have pipelines that are cancelled before they even begin. You can have a decade of trying to get permission to do something! Can you possibly imagine what it would be like if in this day and age someone stood up and said, “I want to build a railway across the country.”
- Why is there such insistent obstruction to the exploitation of the most basic resources that we have in this country that have brought us to the point we are now, one of the most favored countries on the face of the Earth?
- Where does this come from? I use the word lunatic. It is. This is an industry that provides employment. Do you know what it’s like not to have work? There’s no psychological stress greater than perhaps the loss of a loved one or the breakup of a family. A dollar earned is always better than one given. A job is the core of dignity. And it’s not just the work or the paycheck, it’s about the fulfillment of the human personality to do great things!
- We miss value the things that count… that’s what I’m saying.
Powerful points by Mr. Murphy, eh?
He’s quite the treasure. Do you think the minerals industry, including all of us here at BullMarketRun.com, could go wrong by educating people of all ages about the facts as described by Murphy? Of course not. They’re worth repeating far and wide on a daily/weekly basis. You couldn’t state those basic facts too many times.
But does our industry make any coordinated effort to do so?
Seriously, the minerals industry must start doing something more and different on the public relations (PR) front to start winning over everyday citizens.
Whenever I’m out and about I almost always find a way to introduce critical minerals like Silver, Copper, Nickel and Cobalt to the conversation. Almost everyone I’ve talked to over the years has zero understanding and practically zero appreciation for the important role minerals play in their daily lives.
Upon learning a mineral like Silver is in every smart phone and most electronics (including solar panels)…
Upon learning Copper, the electrification metal, is used in almost every household product that plugs into a wall (and 6 x more in electric vehicles)…
Upon learning Cobalt and Nickel are necessary for every EV battery…
…that’s when people start to understand the big picture and gain some appreciation for minerals.
There’s no magic to be had. If you want to use less Oil and gas, you’ve got to use more Copper, Nickel and Cobalt!
Minerals are important! We can’t live without them!
For some people, hearing this for the 1st time is really an Aha! type moment.
What are the odds many people will even share their new knowledge with a friend?
Over time, could this butterfly effect shift popular opinion toward being pro minerals exploration and mining?
Until these facts are communicated ad nauseam and better understood globally, the minerals industry has a humongous PR problem. There’s tons of heavy lifting to do.
