Robert Friedland: We don't have the #copper… you’re dreaming

- In human history, we have mined ~700 Mt of copper
- In the next 18 yrs, we need to mine the same amount as in the last 10k yrs
- And that’s without factoring in renewables, data centers or wars

Copper is essential to modern life, yet most people assume it will always be available.... It won’t.

- Since 1900, energy required to produce copper is up 16x
- Water consumption is up 2x
- Mines are deeper and smaller
- Grades are declining

We now need more resources to produce the same amount of copper.

- 6 Tier-1 copper mines must come online every year for the next 24 yrs
- The last major copper mine came online in 2021
- Major copper discoveries are down ~80% over the past 2 decades

We are heading toward a copper supply shortage.

$ASTI $RKLB $ASTS $LUNR $RDW $VOYG | Elon Musk on SpaceX acquiring xAI: "The capabilities we unlock by making space-based data centers a reality will fund and enable self-growing bases on the Moon, an entire civilization on Mars, and ultimately expansion to the Universe."

China: Yuan should to dethrone the USD

China doesn’t want the US system. It wants its own.

A financial order with Chinese characteristics:

- Production over speculation
- Society over shareholders
- Currency strength over endless debasement
- Capital flowing in, not hollowing out

The American model prioritized profit above all else. Wall Street won. Main Street lost. The real economy was sacrificed to financial engineering.

China already dominates the physical economy. Manufacturing, supply chains, trade. Now it’s moving to the next phase: financial dominance.

For the United States, this isn’t competition... it's war

America’s financial empire is its last line of defense. Lose that, and the entire U.S. economic model breaks. This is the Thucydides trap in real time

1) A rising power changes the balance (economically, militarily, technologically)
2) The dominant power realizes the old rules no longer protect it
3) Peaceful adjustment would mean accepting decline
4) Decline is politically and socially unacceptable
5) Conflict becomes the least-bad option

War isn’t chosen because it’s good....
War is chosen because every alternative feels worse.

Brace for war

🚨 CHINA IS TAKING OVER GLOBAL COPPER

production:

• 🇨🇱 Chile. 5.3M tons
• 🇨🇩 DRC. 3.3M tons
• 🇵🇪 Peru. 2.6M tons
• 🇨🇳 China. 1.8M tons
• 🇮🇩 Indonesia. 1.1M tons
• 🇺🇸 U.S. 1.1M tons

But here’s the part markets ignore

• China buys 70% of Peru’s copper
• Chinese firms control >70% of DRC mines

That means that China doesn’t need to be the biggest producer.

It controls the flow.

As EVs, grids, and AI scale, copper becomes strategic.

And Beijing sits upstream of the West’s electrification push.

#China #copper #energy

Switzerland is home to the richest French metropolis (Geneva), the richest German major city (Zurich), and the richest Italian speaking region (Ticino)

Top 100 24h Gainers 🚀

STABLE    $0.0295    +23.86%
ATOM        $2.22        +4.78% 
M              $1.36        +4.65% 
IP            $1.18        +4.59% 
LIT          $1.65        +2.50% 

Top 100 24h Losers 🔻

H              $0.1904    -21.43%
DOGE        $0.1011    -6.01% 
MYX          $1.87        -4.55% 
SOL          $83.99      -4.14% 
HYPE        $29.94      -3.94%

Envisaged Transport and Trade Corridors Across Africa by the European Union.

Romania is moving to become a strategic player in the rare earth supply chain, as state-owned Nuclearelectrica and U.S.-listed Critical Metals Corp ($CRML) signed a term sheet to form a joint venture for a rare earth processing plant in Feldioara, near Brașov.

According to Energy Minister Bogdan Ivan, the goal is not just to build a refinery, but to create a fully integrated Western supply chain from extraction in Greenland’s Tanbreez deposit to refining and final industrial use in Europe and the United States.
$CRML, majority owner of the Tanbreez project in southern #Greenland one of the world’s largest rare earth deposits will supply up to 50% of its concentrate to the future Romanian facility over the life of the mine under competitive market conditions.

The plant would convert concentrates into rare earth metals and advanced materials, including magnets for aerospace, defense, microprocessors and clean technologies. Final beneficiaries could include major U.S. tech and space companies.

The project aims to reduce Europe’s dependence on China, which currently controls over 80% of global rare earth processing capacity, and to strengthen EU economic and defense security.

Romania and $CRML are expected to seek EU funding from the €3.5 billion rare metals initiative recently announced for strategic industrial projects.
If implemented, the initiative would place Romania at the center of a Western-aligned critical minerals supply chain from mine to processing.

$RCAT $PLTR $KTOS $UMAC $DPRO $ONDS | SpaceX and xAI are competing in a secret Pentagon contest to develop voice controlled, autonomous drone swarms.

The $100M challenge aims to translate commander orders into digital instructions for coordinated fleets.

Global BESS installations hit 315 GWh in 2025 — up 50% YoY.

The 2026 pipeline: 450+ GWh. At this rate, battery storage overtakes pumped hydro as the world's largest storage fleet by mid-decade.

A technology that barely existed at grid scale in 2018 is now the default.

Antimony alert! US import reliance: 91% (metal & oxide)

Sources: China, Belgium, Thailand, India

Vital for: bullets, batteries, flame retardants, night vision, semiconductors.

China dominates & banned US exports.

Time to boost domestic production!

Antimony, cobalt, and tungsten. Three minerals that $UAMY is working to bring to the US market

‼️Tungsten Prices Make New Highs!

China controls Tungsten AND Antimony supplies!

ASX Explorer ‘American Tungsten and Antimony Ltd’ owns the last USA active Tungsten mine and they’re starting it back up along with the highest grade and largest Antimony resource in the USA.

#AT4 $ATALF #asx #Tungsten #Mining #Antimony #CriticalMinerals $eqr $dtrf $tgn $pls #rareearths

Odds of the Fed cutting rates on March 18 dropped to 9.8%, per CME Group.

$TSLA $MBLY $AMZN $NVDA $SERV $RR | NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang: "The world faces a shortage of 100 million workers due to aging populations."

"Humanoid robotics will bridge this gap in a $50 trillion industry."

Tuesday, Feb 17 2026, 12:00 UTC time

📈 📋 Latest Important Headlines — Market & Macro Brief

📌 ✅ US / Dollar & Rates\n
Dollar holds gains in thin holiday trading as markets await Fed minutes and US GDP. US 10-year yield hit a ~2½‑month low, keeping Treasury-driven risk sentiment supportive for equities.

💹 🔖 UK — Jobs, Wages & Sterling\n
U.K. jobless rate rose to near a five‑year high, payrolls show mixed signals and wage growth cooled toward a ~4‑year low. Sterling slid to about a one‑month low; markets price higher odds of a BOE rate cut as gilt yields fell (UK 10‑yr down to ~1‑month low). FTSE 100 still hitting fresh highs amid sector rotation.

🌏 📋 Australia & New Zealand\n
RBA minutes leaned hawkish on inflation risks; AUD weakened after the release. Australia 10‑yr yield fell to over a one‑month low. In NZ, food inflation rebounded and NZ equities slipped for a fourth session.

🇩🇪 ✅ Germany & Eurozone\n
German inflation confirmed at 2.1%; Bund yields slid further as growth prospects dim — DIHK warns German economy remains stuck with ~1.0% growth expected in 2026. Eurozone investor morale unexpectedly eased, keeping ECB outlook cautious.

🇮🇹 🔖 Italy & France\n
Italy’s trade surplus widened (largest in five months); BTP yields moved lower tracking global peers. French 10‑yr OAT yield hit a six‑month low as bond markets rally.

🇯🇵 📋 Japan & FX\n
Yen reversed earlier losses; EUR/USD ticked down ahead of US data — cross‑asset volatility subdued into Fed minutes.

🇨🇦 ✅ Canada & Commodities\n
TSX futures fell as gold dipped and inflation data remained a focus for Canadian markets; mining names mixed on metals moves.

🇧🇷 🔖 Global / Other Notes\n
Bitcoin upside seen capped by slowing global liquidity and rising debt. European stocks mixed to lower ahead of US macro releases; FTSE MIB and DAX cautious. Ireland & Italy report stronger exports to the US; Medtronic flags tariff impacts to FY26 EPS.

📌 📋 What traders should watch next\n
Key catalysts: Fed minutes, US GDP, further UK labour data, RBA/Fed commentary, and 10‑yr yield moves. Positioning: risk flows favor equities on lower yields but FX sensitivity to macro surprises remains high.

Digest prepared for traders — concise actionable macro & fixed income cues.

Tuesday, Feb 17 2026, 12:05 UTC time

Latest Important Headlines

📰 📋 Vulcan Materials (VMC) — 4Q Aggregates Shipments\n
📌 Aggregates shipments at Vulcan Materials rose to 55.1M tons in 4Q, beating expectations — a positive signal for U.S. construction activity and industrial demand.

✅ 🔖 Market implications (US / FX / Equities)\n
📌 Stronger-than-expected shipments point to resilient U.S. infrastructure and construction demand, supportive for industrial names and materials sectors. This can be mildly USD-positive if it feeds into stronger growth/outlook; could bolster cyclicals and bond yields if replicated across other data.

📈 📋 Trading / Strategy Notes\n
📌 Long bias on U.S. industrials/materials (including VMC) on confirmation of broader demand strength; monitor PMI, housing, and capex cues. Watch USD/JPY and commodity-linked FX for risk-on flow; tighten stops around earnings or macro surprises.

🔎 ✅ Key Data\n
📌 4Q shipments: 55.1M tons — beats consensus; focus on follow-up quarterly guidance and sectoral order books for confirmation.

#GOLD #XAU/USD M15 #Indicator #Signal #Trading #GlobalOneAI

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