Welcome to miningaim.co.uk

The world is changing. 

On one hand, decarbonisation is happening at pace, and the current supply of metals and minerals is nowhere near sufficient to meet anticipated future demand.

On the other, geopolitical instability is on the rise, spurred on by the pandemic legacy. Whether  increasing Sino-US tensions, the Ukraine War, the US debt crisis, the Chinese real estate crisis  - the post World War II order is shifting rapidly.

What does this mean for investors? Critical minerals including copper, lithium and uranium are going to be subject to price rises over the medium term. Demand is only going to rise, and supply continues to become ever more restrained.

You can see this in the constant merger and acquisition activity in the mining space. Newmont and Newcrest, BHP and Oz, Allkem and Livent, Anglo American and whomever is destined to be their future partner....

But it's all shuffling deckchairs on the Titanic. There is not enough critical minerals in production, or in discovery.

The appetite for precious metals, including gold, also seems insatiable. Central banks are buying gold at a record pace, and show no signs of slowing down.

But anyone visiting this site will know this reality. The question is how to profit from the upcoming supply gaps. Of course, many investors will directly buy or trade in the metal of their choice, or buy shares in blue chips including Rio Tinto, BHP or Glencore. 

These choices may be relatively low risk, but the rewards will likely reflect this. And if the limits of your ambition stops with a 10% return per annum, then this strategy is completely fine! 

Indeed, we would encourage anybody considering venturing into higher risk small caps - whether in mining or elsewhere - to build to a position of financial resilience through a lower risk portfolio first.

But if you want to enjoy exposure to the largest returns of the hard commodity bull run, and have a healthy risk appetite, then the juniors are the place to be.

At present, there is a chasm between the expected prices for critical and precious metals, and the valuations of the best juniors in the sector.

As a caveat, many shares covered here are higher risk investments. It's important to retain financial resilience and consider diversifying your investments. 

And there are plenty of explorers on the index which should have collapsed in bankruptcy long ago. For perspective, of the 100 or so small cap junior resource companies on AIM, perhaps 50 are genuinely investible.

We have some ideas on how the market could be reformed, but until then, we are being selective on who we cover.

You can join the official telegram group of lead analyst Charles Archer here.