Highlights

• Gold has surged 100% and copper 30% in three years, but BlackRock's Evy Hambro says investors are overlooking the bigger opportunity in critical minerals and rare earths that power EVs, wind turbines, and defense systems.
• China dominates 90% of rare earth processing capacity, creating supply chain vulnerability that could spark price surges when demand from electrification and digitalization accelerates.
• Hambro argues investors haven't made the 'mental jump upstream' to recognize that controlling materials like neodymium and dysprosium will determine the next wealth shift, not just gold holdings.

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Gold and copper are dazzling investors again. Gold has soared over 100% and copper over 30% in three years, driving BlackRock’s World Mining Trust to strong gains. Yet, co-manager Evy Hambro (opens in a new tab) warns that investors fixated on the obvious are missing the deeper structural opportunity: critical minerals and rare earth elements (REEs).

Hambro’s point via TrustNet (opens in a new tab) lands with weight. Copper and gold dominate his portfolio — 60% combined exposure — but the true future lies in what he calls the “invisible commodities.” These are the materials behind everything from electric motors and wind turbines to defense systems and data centers. They are the atoms of modern civilization — and the next battleground for resources.

Beyond the Shine: The Rare Earth Awakening

Gold thrives on fear — inflation, debt, and distrust of currencies. Copper thrives on need — the global race to electrify, decarbonize, and compute. But rare earths define control. With China holding roughly 90% of processing capacity, Hambro’s quiet alarm reads more like an investment manifesto: diversify supply chains now, or pay later.

He argues that investors haven’t yet made the “mental jump upstream.” The invisible nature of REEs means they rarely enter mainstream consciousness until a crisis hits — when a tech CEO admits production delays or a defense supplier can’t source dysprosium or neodymium. Hambro’s comment that “one announcement could spark a price surge” isn’t hyperbole; it’s history repeating itself. The early-2000s commodity boom was born from a single country’s urbanization wave. The next one may be powered by global digitization — and constrained by China’s magnet monopoly.

What’s True, What’s Hype

BlackRock’s callout aligns with supply-chain reality. Critical-mineral exposure remains underweighted in global portfolios despite clear policy momentum in Washington, Brussels, and Canberra. Hambro’s warning carries credibility, though the timing of any “boom” remains speculative. Institutional inertia and project delays, not geology, are the bottlenecks.

Still, the narrative is accurate where it matters: demand curves are steep, supply chains fragile, and investors are asleep. The next wealth shift won’t necessarily be about who holds gold — it’ll be about who controls neodymium.

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