The AI boom needs power. Power needs infrastructure. Infrastructure needs metals. But it takes 17 years to bring a mine from discovery to production and we haven’t been looking for new deposits. Three experts break down why critical minerals may be the most overlooked opportunity in alternatives, and why “now or never” might not be hyperbole.

Featuring:

  • Mike McGlone, Senior Commodity Strategist, Bloomberg (Moderator)
  • Ashli Aslin, Partner, Real Assets, Albourne
  • James P. Inks, CFA, Senior Director, UPMC
  • Pim Kalisvaart, Principal, Hawke’s Point Capital

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 – Introductions
0:34 – UPMC: “Zoo, amusement park, aquarium… and hedge funds”
1:12 – Albourne: Real assets manager research
1:25 – Hawke’s Point: Pre-production mines to production
2:02 – “Edumication” – What most people are missing
2:17 – Technology replacing energy in the world order
3:17 – “Data centers are short-sighted”
4:12 – Power shortage is the real AI story
4:53 – “Age of Metals” – Why metals cut across every mega-trend
5:23 – “Romans conquered England for the resources”
6:54 – UPMC’s journey: From oil & gas comfort to metals
8:09 – Every theme comes back to metals and mining
9:09 – Are metals too expensive? (Crypto comparison)
9:55 – “If now’s not the time, I don’t know when it is”
10:49 – Credit and royalty as alternative plays
11:02 – Alpha vs beta: Development play strategy
11:52 – “17 years from discovery to production”
12:40 – “It’s not like a chicken farm”
13:12 – Can we reopen old mines?
13:52 – How close to the commodity do you want to be?
15:17 – Playing the theme through equipment manufacturing
16:27 – “A Labrador and a geologist think there’s copper somewhere”
17:37 – Trillion dollar industry with $10-20B LP capital
18:28 – ETFs strand pre-production assets
19:25 – Outlook: What are we talking about next year?
20:56 – “Humanoids could cut mining costs 30%”
22:40 – “I can’t beat humanoids” – Power grid buildout
23:50 – DeepSeek and implied vs realized natural gas demand
25:04 – “Department of War vs Department of Energy”
26:12 – Final thoughts: Look through a global prism
26:54 – “1.4 billion people want air conditioning”
27:30 – Governance is holding LPs back
29:00 – “Get paid to solve the hardest problems”

Recorded at Global Alts Miami 2026 | Presented by iConnections