The Dirty Truth About Rare Earth Minerals | Tom Albanese #484 | The Way I Heard It

Most people don’t spend much time thinking about copper. Or cobalt. Or manganese. Or the bizarre golf-ball-sized rocks sitting 24,000 feet beneath the Pacific Ocean that might determine whether America wins or loses the next industrial revolution. But then again, most people haven’t spent an evening drinking bourbon in a snowstorm with Tom Albanese. Tom spent the last 50 years digging valuable things out of the earth. He’s run one of the biggest mining companies on the planet, worked in more than 100 countries, and somehow managed to convince me that the future of AI, electric vehicles, national security, skilled trades, and American manufacturing might depend on a bunch of metal-covered rocks sitting 24,000 feet beneath the Pacific Ocean. Seriously. By the end of the night, we found ourselves talking about copper, rare earth minerals, deep sea robotics, China, Dirty Jobs, and why America forgot that if something can’t be grown… it has to be mined. It’s one of the strangest and most fascinating conversations I’ve had in a long time, which is why I invited him on my podcast. Fair warning—after this episode, you’ll never look at your phone, your power bill, or the bottom of the ocean the same way again. Learn more about American Ocean Minerals: https://bit.ly/AmericanOceanMinerals #podcast #metal #rock #technology My foundation is awarding millions of dollars in work ethic scholarships to men and women willing to learn a skilled trade. Apply now at: https://bit.ly/mrwscholarships If you like me, and even if you don't, subscribe to my channels and follow me. Much obliged. https://www.youtube.com/@therealmikerowe https://www.youtube.com/@therealmikeroweshorts https://www.youtube.com/@PYSKshow http://instagram.com/mikerowe http://facebook.com/TheRealMikeRowe https://twitter.com/mikeroweworks 00:00 Deep-sea robotics 04:17 Tomʼs mining journey 13:32 Copperʼs critical role 18:24 What are magnets? 23:14 The toothpick industry 27:20 Polymetallic nodules 36:22 How do we harvest them? ️ 41:27 How do they form? 50:43 Looking at the supply chain 01:04:22 Bring back workplace pride 01:14:11 The evolution of fracking