A very interesting article in the AFR this morning, worth...

A very interesting article in the AFR this morning, worth reading the full article but here is an excerpt. (Courtesy Pumpa )

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Ivanhoe's 'toxic Bob' Friedland turns green


Like all the great mining promoters, Robert Friedland is keenly aware of the need to attach himself to a bigger story. In his latest incarnation, the Ivanhoe Mines chairman once known as "toxic Bob" for his environmental track record, has discovered the green revolution.
"It's terrible that the people of Hong Kong have to breathe the dirty air that comes across from Guangzhou," he told delegates at the annual Mines and Money conference in Hong Kong.
Within this, the bigger story for Friedland is China's "war on pollution" and what it will do for copper, platinum and zinc prices.
"The metals I'm telling you about now are going to be much more expensive in three to four years time," he said.
Never burdened by doubt, Friedland declared the bottom for most commodities except iron ore.
"Now I'm not talking about iron ore ... we're swimming in iron ore," he said in a passing shot to his old foe Rio Tinto.
From there Friedland didn't draw breath for the next 45 minutes as he talked about the spike in metals demand from electric cars, high speed trains, hydrogen fuel cells and wind turbines.
He pointed out the number of cars in China is projected to grow from 18 million to 60 million in the coming decades.
"If 10 per cent of these cars use a hydrogen fuel cell then that equals the world's total platinum production," he said.
For copper, the opportunity is the intensity of use in electric cars, high speed trains and green power.
"Wind turbines use five times as much copper per unit of electricity generated [than coal or nuclear] and solar is eight to 10 times more," he said."