At the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference, experts Dr. Pippa Malmgren, Dr. Pascal Lottaz, and Colonel Douglas Macgregor analyzed the impact of geopolitics on the resource sector. Dr. Malmgren highlighted that current conflicts are unfolding in areas such as space, the Arctic, and the Baltic, rather than traditional land battles. Although she believes the situation in Ukraine may be coming to an end, she warned of intensifying technological competition in areas such as quantum computing, nanotechnology, and space. She also cited incidents such as the cutting of the world's fastest internet cable near Svalbard, Norway, as examples of this new form of conflict.
Dr. Pascal Lottaz emphasized the importance of framing current conflicts as “security competitions” rather than wars, as this better reflects the nature of the rivalries between the United States, Russia, and China. According to Lottaz, these competitions are taking place in various fields, including technology, and although they are currently limited to actions such as cutting undersea cables, there is a danger that tensions will escalate and lead to open conflict. Lottaz also expressed concern that some factions may no longer consider nuclear war to be an unthinkable scenario, which could destabilize the global balance.
Colonel Douglas Macgregor criticized the United States' exorbitant defense spending and warned of a possible economic crisis due to the “enormously inflated bubble” of the US economy. Macgregor recommended that conference attendees invest in physical assets such as natural resources, which are valuable in times of geopolitical uncertainty. He also noted that the US has lost its technological monopoly, as evidenced when Chinese company DeepSeek disrupted the technology sector and caused the shares of its US rivals to fall.
Overall, experts agreed that the current geopolitical landscape presents both challenges and opportunities for the natural resources sector. While technological competition and geopolitical tensions can create uncertainty, they can also open up new opportunities for those prepared to adapt to this changing global environment.
Georgia Williams, INN Investment News Network