“Whatever is out of favor and hated at the moment, that’s probably what you need to buy,” he said. “Buy it when it’s boring and no one cares, then you get to ride the wave up.”
Barton also broke down his current portfolio, which holds a 30 percent weighting in precious metals—particularly gold—citing concerns over currency policies and the long-term upside for gold and silver.
Watch the interview above for more from Barton on the similarities between poker and resource investing.
Securities Disclosure: I, Georgia Williams, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
As the global push toward electrification accelerates, lithium remains a critical piece of the energy transition.
Continued oversupply remained a persistent headwind for lithium prices through the first half of 2025. Demand for the battery metal jumped 29 percent year-over-year in 2024, fueled by surging electric vehicle sales and rising power needs from sectors like data centers and heavy industry.
Fastmarket’s analysts expect lithium demand to grow 12 percent annually through 2030, supported by structural trends such as renewable energy integration and battery energy storage.
However, a rapid increase in global supply — particularly from China, Australia and South America — has driven prices to multi-year lows, raising concerns about project economics and the sustainability of new production.
Against this backdrop, Canadian lithium stocks are gaining attention as investors look for companies positioned to benefit from long-term demand growth while navigating short-term price pressure.
NOA is a lithium exploration and development company with three projects in Argentina’s Lithium Triangle region. The company’s flagship Rio Grande project and prospective Arizaro and Salinas Grandes land packages total more than 140,000 hectares.
As NOA works to advance its flagship asset, the company brought on Hatch in April to lead the preliminary economic assessment (PEA).
The PEA will evaluate the project’s economic and development potential with a target production of 20,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) annually, with a scalable plant design that could double capacity to 40,000 metric tons per year.
NOA has also been working to secure a water source in the arid region through a drilling program targeting fresh water. In late June, the company discovered a fresh water source at the project, located near high-grade lithium zones in the project’s northeast area. According to the company, the location means the water source could support future production facilities or evaporation ponds.
The well, drilled to 190 meters in the northern part of the property, is being tested and developed.
Shares of NOA reached a year-to-date high C$0.425 on July 17, 2025.
Wealth Minerals is focused on the acquisition and development of lithium projects in Chile, including the Yapuckuta project in Chile’s Salar de Atacama, as well as the Kuska Salar and Pabellón projects near the Salar de Ollagüe.
Wealth Minerals’ shares spiked to a year-to-date high of C$0.095 on February 9, 2025, following the company’s acquisition of the Pabellón project.
According to Wealth, Pabellón has been shortlisted by Chile’s Ministry of Mining as a potential site for a Special Lithium Operation Contract based on its geological and environmental suitability. Located in Northern Chile near the Bolivia border, the project spans 7,600 hectares across 26 exploration licenses about 70 kilometers south of the Salar de Ollagüe.
In May, Wealth formed a joint venture with the Quechua Indigenous Community of Ollagüe to advance the Kuska project. The new entity, Kuska Minerals SpA, is 95 percent owned by Wealth and 5 percent by the community, which also holds anti-dilution rights and a seat on the five-member board.
Avalon Advanced Materials is a Canadian mineral development company focusing on integrating the Ontario lithium supply chain. Avalon is developing the Separation Rapids and Snowbank lithium projects near Kenora, Ontario, and the Lilypad lithium-cesium project near Fort Hope, Ontario.
Separation Rapids and Lilypad are part of a 40/60 joint venture between Avalon and SCR Sibelco, with Sibelco serving as the operator.
Avalon started the year with a revised mineral resource estimate for the Separation Rapids project, which boosted resources in the measured and indicated category by 28 percent.
Company shares rose to C$0.07, a year-to-date high, on July 15, the day after Avalon released its results for its fiscal quarter ended May 31.
A week later, Avalon announced an additional C$1.3 million in funding through its C$15 million convertible security agreement with Lind Global Fund II. The drawdown, expected to close within two weeks, will support project development and general corporate needs, according to the company.
Pre-production mining company Frontier Lithium aims to be a strategic and integrated supplier of premium spodumene concentrates as well as battery-grade lithium salts in North America.
The company’s flagship PAK lithium project, which is a joint venture with Mitsubishi (TSE:8058), holds the “largest land position and resource” in a premium lithium mineral district located in the Great Lakes region of Ontario, Canada. Frontier also owns the Spark deposit, located northwest of the PAK project.
Shares of Frontier Lithium reached a year-to-date high of C$0.79 on March 4. The stock uptick coincided with a government release reporting the federal and provincial governments supported the company’s plans to build a critical minerals refinery in Northern Ontario.
Once complete, the proposed lithium conversion facility will process lithium from the PAK mine project into approximately 20,000 metric tons of lithium salts per year.
In late May, Frontier released a definitive feasibility study for the mine and mill segment of its PAK project. The study outlines a 31 year mine life with average production of 200,000 metric tons of spodumene concentrate. As for the economics, it projects net revenue of C$11 billion, an after-tax NPV of C$932 million and a 17.9 percent internal rate of return.
US-focused Century Lithium is currently advancing its Angel Island lithium project in Esmeralda County, Nevada. The company is also engaged in the pilot testing phase at its on-site lithium extraction facility, which will process material from the lithium-bearing claystone deposit.
On May 6, Century Lithium announced the successful completion of testwork on the direct lithium extraction (DLE) process at its demonstration plant.
The results exceeded expectations, showing 91.6 percent lithium recovery and an eluate grade of 575 milligrams per liter (mg/L) from a 328 mg/L lithium concentrate feed. The company says these improvements could significantly reduce capital and operating costs at its Angel Island project.
Shares of Century Lithium registered a year-to-date high of C$0.49 on May 19.
Recently, the company participated in First Phosphate’s (CSE:PHOS,OTCQB:FRSPF) successful production of commercial-grade lithium iron phosphate (LFP) 18650 battery cells.
As noted in the press release, the cells were made using North America-sourced materials, including lithium carbonate from Century’s Angel Island project in Nevada that was processed at its demonstration plant alongside high-purity phosphoric acid and iron from First Phosphate’s Bégin-Lamarche project in Québec, Canada.
Securities Disclosure: I, Georgia Williams, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
The Cincinnati Bengals finally came to terms with top draft pick Shemar Stewart on a deal to end the rookie edge rusher’s holdout.
Four days later, the franchise is one step closer to welcoming the top sack artist in the NFL back to the fold.
Trey Hendrickson is ending his holdout and will report to Bengals training camp, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero. This comes a week after the Bengals’ veterans reported to training camp on July 22.
Hendrickson is entering the final year of his contract and had not reported to training camp as he was seeking out a new deal. One week ago, Hendrickson had called the Bengals’ latest offer ‘atrociously low’ and did not seem any closer to ending his holdout.
Hendrickson is set to make $16 million in 2025 in the final year of an extension he signed two years ago. Since signing that extension, he has led the NFL in sacks with 35, including a league-high 17.5 in 2024. He finished runner-up to Patrick Surtain II for the Defensive Player of the Year award.
The most productive player on the Bengals’ defense in recent years is entering his age-31 season after making the Pro Bowl each of the last four seasons.
‘Trey Hendrickson is a fine player and a good guy,’ Bengals owner Mike Brown said on July 21. ‘We want him here. Dealing with him is sometimes not so easy. That’s all right. He’s got the right to argue his case, we’ll try to make sense of it from our perspective … as far as I’m concerned, the sooner the better.’
Brown reiterated that the team is not interested in trading Hendrickson away.
‘We are working on getting it done,’ Brown said. ‘We’ve been through a few — and he pushes hard, he gets emotional. We never have an easy time of it. And if there’s one thing that is consistent, it always gets done. I think this one will too.”
Many other edge rushers — including some in his own division — have signed extensions this offseason, including Myles Garrett (Cleveland) and T.J. Watt (Pittsburgh). Those two deals reset the market for edge rushers and at an average annual value (AAV) of $40 million and $41 million, respectively, per OverTheCap.
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Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr. was pulled from Tuesday night’s game against the Kansas City Royals after experiencing ‘right Achilles tightness,’ the team said.
He will be going on the 10-day injured list, according to reporters on the scene. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reported that Acuna was wearing a walking boot and that he ‘held back tears’ while talking with reporters after the game.
Acuna told reporters he will likely have an MRI on Wednesday.
The right fielder was lifted during the bottom of the sixth inning at Kauffman Stadium, shortly after he appeared to be hampered trying to get to a pair of balls hit in the air. The latter play resulted in a ground-rule double for Vinnie Pasquantino that moved the Royals’ advantage to 9-3.
Eli White came in to replace Acuna, who lightly jogged off the field.
Acuna, the 2023 NL MVP, entered Wednesday’s game batting .309 on the season with a .430 on-base percentage, both the best marks on the Braves. He has appeared in 54 games.
The Royals held on for a 9-6 win to improve to 53-55. The Braves fell to 45-61.
(This story has been updated with new information.)
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Colts QB Anthony Richardson took responsibility for his poor performance during the 2024 season, saying ‘I didn’t do enough.’
Richardson’s completion percentage of 47.7% was last among qualified quarterbacks, prompting an offseason focus on improving his footwork and mechanics.
Richardson is also deepening his understanding of the Colts’ offense to better anticipate receiver routes and improve decision-making.
WESTFIELD, Ind. – Anthony Richardson, figuratively, pointed the finger right at himself.
Reflecting on his dramatic 2024 season that included multiple injuries and a benching that came on the heels of some brutal optics, the Indianapolis Colts quarterback is all about accountability now.
“I didn’t do enough. That was really my big thing, for me. I didn’t do enough,” Richardson told a small group of reporters Tuesday, July 29. “I wanted to take a deeper dive into understanding myself and what I needed to improve on. After the last game, whenever that was, I just told myself ‘I can’t be slacking anymore. I got to lock in.’”
Richardson was inefficient during the early stretch of the Colts’ 2024 season, when he started six of the first eight games but missed two with an oblique injury. In a Week 8 loss to the Houston Texans, he asked to sit out a third-down play, which rubbed everyone from the locker room to pundits on television the wrong way and made Richardson a talking point for all of the wrong reasons.
“Life is humbling,” said Richardson, who turned 23 in May.
He finished the season with a 47.7% completion percentage, which ranked last among the 36 qualified quarterbacks who played in 2024. No other quarterback completed less than 60% of his throws.
That prompted him to recommit to his footwork this offseason. He noticed the sloppiness last year. Correcting the issue in-season would have been too difficult, so he talked about it with his trainer, Dr. Tom Gorley.
“The biggest thing for me is just my mechanics, my base,” Richardson said.
The goal is to not be too narrow with his feet, Richardson said. That’s when he misses high and overthrows his receivers. With a wider base, he can keep his arm on the proper plane and drive the ball to its proper trajectory. Repping the wide base and not specific drills. Is conscious about it during warmups to set the tone mentally.
Through the first week of camp, Richardson said he feels more in control of the football. But that’s also come from taking a deeper dive into the offense – knowing where people are supposed to be is the precursor to properly setting his feet.
As for his shoulder, which cost him the last 13 games of his rookie season in 2023, Richardson said the injury that lingered during OTAs is not a concern. The pain would linger after lengthy throwing sessions, and even though he felt like he was ready to go, the Colts’ training staff wanted to let the issue calm down by itself. The Colts tracked Richardson’s reps during the first week of training camp, which featured four consecutive practice days, but it’s “back to (the) normal schedule now,” Richardson said.
Knowing exactly when the receiver will break open so that the ball will be there is another way to improve accuracy for Richardson.
“Now I feel like I’m trying to master (the offense),” said Richardson, who added that he wants to be able to teach Shane Steichen’s scheme if the coach asked him to do so. “Understanding what’s going to be available in certain coverages … trying to find answers, trying to find certain ways to beat that.”
During Richardson’s rookie year, the staff told him to draw 10 to 15 route concepts on his iPad (the Goodnotes app, specifically) at night and show them the next morning. He said he’s been looking back at his old notes to try to understand what he didn’t then. He’ll play out different coverage scenarios such as “Who will be open if they play Cover 0?”
Entering this season, Richardson knew he needed to improve as a leader. What does that look like to him?
“For one, extreme ownership, even if things aren’t going the right way, even if it’s not quote unquote ‘my fault,’ it is my fault. Because I am the leader. I am the quarterback,” Richardson said. “If I’m not doing my job, then I can’t expect everybody else to do their job. So just taking accountability for everything that’s going on.
“If I expect so much out of myself, then that only brings my teammates up to my level. I’m just trying to get everybody to that level.”
Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio left Tuesday night’s 9-3 win against the Chicago Cubs with a right hamstring spasm, the team announced.
Chourio hurt his hamstring legging out a triple in the fifth inning at American Family Field. He cruised into third base standing up on the play, but then reached for his hamstrings. After getting checked out by Brewers manager Pat Murphy and the team’s trainer, Chourio was pulled from the game and replaced by Blake Perkins.
‘My leg is a touch tight, but I feel good,’ Chourio said through an interpreter after the game. The Brewers’ 21-year-old emerging star player said he felt what he described as a ‘little tickle’ while accelerating from second to third base.
Murphy said that the team is in ‘wait and see’ mode in relation to Jackson’s hamstring, and won’t speculate on what the hamstring spasm could mean for the outfielder’s availability moving forward.
Jackson had a 20-game hitting streak snapped in Monday night’s 8-4 win over the division rival Cubs.
Jackson Chourio stats
Chourio’s 20-game hitting streak — one of the longest in team history — gave his season batting average a healthy boost, which now sits at .276. During the streak, Chourio hit .392 and had four home runs. Chourio is second on the team with 17 home runs, and has 67 runs batted in and 18 stolen bases on the season.
In his rookie season in 2024, Chourio hit .275 with 21 home runs, 79 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. He finished third in the National League Rookie of the Year voting behind Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes and San Diego Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill.
Brewers outfield depth chart
If Chourio were to miss playing time, Perkins — Chourio’s replacement on Tuesday night — likely would become the team’s regular center fielder in the interim. Isaac Collins has been the Brewers’ primary left fielder — with Christian Yelich also playing in that spot. Sal Frelick is the team’s regular right fielder.
July 29 (Reuters) – Union Pacific said on Tuesday it would buy smaller rival Norfolk Southern in an $85-billion deal to create the country’s first coast-to-coast freight rail operator and reshape the movement of goods from grains to autos across the U.S.
If approved, the deal would be the largest-ever buyout in the sector and combine Union Pacific‘s stronghold in the western two-thirds of the United States with Norfolk’s 19,500-mile network that primarily spans 22 eastern states.
The two railroads are expected to have a combined enterprise value of $250 billion and would unlock about $2.75 billion in annualized synergies, the companies said.
The $320 per share price implies a premium of 18.6% for Norfolk from its close on July 17, when reports of the merger first emerged.
The companies said on Thursday they were in advanced discussions for a possible merger.
The deal will face lengthy regulatory scrutiny amid union concerns over potential rate increases, service disruptions and job losses. The 1996 merger of Union Pacific and Southern Pacific had temporarily led to severe congestion and delays across the Southwest.
The deal reflects a shift in antitrust enforcement under U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. Executive orders aimed at removing barriers to consolidation have opened the door to mergers that were previously considered unlikely.
A Norfolk Southern freight train passes through Homestead, Pa.Gene J. Puskar / AP file
Surface Transportation Board Chairman Patrick Fuchs, appointed in January, has advocated for faster preliminary reviews and a more flexible approach to merger conditions.
Even under an expedited process, the review could take from 19 to 22 months, according to a person involved in the discussions.
Major railroad unions have long opposed consolidation, arguing that such mergers threaten jobs and risk disrupting rail service.
“We will weigh in with the STB (regulator) and with the Trump administration in every way possible,” said Jeremy Ferguson, president of the SMART-TD union‘s transport division, after the two companies said they were in advanced talks last week.
“This merger is not good for labor, the rail shipper/customer or the public at large,” he said.
The companies said they expect to file their application with the STB within six months.
The SMART-TD union‘s transport division is North America’s largest railroad operating union with more than 1,800 railroad yardmasters.
The North American rail industry has been grappling with volatile freight volumes, rising labor and fuel costs and growing pressure from shippers over service reliability, factors that could further complicate the merger.
Union Pacific‘s shares were down about 1.3%, while Norfolk fell about 3%.
The proposed deal had also prompted competitors BNSF, owned by Berkshire Hathaway BRKa.N, and CSX CSX.O, to explore merger options, people familiar with the matter said.
Agents at the STB are already conducting preparatory work, anticipating they could soon receive not just one, but two megamerger proposals, a person close to the discussions told Reuters on Thursday.
If both mergers are approved, the number of Class I railroads in North America would shrink to four from six, consolidating major freight routes and boosting pricing power for the industry.
The last major deal in the industry was the $31-billion merger of Canadian Pacific CP.TO and Kansas City Southern that created the first and only single-line rail network connecting Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.
That deal, finalized in 2023, faced heavy regulatory resistance over fears it would curb competition, cut jobs and disrupt service, but was ultimately approved.
Union Pacific is valued at nearly $136 billion, while Norfolk Southern has a market capitalization of about $65 billion, according to data from LSEG.
(Reuters reporting by Shivansh Tiwary and Sabrina Valle, additional reporting by Abhinav Parmar, Nathan Gomes and Mariam Sunny; Reuters editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Pooja Desai, Dawn Kopecki and Cynthia Osterma)
The Indiana Fever are riding a two-game win streak after defeating the Las Vegas Aces and Chicago Sky, but the Fever will face a major test on Wednesday against the Phoenix Mercury without All-Star guard Caitlin Clark.
Clark has been ruled out of Wednesday’s contest against the Mercury, marking the fifth consecutive game she’s missed due to a right groin injury suffered in the Fever’s win over the Connecticut Sun on July 15. Clark’s medical evaluations confirmed there’s ‘no additional injuries or damage,’ but the Fever said they will be cautious with Clark to ensure she’s ready to go later in the season and in the playoffs.
There’s no timetable for her return. Here’s everything you need to know about Clark’s injury status:
Is Caitlin Clark playing today? Injury status for Fever-Mercury
No. Clark was ruled out of the Fever’s matchup against the Mercury with a right groin injury.
How many games has Caitlin Clark missed this season?
The injury bug has been Clark’s biggest nemesis this season, forcing her to miss 13 of the Fever’s 26 games in her sophomore campaign, a career-high for Clark. The Fever (14-12) have gone 6-7 this season without the 2024 Rookie of the Year, but remain in playoff contention in sixth place in the standings.
Wednesday will mark the 14th regular-season game Clark has missed this season due to injury. Clark was previously sidelined five games due to a left quad injury and four games with a left groin injury. She also missed the Fever’s Commissioner’s Cup win over the Minnesota Lynx on July 1, in addition to the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game and the 3-point competition held in Indianapolis.
How was Caitlin Clark injured?
Clark suffered the right groin injury in the final minute of the Fever’s 85-77 victory over the Sun at TD Garden in Boston on July 15. With 39.1 seconds remaining in the contest, Clark completed a bounce pass to Kelsey Mitchell to put the Fever up 84-75. After the pass, Clark immediately grabbed for her right groin and grimaced as she gingerly walked over to a stanchion, which she headbutted. She did not return to the game.
The injury happened days before the Fever were set to host the 2025 WNBA All-Star weekend in Indianapolis. Clark was voted a team captain and drafted her own team, but she ultimately pulled out of the All-Star Game and 3-point contest due to injuries, stating, ‘I have to rest my body.’
When will Caitlin Clark play again?
It’s not clear when Clark will make her return, but Fever head coach Stephanie White said the WNBA’s rigorous schedule is not helping the timeline.
‘I always think the WNBA season is like this sprint marathon,’ White said on Sunday. ‘You see more injuries when you don’t have a chance to recover, but it’s not like individual teams are the only ones that deal with it. This is a league-wide, collective issue. The NBA has a similar cadence, but they’ve got 30 teams and there’s not quite as much crisscrossing time zones and crisscrossing the country. So, it’s the challenge of the footprint of our schedule.’
The Fever start a four-game road trip on Friday and will travel to Dallas (Aug. 1), Seattle (Aug. 3), Los Angeles (Aug. 5) and Phoenix (Aug. 7) in the span of a week.
Caitlin Clark stats
Clark is averaging 16.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and a career-high 8.8 assists in 13 games this season. Her assists average is the second-highest in the league, behind Phoenix’s Alyssa Thomas (9.4).
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‘The uranium story itself is finally getting better… the near perfect storm is here.’ he said, noting that all the factors that should drive electrical demand higher are merging, particularly electrification and AI data center needs.
‘I don’t think uranium has to go to US$200 in order to make money,” said Grandich. I just think it needs to go back to where it was a couple years ago, a little above US$100 and these stocks will quadruple.’
Watch the interview above for more from Grandich on the energy sector and gold’s 2025 performance.
Securities Disclosure: I, Georgia Williams, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
