What does Big Tech hope to gain from warming up to Trump?
President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration could try to remove fluoride from drinking water, according to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Kennedy, who was tapped last week by Trump to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, called fluoride an “industrial waste” and linked it to cancer and other diseases and disorders while campaigning for Trump. “On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water. Fluoride is an industrial waste associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease,” Kennedy wrote Nov. 2 on X. Kennedy linked to a video from an attorney who recently successfully sued the Environmental Protection Agency to take additional measures to regulate fluoride in drinking water. Kennedy, who has long advocated ending water fluoridation, persisted with his pledge following Trump’s election win. When asked before the election whether his administration would remove fluoride from drinking water, Trump said, “Well, I haven’t talked to him about it yet, but it sounds OK to me. You know it’s possible.” Kennedy is an influential vaccine skeptic whose campaign of conspiracy theories earned PolitiFact’s 2023 “Lie of the Year.” Longtime research has found that adding fluoride to U.S. drinking water is a safe way to boost children’s oral health. Since 2015, the recommended level in the U.S. has been 0.7 milligrams per liter. Public health organizations, including the American Dental Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, support the practice. Recent studies, however, have shown possible links between fluoride and bone problems and children’s IQs, particularly when fluoride is above the U.S. recommended levels. “There is evidence that fluoride exposure has been associated with the diseases [and] disorders that RFK listed, but with caveats,” said Ashley Malin, who is an assistant professor in the University of Florida’s Epidemiology Department and has studied fluoride’s effects in pregnant women. Malin referred to studies showing that higher fluoride exposure, particularly during pregnancy, is associated with reduced child IQ, and that prenatal exposure also is linked to decreased intellectual functioning and executive function. For high exposure in pregnancy, the studies showed symptoms associated with other neurobehavioral issues, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. However, many of these studies took place in countries other than the U.S. and looked at fluoride in drinking water at sometimes twice the United States’ recommended level. Also, some of the other ailments that Kennedy listed, such as an association with bone cancer, have less robust evidence and need more study. “Aside from fluoride’s impacts on neurodevelopment, I think that there is more that we don’t know about health effects of low-level fluoride exposure than what we do know, particularly for adult health outcomes,” Malin said. David Bellinger, a Harvard Medical School neurology professor and professor in Harvard School of Public Health’s Environmental Health Department, said the risk-benefit calculation of added fluoride differs depending on whether typical fluoride exposure levels cause health problems, or if problems occur only when recommended levels are exceeded. “In toxicology, ‘the dose makes the poison’ is a long-standing principle,” he said. “So a general statement that fluoride is associated with diseases X, Y, and Z is not very helpful unless the dose that might be responsible is specified.” PolitiFact contacted Kennedy through his Children’s Health Defense organization but received no reply. The organization sued PolitiFact and Meta related to a 2020 fact check. That lawsuit was dismissed by a federal court. The dismissal was upheld on appeal, and the case is pending a possible appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. What is fluoride and what are its benefits? Fluoride is a mineral naturally occurring in soil, water and some foods that helps prevent tooth decay and cavities. It strengthens tooth enamel that acid from bacteria, plaque and sugar can wear away. Water fluoridation has been happening in the U.S. since 1945. The federal Public Health Service first recommended fluoridation of tap water in 1962, but the decision still lies with states and municipalities. Around 72 percent of the U.S. population, or about 209 million people, had access to fluoridated water in 2022, the CDC reported. Fluoride also has been added to oral care products such as toothpaste and mouth rinse. In 2015, U.S. health officials lowered the recommended amount of fluoride in drinking water to 0.7 milligrams per liter, saying a higher level was less necessary given other sources of fluoride, and that the lowered amount would still help protect teeth without staining them. Pediatric dentists note that applying fluoride with toothpaste and rinses is beneficial, but small amounts circulating in the body via water consumption helps younger children who still have their baby teeth, because it can benefit the developing permanent teeth. The American Dental Association says studies have shown that fluoride in community water systems prevents at least 25 percent of tooth decay in children and adults and that “for more than 75 years, the best scientific evidence has consistently shown that fluoridation is safe and effective.” The association says on its website: “It’s similar to fortifying other foods and beverages — for example, fortifying salt with iodine, milk with vitamin D, orange juice with calcium, and bread with folic acid.” According to the CDC, health experts and scientists from the U.S. and other countries have so far “not found convincing scientific evidence linking community water fluoridation with any potential adverse health effect or systemic disorder such as an increased risk for cancer, Down syndrome, heart disease, osteoporosis and bone fracture, immune disorders, low intelligence, renal disorders, Alzheimer’s disease, or allergic reactions.” The agency says risks of water fluoridation are limited to dental fluorosis, which can alter dental enamel and cause white flecks, spots, lines, or brown stains on the teeth when too much fluoride is consumed. Do studies show fluoride posing any other risks? Some studies have said that excess fluoride exposure, often at higher levels than the recommended U.S. limit, can harm infants’ and young children’s developing brains and that higher levels of fluoride exposure during pregnancy were associated with declines in children’s IQs. A study published in May that Malin led with University of Southern California and Indiana University researchers suggested that fluoride exposure during pregnancy was linked to an increased risk of childhood neurobehavioral problems and said more studies were “urgently needed to understand and mitigate the impacts in the entire U.S. population.” Experts noted prenatal fluoride exposure is most strongly linked to children’s IQ loss, and said timing of fluoride consumption might need to be considered when making recommendations. A federal review of dozens of studies published in August by the Department of Health and Human Services’ National Toxicology Program concluded that higher levels of fluoride exposure were linked to lower IQs in children. But the report was based primarily on studies in countries such as Canada, China, India, Iran, Mexico, and Pakistan and involved fluoride levels at or above 1.5 milligrams per liter, twice the recommended U.S. limit. The authors said more research is needed to understand whether lower exposure has any adverse effects. In the report, researchers said they found no evidence that fluoride exposure adversely affected adult cognition. Bellinger, of Harvard, pointed to the review as an example of how the amount of fluoride matters. He noted how researchers concluded that a very small percentage of people in the U.S. are exposed to levels that correlate with IQ loss. “Second, the fact that there are now multiple pathways of exposure to fluoride besides fluoridated water (toothpaste and other dental products, etc.) makes it really difficult to attribute a particular adverse effect to the fluoride added to the water,” he wrote via email. “It is the cumulative exposure from all sources that contribute to any adverse health effects.” In September, a federal judge ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to further regulate fluoride in drinking water because of the potential risk that higher levels could affect children’s intellectual development. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen wrote that the court’s finding didn’t “conclude with certainty that fluoridated water is injurious to public health,” saying it’s unclear whether the amount of fluoride typically added to water is causing children’s IQs to drop. But he wrote that there was enough risk to warrant investigation and that the EPA must act to further regulate it. The ruling did not specify what actions the agency should take, and the EPA is reviewing the decision. After the ruling, the American Association of Pediatrics issued a statement that fluoride in drinking water is safe for children and said the policy is based on a robust foundation of evidence. Besides dental fluorosis, experts say that fluoride exposure over many years above the U.S. recommended amount can cause skeletal fluorosis, a rare condition that causes weaker bones, stiffness and joint pain. Although the Public Health Service recommends a fluoride concentration of 0.7 milligrams per liter for community water systems, the EPA, under the Safe Drinking Water Act, sets enforceable standards for drinking-water quality. Currently, to prevent skeletal fluorosis, the EPA requires that water systems not exceed 4 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water. Malin said she and her research team are investigating a potential link between fluoride and bone fractures. She said that although several studies have found high fluoride exposure associated with increased risk of bone fractures, and some have linked fluoride with thyroid disease, rigorous, U.S.-based studies haven’t been done. The CDC concluded that recent research found no link between cancer risk and high levels of fluoride in drinking water. The American Cancer Society reviewed a possible link between water fluoridation and cancer risk. An organization spokesperson pointed PolitiFact to its review and said it has no data showing a definitive answer. KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs of KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling and journalism.
Oklahoma State's 3-point accuracy sends Miami to defeatSave articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. A jury has found Andre Rebelo guilty of murdering his mother at her Bicton home for cash after taking out three insurance policies in her name just days earlier. Jurors cried as the verdict was announced on Thursday afternoon following nearly two days of deliberation and an eight-week trial where evidence revealed the 28-year-old’s financial woes. Prosecutors said while social media showed he enjoyed a lavish lifestyle, it was debt-driven and pushed him to form a murderous plan. A court sketch of Andre Rebelo during his murder trial in the Supreme Court of Western Australia. Credit: Anne Barnetson Andre Rebelo killed his healthy and happy 58-year-old mother, Colleen, on May 25, 2020. She had dropped her youngest son Fabian off at work at 10am and planned to pick him up at 2pm. But he never saw her alive again. Colleen returned to her Bicton home when Andre, her second-born son, came to visit. He told the jury he stayed for a chat and a coffee, dropped off some clothes, and caught his mother up on the latest news about his Instagram influencer girlfriend Grace Piscopo and their young son. Then, Andre claimed, he left. However, prosecutors said Andre murdered his mother during that visit, possibly by smothering her face with a pillow. He stripped her naked and placed her body into the shower to make it look like she had collapsed from natural causes. There was no animosity between the pair. There had been no disagreements, no tension, no arguments. So why did he do it? Money, greed and an image to uphold Rebelo was a desperate man, the court was told. He had been studying at university when his girlfriend’s modelling career began taking off. Piscopo was a beautiful young woman who was in a relationship with Rebelo for about eight years. What started with photos of herself posted on social media turned into a business where clothing and accessories brands would pay her to wear their items. More than a million people followed Piscopo on Instagram. Rebelo often featured in her photos too, and soon the couple realised a lot of money could be made if they turned social media into a full-time gig. Rebelo deferred the last year of a management degree and agreed to become her assistant. He also agreed to be the primary carer of their son, who was born in 2019. Andre Rebelo with former girlfriend Grace Piscopo. Credit: Instagram From the outside it appeared to be the perfect arrangement, but with the job came the pressure of an image to uphold. Rebelo and Piscopo would often appear in photographs looking glamorous, posing in front of expensive homes or on luxurious holidays. It became a carefully curated marketing plan – they needed an expensive house, holidays, car, clothing and accessories to show a lifestyle that others would want to buy into, increasing Piscopo’s popularity and, subsequently, her income. But the plan only worked if they could afford to maintain the lie – and the truth was that Rebelo and Piscopo were not well-off. Before their ascent to fame and fortune, Piscopo had been a receptionist at a gym, and Rebelo had been driving delivery trucks for Coles. They took out a big car loan to buy a Range Rover, and it was a stretch to take on an $880 a week rented home in the Perth suburb of Beaconsfield. Whether Piscopo knew it was a stretch was unclear, but according to financial evidence presented to the jury, the couple could not afford any of it. While Piscopo was bringing in big contracts and, by 2020, making six figures, the couple’s outgoings were swallowing everything up. The Rebelo family: Monique, Andre with then-girlfriend Gracie Piscopo, Fabian and Colleen Rebelo. Picture: Supplied They were living on credit cards and personal loans and begging for rent reprieves, reduced loan repayments and government handouts meant for those in hardship during the COVID pandemic. Debt collectors were closing in. But both Piscopo and Rebelo told the jury they were not concerned about their financial predicament. Piscopo said Rebelo told her he was about to make a large amount of money – $500,000 – from cryptocurrency trading. But that was also a lie. He told her he had become very successful in the three years he had been trading in cryptocurrency, and convinced her this was a lucrative side-business and a secondary provider of income. None of it was true. The self-styled crypto-trader and the promises that were never fulfilled Rebelo made absolutely nothing in the three years he spent crypto trading. He used credit cards and personal loans to pump money into the business and, at times, made some profit. But overall, his efforts by early 2020 had yielded a deficit of $22. Rebelo was then almost 24 years old, a stay-at-home father whose involvement in his girlfriend’s burgeoning business was largely posting mail and answering emails. She was going places, prosecutors told the jury, becoming ever more successful and was in demand. He was not. Whether their relationship had always been unequal was not clear, but what came out of his trial was that by 2020, Piscopo had little respect for Rebelo. Andre Rebelo and his then girlfriend Grace Piscopo. As 2020 dragged on, Rebelo was apparently feeling pressure. He had told Piscopo a big crypto windfall was coming and, by May, had formulated a plan to deliver on that promise. But to deliver, he had to kill his mother. State prosecutor Brett Tooker told the jury the cold plan could only have been born out of extreme desperation. “It was not just financial need or greed,” he said. “It’s more nuanced than that.” Over three days, Rebelo took out three life insurance policies in his mother’s name. He tried to argue that it was done at his mother’s behest, that she had wanted more than $1 million in cover in the event of her death. But the jury rejected that as a lie and accepted the prosecution’s argument that Rebelo consulted no one else about the policies. Using his mother’s details, he insured her life for $1.15 million and made himself the sole beneficiary of the majority of it. He was paying for those policies, but he couldn’t afford it for long. Five days later, he executed his plan to take her life. Andre Rebelo and his former girlfriend, Grace Piscopo. Credit: Instagram Mother’s psychologist became Rebelo’s undoing Fabian Rebelo, Colleen’s youngest son, found her dead in the shower about 2.30pm on May 25, 2020. He called paramedics, then his sister and older brother Julian. Andre Rebelo was called last. Three of the four siblings met at the house as the police arrived. At no point did Rebelo tell his siblings, the police or paramedics that he had seen his mum alive and well earlier that day. Three days later, he began trying to claim his mum’s life insurance policies. Two of the companies refused to take the claim any further because it was too soon after Colleen had died, but one left the door open by asking for documents including as a coroner’s report, will and medical information. Rebelo did not have that information. He was not the executor of his mother’s will – his older brother Julian was. And the coroner’s office had been communicating with younger brother Fabian, who was notified as Colleen’s next of kin. Rebelo made a fake will, a fake coroner’s report, and fake medical documents in a desperate attempt to get the insurance company to hand over the money. He even faked a voicemail from Colleen’s long-time psychologist after hassling her for weeks about calling the insurance company herself to tell them his mother was not suicidal. But the psychologist, Narina Sidhu, smelled a rat. She called police and told them what Rebelo had been up to. Police secretly record Rebelo and his girlfriend When police were alerted to the possibility that Rebelo was fraudulently trying to claim a life insurance policy worth $500,000, a coroner was months away from releasing official findings on Colleen’s cause of death, which ultimately came back inconclusive. But there were questions about why Rebelo took out three life insurance policies in Colleen’s name just days before her sudden and unexpected death. Police had little evidence to go on, so they placed a listening device in the bedroom he shared with Piscopo at their Beaconsfield rental and a camera with audio in the couple’s living room. They listened to conversations for weeks in the months after Colleen’s death, hoping for something that would lead to a conviction for murder. In one conversation, Piscopo told Rebelo she thought he was downstairs and at home on the day Colleen died. She told him she thought he was being framed for murder, and cried about being interrogated by the police. It was clear Piscopo knew nothing of her partner’s plan to kill his mother and cash in her life insurance policies. On the witness stand, she was asked about Rebelo’s promised $500,000 cryptocurrency windfall and said he told her there was a “hold up with the bank”. That money never came, and Rebelo was arrested for fraud. It took another two years for him to be charged with his mother’s murder, and two more for him to be convicted. Rebelo will be sentenced on April 4, 2025. Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter .
NonePhiladelphia 76ers vs Orlando Magic 12/4 game recap As a passionate WWE content writer, Raunak craft engaging narratives that bring the thrilling world of wrestling to life, capturing the drama, excitement, and heroism of the ring. His work fuels the imagination of WWE fans, making every match and storyline unforgettable. Read More 2nd Test: India beat Bangladesh by seven wickets to sweep series 2nd Test, Day 4: India push for victory with T20-style batting 2nd Test, Day 1: B'desh 107/3 vs India on rain-shortened opening day Ashwin shines as India hammer Bangladesh in Chennai Test 1st Test, Day 3: India hold upper hand despite spirited Bangladesh chase 1st Test, Day 2: India in box seat after Bumrah takes four-for vs B'desh 1st Test, Day 1: Ashwin, Jadeja dig India out of trouble vs B'desh France waves farewell to Paralympics with spectacular ceremony Navdeep's gold, Simran's bronze take India's medal tally to 29 Paris Paralympics: India's flag bearers for closing ceremonyMan hit in groin by brick during Southport riot jailed
In our Xmas gift to you, beloved Stockhead reader, we give our 2025 Experts' Digest. Fourteen Australian stockpickers have come to the party with 59 – THAT'S RIGHT, 59 – large and small cap mining stocks they see with upside next year, plus which commodity's and themes they are playing and avoiding in 2025. Seven fundies and analysts are on the roster for part two. But first a few little little themes we picked up. As to be expected, gold and copper were the commodities on everyone's lips. Close to half of our respondents, six for each metal, picked gold and copper as the market to play. The most reviled metal was nickel, which had four picks for worst commodity in 2025. One contrarian bet from Sanlam Private Wealth's Ben Faulkner tipped a quicker than expected rebound for nickel prices. Lithium bets are also more bearish than bullish, with four tips in the worst commodity idea list, but two tipping an early revival in 2025. More fundies thought iron ore would struggle than prosper amid weak Chinese economic activity but met coal received support. Uranium, alumina and silver also saw some love, with three picks on the right side of the ledger and none on the bad side for each of uranium, silver and coking coal. The most selected name among our respondents was AIC Mines. The $178 million-capped owner of the Eloise copper mine in Queensland was three analysts' choice to play their bullish copper thesis. Silver explorer Sun Silver, lithium hopeful Vulcan Energy Resources, African goldie Toubani Resources and gold exploration success story Spartan Resources all received two votes. Gold names were by far the best represented, with 15 of the 59 companies primarily focused on gold mining and exploration. Most are ASX listed, with three expected to plan listings in H1 2025, including the London-listed owner of the Telfer gold mine, Greatland Gold. Dermot Woods – Precision Funds Management Best commodity/investing idea Lithium: Everybody who said it was stronger for longer in 2021/22 are now saying it's going to be in the basement for two years – very good sign. We also like coking coal, copper and uranium . They will all get a proper supply squeeze sometime in next year or two. Worst commodity/investing idea Aussie banking stocks: Horrifically overvalued, will have to come back to pack. Stocks to watch in 2025 Spartan Resources (ASX:SPR) – Owner of Never Never gold discovery in WA. Will see more exploration success and a possible takeover in 2025. Encounter Resources (ASX:ENR) – Kaleidoscopic explorer, has made a potential niobium discovery near market darling WA1 Resources (ASX:WA1) . Same thesis as Spartan. Toubani Resources (ASX:TRE) – Gold deposit holder in Mali. A possible flyer. Could do anything if Mali tax negative news flow for Resolute and Barrick dissipates. Rusty Delroy – Nero Resource Fund Best commodity/investing idea PGEs, particularly palladium: Currently trades deeply into the cost curve. Consensus demand forecasts underestimate the uptake of PHEV and REEV autos, which both require catalytic converters. Consensus supply numbers overestimate the supply from recycling, which has little to no incentive at spot commodity prices combined with higher cost of capital (interest rates). Stockpile is largely eroded. Something has to give. We like the physical metal (PALL:NYSE) combined with a mix of producer/explorer names for leverage. Worst commodity/investing idea Steel and steel related commodities (particularly iron ore): These feel fragile going into next year. Combined with some ‘ambitious concepts’ around hydrogen we will go with an FMG short for the downside leverage play. Stocks to watch in 2025 Stellar Resources (ASX:SRZ) – Owns the high-grade Heemskirk deposit in Tasmania. Tin is a commodity we very much like the structural dynamics of and Stellar has a first-world, high-grade, development asset which is incredibly hard to find in a boutique and under-appreciated metal (critical in electronics). Toubani Resources (ASX:TRE) – Obviously Mali is not flavour of the month but this is probably the deepest value gold play on either the ASX or TSX. High margin, scale production, simple mining and metallurgy. Jupiter Mines (ASX:JMS) – Cheap, long-life manganese producer. Xanadu Mines (ASX:XAM) – Copper takeover target. Peel Mining (ASX:PEX) – Copper takeover target. 3D Energi (ASX:TDO) – Tiny cap oil junior with leverage to high probability exploration wells. Luke Laretive – Seneca Financial Solutions Best commodity/investing idea Silver: Demand looks strong, and there's not a lot of near-term supply to fill the market. But I really think it's that energy complex – thermal coal, oil, natural gas, natural hydrogen, lithium and silver (as much of the incremental demand is from solar). Worst commodity/investing idea Antimony: I can't see that continuing. It's up over 100% last 12 months, that doesn't go on forever. Stocks to watch in 2025 James Bay Minerals (ASX:JBY) – We think there is a lot of potential at Battle Mountain, and the team have been able to pull off a near-miracle making that acquisition at the price they did. Sun Silver (ASX:SS1) – Far too cheap relative to their peers. Top End Energy (ASX:TEE) – More speculative, but drilling in 2025 and we think natural hydrogen is the smokey of 2025. Other picks include Vulcan Energy Resources (ASX:VUL) , AIC Mines (ASX:A1M) , Karoon Energy (ASX:KAR) , Red Hill Minerals (ASX:RHI) , Stanmore Coal (ASX:SMR) , Wildcat Resources (ASX:WC8) , and New Hope Corp (ASX:NHC) . Ben Faulkner – Sanlam Private Wealth Best commodity/investing idea Copper: We see copper demand growing in 2025 and catching up with supply, which should see an imbalance in the market to favour higher prices. The upside risk here is that China’s economy fires up again in 2025 after the numerous stimulus measures put in place recently. Nickel: Every market commentator is bearish nickel due to cheap supply out of Indonesia and other low cost producers flooding the market. We think the worst has passed and many of those “dirty” producers have been shut down with no new licences granted for such production methods. Worst commodity/investing idea: Oil: The oil market remains over supplied and we continue to see OPEC members running their own agenda and not sticking to supply quotas. We expect more of this to happen in 2025 and non OPEC members also increase production. Iron ore: We see the iron ore market being over supplied in 2025 as more production globally comes online. Without any real signs of demand to take on this supply we expect prices to trend lower. Stocks to watch in 2025 Western Mines Group (ASX:WMG) – WMG owns the Mulga Tank project, which unveiled the discovery of a major komatiite hosted nickel sulphide mineral system under cover in WA. WMG has continued aggressive exploration regardless of the noise and negative sentiment in the nickel market at the moment. Many juniors flip around to the “hottest” commodity where WMG has been dedicated to exploration at Mulga Tank over three years as it’s a world class quality project and this has paid off for them. With a market cap of $15m we think in a better nickel market this stock is worth multiples of that. QMines (ASX:QML) – QMines is a Queensland-based copper and gold exploration and development company. QML owns rights to 100% of the Mt Chalmers (Cu-Au) and Develin Creek (Cu-Zn) deposits. Mt Chalmers and Develin Creek now have a measured, indicated and inferred JORC 2012 resource of 15.1Mt at 1.3% CuEq for 195,800t CuEq. QML completed a pre-feasibilty study this year which showed robust economics with a 10+ year mine life. QML offers copper and gold exposure with the opportunity for the company to continue to find new discoveries and progress to the development of their mine. QML has a small market cap of $20m which we believe offers compelling value for a company with such advanced assets. Disclaimer: Sanlam Private Wealth was lead manager to past capital raisings of the companies listed above and earned fees from those and other capital raising services. Sanlam staff and Ben Faulkner are also shareholders of the companies mentioned above. Romano Sala Tenna – Katana Asset Management Best commodity/investing idea Met coal: I’m tempted to run with oil as it has underperformed for the past two years. However, the supply-demand outlook still looks decidedly soft at this juncture. I think therefore it comes down to gold or metallurgical coal . The latter is marginally in front, predicated on the long term supply-demand deficit due to the emergence of India as a genuine economic powerhouse. Whether it's 2025 or 2026, we are confident that the met coal price will be somewhat higher given the growing demand from India and lack of new or even replacement supply. Worst commodity/investing idea: None: Difficult! 2024 has been a challenging year for most commodities. There have been a handful of standout performers, but most commodities have been sold off; predicated on nervousness around the Chinese economy. From these already depressed levels, we don’t see an obvious candidate to underperform (further) during 2025. Stocks to watch in 2025 Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) – Whilst it doesn’t play in to the met coal thematic, we nonetheless believe that MIN will have a strong year in 2025. MIN has been one of the very best performers in terms of total shareholder return (TSR) for nearly two decades. 2024 was a year from hell, with governance issues, declining commodity prices and record debt all converging to create the perfect storm. Investors need to remember the record debt was a product of record growth. The Onslow iron ore project will be fully operational by mid-2025 and this is the largest and most lucrative project in the company's long history. Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC) – WHC plays directly to our view that the met coal price will be notably stronger in the coming months and years. Additionally, its share price is also likely to be driven by its purchase of the Daunia and Blackwater met coal mines from BHP. These were truly remarkable acquisitions, whereby WHC doubled the size of the business without issuing a single new share. There are signs costs have well and truly peaked and are on their way down. WHC is the cheapest stock in the ASX100 by a margin. Once the sentiment improves, the rerating is likely to be rapid. Coronado Global Resources (ASX:CRN) – A higher risk, higher return way to gain exposure to the met coal price. CRN has had a horrible 2024, more than halving from $1.76 per share to the low 80c range. The declining met coal price during 2024, combined with a string of operational issues, has undermined investor confidence. However, the consensus PER for CY25 is Gavin Wendt – MineLife Best commodity/investing idea Precious metals: A prudent bet for 2025. Strong investment demand fundamentals remain in place, supported by rising debt levels, global currency weakness, central bank buying and global political and economic uncertainty. Gold remains the standout commodity for 2025 as the factors that have driven it to record highs in 2024 remain prevalent. Silver, too will follow in gold's path. The gold ratio is 88:1. The last three times it has been this inexpensive relative to gold, silver went on to rally 40%, 300% and 400%. Conversely, the three times the ratio has fallen below 20 in the past, it has marked a period when gold was relatively inexpensive compared to silver. History therefore suggests that the current conditions represent a buying opportunity in silver. Worst commodity/investing idea None, but Wendt says the outlook for China dominated commodities and those reliant on Chinese economic demand including nickel, zinc, copper, iron ore and rare earths remain under pressure. Stocks to watch in 2025 Auric Mining (ASX:AWJ) – Auric has achieved production status via a relatively low-risk strategy of contract mining and toll treatment, firstly at its Jeffreys Find gold deposit and shortly at its Munda deposit, both in Western Australia. Proving that miners don't have to be big to be hugely successful, AWJ's strong share price performance reflects its success. The next two stages of mining at Jeffreys Find will generate additional net cash of $7-10m before mining and production commences at Munda. Sun Silver (ASX:SS1) – Owns the Maverick Springs silver deposit in Nevada, having listed in May this year. Reprocessing of historical drill data increased the inferred mineral resource to 423Moz silver equivalent – 253.3Moz of silver and 2Moz of gold from 195.74Mt ore, with average grades of 40.25g/t silver and 0.32g/t gold. Encouragingly, the upgrade did not include results from the company's ongoing inaugural drill program, which encountered high-grade silver in the northwest section of Maverick Springs, an area outside the existing resource where historic drilling identified grades up to 6216g/t silver. We like Sun Silver as it’s a silver play in a first-rate location. QPM Energy (ASX:QPM) – QPM Energy has pivoted neatly to become an emerging gas producer and electricity supplier in Queensland's Bowen Basin, at a time of rising energy prices, and as the AEMO warns of increased blackout risk in Queensland due to hot weather, high demand and aging coal plants. QPM should see strong sales revenue in 2025 on the back of gas production growth and electricity generation. Strike Energy (ASX:STX) – STX maintains a dominant position within the Perth Basin’s Permian Gas Fairway, which has the potential to develop into one of Australia’s largest onshore gas resources. Along these lines, in 2023 the company launched its fully funded gas acceleration strategy, which is targeting up to four sources of gas production (Walyering, Ocean Hill, and South and West Erregulla) to come online by the end of 2025. Strike has also committed itself to the development of the $137M South Erregulla fully integrated peaking gas power station development, which will be completed before October 2026. Peter Kormendy – Shaw and Partners Best commodity/investing idea Bauxite/alumina/aluminium, copper, coking coal, gold and u ranium. We also think lithium has bottomed and now is a good time to look at the higher quality resources. Worst commodity/investing idea Not supplied. Stocks to watch in 2025 Paladin Energy (ASX:PDN) , Bannerman Energy (ASX:BMN) and Silex Systems (ASX:SLX) (uranium mid-tiers) – The uranium market is structurally under-supplied and demand for nuclear energy (decarbonising electricity grids, AI/data centres) is likely to see the shortage of supply become an increasingly large problem for the power utilities. We expect to see uranium spike higher through the course of this decade and see little to cap the upside. Metro Mining (ASX:MMI) – Ships bauxite to China and is trading at just 3.7x PE and 1.5x EV/EBITDA in 2025. Bauxite prices are rising due to strong demand from China at a time of supply disruptions in Guinea, China and an export ban from Indonesia. AIC Mines (ASX:A1M) – Queensland copper miner has growth options with the nearby Jericho deposit and regional exploration. Patriot Battery Metals (ASX:PMT) – Current 142.6mt at 1.39% Li2O resource at Shaakichiuwaanaan in Quebec, Canada, is the largest lithium resource in North America. Santana Minerals (ASX:SMI) and Southern Cross Gold (ASX:SXG) – The gold price has hit all time highs in 2024 but looks likely to push higher in 2025 as the US enters its rate cut cycle, global geo-political tensions remain elevated and central banks purchase gold as an alternative to the US$. Santana has 2.5Moz at Bendigo-Ophir in New Zealand. SXG continues to drill high grade intercepts at Sunday Creek, 60km north of Melbourne. The views, information, or opinions expressed in the interviews in this article are solely those of the interviewees and do not represent the views of Stockhead. Stockhead does not provide, endorse or otherwise assume responsibility for any financial product advice contained in this article. At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Spartan Resources, Sun Silver, QPM Energy, QMines, James Bay Minerals, Top End Energy and Toubani Resources are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article. Originally published as These 14 stock experts give their key mining picks for 2025: Part Two Stockhead Don't miss out on the headlines from Stockhead. Followed categories will be added to My News. More related stories Stockhead Road to 2025: QMines In this episode, host Sarah Hughan recaps the past 12 months for Queensland explorer QMines and its impressive projects. 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