Author: Michael Saunders
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Cubed-Up 2025
“Right now, it’s just spray paint and a dream”“That’s how it starts!” Welcome back! It is our second year, and our second – slightly festive – yearly review, CubedUp 2025! “M-Cubed’s first yearly review is bit like our twenty quid Christmas tree – sparse, dimly lit, and loaded with tinsel…
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Warm Up: Cubed Up 2013-2024
“Right now, it’s just spray paint and a dream” This year, I want to start the yearly review, by reflecting on the ten years since I attended my first conference – My interest in marine minerals began in 2013, I asked a question in a college chemistry lecture – it…
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Is it “Resource Curse?” The Madagascar Crisis – Part 3
I’m finding this article difficult to write. In part, because I think Resource Curse is a bullshit narrative to distract from crap policy – but also, because it is a little more nuanced than that. Resource Curse is a hazard associated with economic overreliance. If the foundations of a system…
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Power and Politics: the Madagascar Crisis (Part 2)
Just 36% of Madagascar has access to electricity, only 23% of the country is supplied by it’s national grid [1]. Last month, power and water outages led to civil unrest, and the fall of the Madagascan government – we have discussed how failures in policy since 2009 have led to…
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More than a loss of power: the Madagascar Crisis (Part 1)
It has been a difficult month for Madagascar. On September 25th, youth-led protests erupted over power and water cuts: within days the government fell; within weeks, civil unrest became deadly. In the last few days, a coup d’état has ousted (now former) President Rajoelina, and stripped him of citizenship. But…
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One Year of ‘Own Your Ocean’
That’s right, Own Your Ocean turns one today! To celebrate, here is what we’re working on! A Journal Article is on the way! We’re writing a journal article which will reveal the marine mineral potential of 75 coastal developing countries – information that mining companies would keep secret! The paper,…
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Milestone
Thankyou for 1000 visitors, this feels like a milestone worth celebrating! I launced our website in January 2024 – and over the last few months, we have seen gradual and sustained interest growth! Our visitors have come from at least 44 countries: demonstrating a global reach of – let’s face…
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The Perils of Over-Reliance
On March 21st, 2025, the fifth largest airport in the world came to a standstill. This is both a powerful analogy for critical minerals, and a story which hit very close to home. Moments before 23:30 on March 20th, I heard a loud muffled bang. My flat in Hayes, West…
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Are Rare Earth Elements The Building Blocks of Peace in Ukraine?
Last Year, we discussed the intricacies of critical elements and geopolitics, in our blog post, Deep-Sea Mining in a Changing Political World. Right now, negotiations which may end the war in Ukraine, seem to rely on a proposed bilateral agreement on rare-earth elements between Ukraine and the United States. Let’s…
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Cubed Up – 2024
M-Cubed Research Consulting’s First Year, Reviewed Starting a business is tough. You’ll find learning curves look like right angles, and celebrating little wins is key to maintaining some semblance of sanity. M-Cubed’s first yearly review is bit like our twenty quid Christmas tree – sparse, dimly lit, and loaded with…
M-Cubed Research Consulting 