Amman Mining breaks into the global top mining companies ranking, creating six new billionaires

Overall, the market’s bleak sentiment is evident from the list of the best-performing companies in Q3—this year, for the first time, that list includes three firms whose share prices actually fell during the period. Amman Mining’s Rise As the first Indonesian company to enter MINING.COM’s Global 50 Most Valuable Mining Companies ranking, Amman Mining surged 213% in USD terms. Since its July listing on the Jakarta Stock Exchange, its market capitalization has approached 450 trillion Indonesian rupiah—over $28 billion. Amman Mining owns and operates the Batu Hijau copper-gold mine, which remains in production, and is developing the Elang project adjacent to Batu Hijau. Elang is among the world’s largest undeveloped copper-gold porphyry deposits and is currently in the feasibility stage. It holds 4.7 million tonnes of copper reserves and over 15 million ounces of gold. Bloomberg reported that Amman Mining’s rise has created at least six new billionaires—including Chairman Agus Prohosmito, whose stake in the company is now valued at $2.7 billion. The mining firm’s stellar market performance also added $4 billion to the net worth of Anthoni Salim, head of one of Indonesia’s largest conglomerates. In stark contrast stands another major Indonesian mining company, Harita Nickel. It listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange this April, raising $672 million—but since then, its share price has plunged over 60%, weighed down by persistently falling nickel prices. Lithium Decline The lithium sector’s robust performance outside China is striking—even as battery metal prices have tumbled sharply from their record high of over $80,000 per tonne in November last year. Yet in Q3, the drop in battery raw material prices caused the combined market capitalization of the six lithium companies ranked among the Top 50 to shrink by more than $30 billion over just three months. From their 52-week highs, the sector’s correction has been brutal: Pilbara Minerals—headquartered in Perth—saw its market cap fall 31%, making it the best-performing lithium stock. Mineral Resources dropped 37%; Albemarle, SQM, Ganfeng, and Tianqi all fell more than 50%. Pilbara Minerals is the only lithium company still up year-to-date—and it entered the Top 50 this quarter, bringing the number of Western Australian-headquartered firms in the ranking to five, surpassing Vancouver as the city with the most represented companies. Another Perth-based lithium miner, IGO, now appears unlikely to break into the Top 50. With a market cap of $5.4 billion, it has slipped to rank in the low 60s. The planned merger between U.S.-based Livent and Australia–Argentina lithium producer Allkem is expected to close before year-end 2023—but even that combined entity may not be enough to crack the Top 50. Their current combined value stands at $7.4 billion—just enough to edge out AngloGold Ashanti as the last-ranked company. Yet lithium and gold are headed in dramatically divergent directions in 2024. Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting successfully blocked Albemarle’s acquisition of Liontown Resources—and this week, the U.S. lithium giant announced it would withdraw from the deal.

Buffett sits in the audience, while I want to learn how to ‘wait’

Another number that stunned me at the entire conference was Berkshire Hathaway’s cash reserve: $397.4 billion at the end of Q1—a new all-time high. Someone asked Greg Abel: With nearly $400 billion in cash, why not invest in AI? His answer was direct: “We don’t rely on anyone.” That massive cash pile is strategic confidence—patience and restraint, waiting for the optimal opportunity. Buffett put it even more bluntly: “A 5% to 10% decline in prices holds zero appeal for me.” What he’s waiting for is the moment “when nobody else picks up the phone.” He doesn’t dismiss AI—he simply refuses to buy in at inflated valuations. In fact, many of Berkshire’s subsidiaries are already using AI: its railroad applies predictive maintenance; its insurance business explores AI-driven risk control. What Berkshire *doesn’t* do is chase AI hype—telling stories or pivoting blindly just because everyone else is. Buffett compares today’s market to “a church with an attached casino”: some people pray inside the church; others gamble next door. And he refuses to gamble. Honestly, what I truly admire isn’t how much cash Berkshire holds—but its ability to resist spending it. That’s something I used to be utterly incapable of. As soon as money appeared in my account, I’d rush in—fearing missed opportunities, fearing being left behind, fearing others profited while I stood still. The result? My capital slowly bled away on those “seemingly promising” but ultimately illusory chances—until my principal vanished entirely, leaving me without even the basic qualification to trade. Meanwhile, Berkshire sits on nearly $400 billion in cash—and through wave after wave of AI mania, remains utterly unmoved. This kind of unshakable composure—that’s real mastery. It’s not about fearing missed opportunities; it’s about *not fearing* them. Because it knows the market never runs out of opportunities—what’s scarce is patience. The best time to buy is when no one else answers the phone. Right now, the phones are still ringing—and plenty of people are picking up. Prices haven’t yet fallen to levels that excite Berkshire. So it waits. This “waiting”—it took me nearly a year to gradually understand. When I had no bullets left, the only thing I could do was review. I dissected companies, analyzed sectors, read financial reports—and revisited every losing trade, chewing over each loss again and again. I also deconstructed stocks that had surged tenfold—not because I owned them, but because I wanted to understand: *What exactly made them soar?* Slowly, my perspective shifted: I stopped staring at candlestick charts asking, “Will it go up tomorrow?” and started asking, “Where is this industry in its cycle? Is this company an indispensable node in the supply chain?” Once that mental barrier broke, things became clear. For instance, in this AI boom, none of the biggest gainers are AI application players—every single one is a hardware supplier, a “shovel seller.” Before, I couldn’t even grasp what they were talking about—not because they were spinning tales, but because I lacked the vocabulary to understand the story. Once I understood, I felt even more frustrated: the opportunity had been right in front of me all along—I’d just measured it with the wrong ruler for years. Yesterday, I mentioned preparing to re-enter the market with $10,000—to test whether my thinking over the past year is sound. To verify whether the “cash-holding-and-waiting” scenario I’ve rehearsed countless times in my head can hold up in real markets. I admitted I lack confidence—but deep down, I’m full of anticipation.

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