Electrician turned mining entrepreneur Gianni Kovacevic has two important reminders for investors bailing on the copper sector this morning.

The first is that no force in the world can prevent the ascent of man. Over the next decade, another 500 million people will be lifted from abject poverty, Kovacevic says, putting incredible demand on natural resources, especially copper.

"We in the West have wants, they in emerging markets have needs."

The entrepreneur says 100% of people in poor communities are willing to pay for electricity.

His second message is for nature-lovers to wake up about renewable energy and join him as a self-proclaimed "Realistic Environmentalist."

"Everything up here is either grown or mined," he says exasperatedly.

"Oil is energy, energy without fossil fuels means electricity and electricity demands copper."

For example, electric cars require 3x more copper than traditional combustion engine vehicles. Solar and off-shore wind can require 5-10x more of the green metal for electrical power generation.

Kovacevic also shared his five rules of investing.

  1. If you pay peanuts [for financial advice or information], you get monkeys. Use full service brokers NOT just cheap online trading type accounts. How else do you get financings and warrants?
  2. If you need a pencil and paper to weigh the pros and cons of an investment, its too close to call. The value has to absolutely scream in your face. (credit Charlie Munger)
  3. Get a passport and use it.
  4. Never invest in a story on page one, that's the efficient market. Invest in the story on page 16 that's going to page 1.(Don Coxe)
  5. Surround yourself with the smartest people in the world. Read online, go to conferences, subscribe to newsletters, and read as many books as possible, especially Kovacevic's!

Vancouver Resource Investment Conference attendees this weekend can catch Kovacevic at 4:30pm in Speaker Hall East on Sunday, and again at 5pm on a panel with Frank Holmes, Ross Beaty and Nick Hodge in the same venue (details and free registration here).

You can pick up a copy of Kovacevic's book, My Electrician Drives a Porsche?, at the conference in booth #1612 for $5. It's also available on Amazon (here).