Apr 26, 2025 · 24m · tbpn
What It Takes to Build a Mine | Ted Feldmann on TBPN
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
Ted Feldmann, founder of Durin, discusses the engineering, financial, and geopolitical dynamics of modern mineral exploration, highlighting how automated diamond drill rigs and cross-disciplinary engineering talent are reshaping the critical minerals sector.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. How this is scored →
The hosts as informed peer 3.4 Guest teaching 5.1 Guest disagreement 0.4 The hosts pushing back 1.0
speaking balance: gold is the hosts, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 18:47 Polite skepticism toward Chamath's stealth rare earth claim
Ted directly casts doubt on Chamath's viral public claim, noting that neither he nor any dedicated rare earth analysts have found evidence of such a massive undisclosed deposit.
Hardest push from the hosts ▶ 5:08 Questioning custom drill rig fabrication vs buying off the shelfThe host questions the wisdom of reinventing the wheel and building a rig from scratch given Durin's early fundraising stage and existing drill market options.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 21:20 Downhole casing mechanics and stuck-pipe recoveryTed gives a thorough technical explanation of casing unconsolidated sediment, cutting stuck drill pipe, and using specialized bits to drill directly through trapped downhole steel.
The host holds their own ▶ 3:21 Synthesizing exploration funding dynamics with early-stage biotechThe host demonstrates sharp financial market intuition by drawing direct parallels between junior exploration miners listing on Canadian exchanges and early-stage pre-revenue biotech companies seeking public liquidity.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | The hosts as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | The hosts pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Welcome and Geological Market Map | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | The host sets up the interview with friendly banter and asks high-level introductory questions about the geological map and exploration drilling. Ted provides an educational overview of core sample collection, assay labs, and 3D subsurface deposit modeling. | |
| Junior Mining Economics and Public Markets | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | The host demonstrates financial domain knowledge by comparing junior miners listing early on Canadian exchanges (TSXV) to early-stage public biotech companies. Ted confirms the comparison and elaborates on the retail penny-stock heritage of mining exploration finance. | |
| Building Custom Automated Diamond Drill Rigs | 3 | 6 | 1 | 3 | The host pushes back on whether building a custom rig from scratch is necessary when off-the-shelf drills exist. Ted details why retrofitting cheap Chinese rigs or expensive Western OEM models failed, explaining the exact mechanical architecture of Durin's custom setup. | |
| Venture Capital and Mining Tech Contracting | 4 | 6 | 0 | 1 | The host inquires about venture market maturity and the geopolitical impact of Chinese rare earth export bans. Drawing on his experience at MP Materials, Ted educates the room on domestic light rare earth capacity versus heavy rare earth dependencies in Brazil and Vietnam. | |
| Rig Telemetry, Drilling Automation, and Labor Shortages | 3 | 6 | 0 | 1 | The host asks about rig shift durations and operational throughput. Ted breaks down conventional 3-person crew mechanics, real-time parameter tuning (weight on bit, RPM, mud viscosity), and the severe labor shortage driving automation. | |
| Brand Strategy and Engineering Recruitment | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | The host praises Durin's out-of-home advertising campaigns and strategic billboard placement near SpaceX in Hawthorne. Ted explains how strong branding bridges recruitment across aerospace engineering and veteran mining trades. | |
| Roadmap to Autonomy and Field Operations | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2 | Ted details the incremental progression toward drill-by-wire and remote teleoperation while explaining why site prep requires personnel. The host raises Chamath's viral claim about stealthily controlling 25% of allied rare earths, which Ted politely casts doubt on based on industry network knowledge. | |
| Sensor Instrumentation and Downhole Telemetry | 4 | 6 | 1 | 1 | When the host asks about downhole sensors, Ted clarifies that current telemetry is calculated entirely from surface measurements like torque and penetration rate. When the host asks about cave-ins, Ted explains casing methods and drilling through stuck steel downhole. | |
| Material Science of Diamond Drill Bits | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | The host asks about the history and construction of diamond drill bits. Ted explains the material science behind diamond-impregnated soft iron matrices engineered to erode at the same rate as the diamond facets dull. |
Statements from this episode (18)
Feldmann: Junior miners go public early on TSXV, ASX to fund drilling
“Many of these companies go public extremely early on, on the TSXV or the ASX, and they raise capital and spend most of that capital on drilling to actually collect more data.”
Feldmann: Canada attracts much more mining capital than the US
“Canada has a lot more capital flowing into mining than the United States does today.”
Feldmann: Drill rig manufacturers have half-hearted autonomy efforts
“We tried that with a couple of manufacturers. They were incredibly slow and all the manufacturers, they sort of have their own half-hearted efforts on autonomy. And so they didn't seem particularly eager to partner up to partner with us. And so almost out of n…”
Feldmann: Global mining is a $2T to $3T market
“And like mining overall is a two to three trillion dollar industry, kind of, yeah, overall market size.”
Feldmann: Mining firms avoid new tech due to decade-long capex cycles
“Building a mine is incredibly capex intensive and you're basically making a bet on technology early and then utilizing that equipment or software system for a decade plus. And so these companies are risk averse. I don't want to bet, bet the farm on a new, new …”
Feldmann: Durin operates as a contractor to bypass tech sales friction
“Where I think we come in there's a few other companies with a similar model is as a contractor. So we're just replacing a separate service provider and any sort of innovation that we're creating is done internally. So we are more efficient, safer, And we're co…”
Feldmann: MP Materials produces about 15% of global rare earth supply
“MP produces about 15% of the global rare earth supply.”
Feldmann: US has no other rare earth deposits ready for production
“There are no other decent rare earths deposits in the United States that we can just spin up production at.”
Feldmann: Drilling out a mineral deposit costs $100 million
“In order to find that on a deposit, you gotta spend a hundred million dollars to drill out.”
Feldmann: Traditional drilling of a 1,000-foot hole takes 10 days
“So a good shift is about 50 feet in a day. And so 12 hours, 50 feet, a thousand foot hole, 20 shifts, 10 days.”
Feldmann: Traditional core drilling costs approximately $100 per foot
“And you're looking at about a hundred dollars a foot.”
Feldmann: The mining industry is in a severe workforce crisis
“We are in a workforce crisis in the mining industry right now. I heard someone say, oh, I like that. We don't have a, I don't have an autonomy problem in the mining industry, but labor problem. We just don't have enough people.”
Feldmann: Very few mining companies care about or build cool brands
“There are very few companies in the mining industry that really care about I think I would care about the brand. There are very few that are particularly good about creating a cool brand.”
Feldmann: Autonomous drilling rigs will still need on-site personnel for five years
“We're never gonna get to a point where you don't need at least someone on site, at least not over the next five years, because you need a flat surface to drill on.”
Feldmann: Unaware of Chamath rare earth projects beyond MP Materials
“I haven't heard anything about Chamath's involvement in any rare earth project beyond he helps back camping materials five or so years ago. I haven't heard anything. Maybe he does. I hope he does. That would be great. There was some massive rare earths mine th…”
Feldmann: Drill holes deviate 1-2 degrees per hundred meters, risking target misses
“It might deviate a degree or two every hundred meters. And if you're trying to hit a 50 foot wide target, 500 feet underground It's, you might miss. And so making sure you know exactly where the tip of the drill is at all times is paramount.”
Feldmann: Abandoning drill steel in a borehole costs at least $10k–$20k
“You lose some steel in the ground. Oh, well, you're out, 10, 20 grand at least.”
Feldmann: Durin aims to build thousands of automated drill rigs by 2031
“We are we're teaching SpaceXers how to drill and drillers how to participate in a high functional, high functioning engineering organization. And so I think you gotta do both. If you're trying to build a large organization and manufacture thousands of these ri…”