A clean quantitative framing is this: the cure for high prices is high prices, but the lag is measured in years. Mechanism: It takes years to open a mine or drill a field. By the time high prices incentivize new supply, the cycle has often shifted. This capital expenditure lag guarantees the boom and bust nature of physical markets. Market translation: A copper shortage today is the result of underinvestment five years ago. Spending today will not solve this year’s deficit. Failure mode: Expecting immediate supply responses to spot price movements in heavy industries. Review question: Ask whether the market is mispricing the mechanism or simply narrating it loudly. A lot of confusion disappears once you separate the headline from the mechanism.