Minerals and Mining

Securing reliable supplies of critical minerals for energy transition is a top priority for companies and governments. Demand for these minerals is set to rise sharply, but accessing them is challenging due to high costs, regulatory hurdles, trade tensions, and local issues. China dominates many critical minerals supply chains for both mining and processing, which has made the issue a geopolitical flashpoint as other countries seek to diversify sources of supply. Diversification is proving difficult with an average of two decades required from identification of a new source to first production, making minerals both a necessity and a potential constraint on energy transition.