US-led critical minerals initiatives undercut by Trump

THERE is a growing perception in much of the West that major initiatives centred around critical minerals are necessary, in that they can shift these resources from being a sectoral challenge to a macro-strategic problem.

The critical minerals summit held by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday (Feb 4) in Washington DC is the latest in a string of American initiatives aimed at countering China’s dominance in these supply chains.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) and other key bodies have consistently warned that the concentration of critical minerals is a major issue in the value chain. While mining is heavily concentrated in a small number of countries, downstream processing – complex, resource-intensive and highly specialised – is even less diversified.