Mining & Metals

What's Happening in Mining & Metals

Global competition for critical minerals is intensifying across multiple fronts, with China's entrenched control over cobalt extraction and processing in the Democratic Republic of Congo creating a significant supply-chain chokepoint for EV batteries and semiconductor manufacturing. Simultaneously, broader mercantilist policies and resource nationalism are reshaping how nations compete for access to raw materials, while surging AI demand is driving additional pressure on energy infrastructure and rare earth material supplies. Commentary suggests that existing policy initiatives may be insufficient to address underlying mineral scarcity and supply vulnerabilities, particularly as multiple industries—batteries, semiconductors, and defense systems—compete for the same constrained inputs. These overlapping pressures on mineral availability and geopolitical control of extraction are creating structural challenges for industries dependent on stable, diversified sourcing of critical metals, though the full market impact remains subject to how supply chains adapt and policy responses evolve.