A US-led group of 12 countries, plus the EU, plans to select large critical-minerals projects to develop by year end, in an attempt to lessen China’s dominant role in producing raw materials needed for green technologies.The Mineral Security Partnership, convened by the US last June, has produced a shortlist of some 15 projects culled from about 200 options, said Jose Fernandez, US under-secretary for economic growth, energy and the environment, after visiting Sweden, Norway, Finland, France and the UK
“It is our very strong hope that, by the end of the year, we will have a couple of big projects that will be announced,” he said. The shortlist spans mining, processing and recycling of critical minerals, and the projects are geographically diverse. They include some in Africa, “a couple” in Europe, a few in Latin America and others in Asia.
China’s control of the supply chain for critical minerals was a “vulnerability” for other countries, Fernandez said. This would become more apparent as demand for minerals such as lithium, used in batteries, rises as countries looked to lessen energy dependencies and cut greenhouse gas emissions, he added.