• CRITICAL MINERALSThe Missing Link in America’s Critical Minerals Push Isn’t Mining – It’s Processing Expertise

    By Hélène Nguemgaing and Alan Collins

    The United States is spending billions of dollars to secure access to critical minerals – minerals and metals that are essential to modern technology, from electric vehicles to smartphones and military systems. But amid the push to dig more, one question gets far too little attention: Who will actually process what comes out of the ground?

  • CRITICAL MINERALSThe Quad Should Share Intel on Critical-Mineral Supply Risks

    By Hayley Channer

    With China increasing restrictions on critical minerals trade, including tighter export controls on rare earth elements announced in March, the United States and allied countries are trying to bring more mineral supply to market. To succeed, they need to start with more structured information sharing and fusion.

  • CRITICAL MINERALSCould Deep Sea Mining Break China's Grip on Critical Minerals?

    By Doug Irving

    Mining companies have proposed to use remote-controlled robots or seabed crawlers tethered to surface ships to bring up nodules. The International Seabed Authority has wrestled for more than two decades with how to regulate seabed mining. The Trump administration has promised no such delay. It plans to use an existing U.S. regulatory framework.

  • CRITICAL MINERALSElectrochemical Process Enables Recovery of Valuable Raw Materials

    Lithium, cobalt and nickel are in high demand – and they are hard to obtain. Researchers are developing an electrochemical process to recover scarce raw materials in battery recycling. This new technology could also enable the extraction of rare earth elements from electronic waste in the future.

  • CRITICAL MINERALSResearchers Advance Critical Materials Recycling Technologies

    By Brandon Hallmark

    The U.S. has deposits of nearly all critical materials, but mining capabilities cannot meet the nation’s growing demand. Most extraction and processing are done overseas, much of it in China. This reliance on foreign critical materials risks supply disruptions that could affect U.S. national security, economic growth and everyday life.

  • CRITICAL MINERALSEU and U.S. Critical-Minerals Strategies: Same Goal, Different Methods

    By Ivana Damjanovic

    The United States and the European Union are both working to reduce their dependence on China for critical minerals, but they’re taking markedly different approaches. As both powers pursue critical-mineral independence through different means, the EU may struggle to keep up with the US’s more assertive policy.

  • IRAN WARThe Chokepoint We Missed: Sulfur, Hormuz, and the Threats to Military Readiness

    By Morgan Bazilian, Macdonald Amoah. and Jahara Matisek

    The cascading effects of disrupted maritime chokepoints are no longer the subject of simulations; they are an active crisis.

  • CRITICAL MINERALSStrengthening National Security with Critical Materials Research

    By Brandon Hallmark

    From satellites and surveillance systems to precision-guided munitions and fighter jet engines, critical materials are at the foundation of America’s military strength. Yet most critical materials are extracted and processed overseas, leaving the U.S. vulnerable to supply chain disruptions that could jeopardize everyday life, economic stability and national security.

  • CRITICAL MINERALSThe Country’s Largest Magnesium Supplier Shut Down. Now What?

    By Leia Larsen

    The U.S. supply of the critical mineral looks uncertain. The largest producer, US Magnesium, filed for bankruptcy in September. Its half-century-old Rowley smelting plant on the west shore of Utah’s famed lake could shutter for good. US Magnesium’s bankruptcy has consequences for the supply of a critical mineral — and the environment.

  • CRITICAL MINERALSA Huge Cache of Critical Minerals Found in Utah May Be the Largest in the U.S.

    By Leia Larsen

    A Utah company says it has unearthed a massive deposit of minerals crucial for building electric vehicles, semiconductors, satellites, magnets, and more. The discovery could reshape the clean energy supply chain.

  • CRITICAL MINERALSThe Year the US. Doubled Down on Critical Minerals

    By Rebecca Egan McCarthy, Anita Hofschneider, and Tik Root

    President Donald Trump spent most of 2025 hacking away at large parts of the federal government. One tiny corner of regulation, however, has actually grown under Trump: the critical minerals list. The list of metals became a top priority under Trump. But what even are they?

  • CRITICAL MINERALSBehind Trump’s Peace Efforts: A Strategic Focus on Critical Minerals

    By Abi McGowan and Mariel Ferragamo

    President Trump has repeatedly claimed to have ended eight wars since he returned to office. Accessing critical minerals and resource extraction appear to be at the core of those diplomatic efforts.

  • CRITICAL MINERALSAustralia Must Make the Most of the U.S. Critical-Minerals Pivot

    By John Coyne

    For the first time in years, the US conversation on critical minerals has matured beyond broad rhetoric. What was once a generic discussion about “critical minerals” has shifted decisively to developing supply chains for specific minerals. And perhaps most importantly, the dialogue is no longer confined to government-to-government statements: it now involves dozens of mining and refining.

  • CRITICAL MINERALSG20 Johannesburg Endorses Critical Minerals Framework

    By Ajey Lele

    The Trump administration is trying to diversify critical minerals supply chains and reduce dependence on China, but this goal cannot be achieved without broad and deep cooperation with other countries. The U.S. absence from the 2025 G20 discussions on critical minerals weakens collective efforts to counterbalance China’s influence.

  • CRITICAL MINERALSBookshelf: Critical Mineral Dilemmas

    By John West

    Whoever controls the production and processing of lithium, copper and other critical minerals could dominate the 21st century economy, much as producers of fossil fuels defined the 20th century, writes Ernest Scheyder in a new book.