Report: Critical minerals for clean energy from fewer sites

Bundles of copper cables sit at a plant that produces parts for large electronic vehicles in Mexico City on April 2. The U.S. utilizes a global supply chain for critical minerals. Fernando Llano/AP

FRANKFURT, Germany — The world’s sources of critical minerals are increasingly concentrated in just a few countries, most notably China, leaving the global economy vulnerable to supply cutoffs that could disrupt industry and hit consumers with higher prices, a report released last week said.

The Paris-based International Energy Agency’s report looked at the availability of minerals and metals that may be small in quantity but large in impact when it comes to shifting the economy away from fossil fuels toward electricity and renewable energy.

It found that for copper, lithium, cobalt, graphite and rare earth elements, the average market share of the three top producing countries rose to 86% in 2024 from 82% in 2020.

China is the leading refiner for 19 of 20 strategic minerals studied in the report and has an average share of around 75%. Indonesia showed strong growth in nickel, a key component in making steel and batteries for electric vehicles.

The trend toward export restrictions and trade disputes increases concerns, the IEA said.

“Critical mineral supply chains can be highly vulnerable to supply shocks, be they from extreme weather, a technical failure or trade disruptions,” Executive Director Fatih Birol said. “The impact of a supply shock can be far-reaching, bringing higher prices for consumers and reducing industrial competitiveness.”

Birol cited the energy crisis in Europe since Russia cut off natural gas supplies over the invasion of Ukraine. Another cautionary tale is the global shortage of silicon-based computer chips during and after the pandemic, which disrupted auto production.

“The golden rule of energy security is diversification,” he said. “And it goes beyond energy security, it is also economic security.”

China is a massive global source of critical minerals required for a wide range of goods that includes computer chips, robots, electric autos, batteries, drones and military equipment. It also dominates the refining and processing of many of these critical minerals, including lithium, cobalt and graphite.

China has placed export limits on many of these key products and tightened controls on others as President Donald Trump wages a trade war, stifling U.S. industry and the nation’s ability to find quick alternatives. Without access to China’s significant reserves, U.S. manufacturers have a harder time competing amid mounting global supply tensions.

Trump has made reducing U.S. dependence on foreign critical minerals a core tenet of his national security and economic resilience agenda.

This goes beyond China. The Trump administration finalized a rocky deal this month with Ukraine granting U.S. access to the nation’s vast mineral resources; has reviewed a minerals proposal from Congo, a conflict-riddled nation also rich with mineral reserves; and attempted to strong-arm Greenland into providing more of its minerals to the U.S.