Critical Minerals
Australia-EU Critical Minerals Pact Formalises Western Supply Chain Split From China
Trade deal eliminating 98% of tariffs on Australian minerals marks permanent bifurcation of global tech inputs into competing geopolitical blocs.
China Elevates Critical Minerals to National Security Doctrine
Beijing's 15th Five-Year Plan transforms rare earth stockpiling into strategic instrument for prolonged US confrontation, creating asymmetries across defense, tech, and energy transition supply chains.
China’s $120 Billion Critical Minerals Strategy Threatens Western Tech Sovereignty
Beijing's vertical integration of lithium, cobalt, and rare earth supply chains—from mine to magnet—creates structural monopoly power over semiconductors, EVs, and defence systems.
Ruthenium Supply Shock: AI Chip Shortage Exposes Critical Bottleneck in Semiconductor Metals
Price surge to $1,750 per ounce reveals physical constraint on AI infrastructure as geopolitical concentration and specialty metal demand collide at 2nm node.
Pentagon Bets on Rare-Earths Reshoring as China’s 90% Processing Grip Turns Strategic Liability
Defense Department backs equity stakes, price floors, and allied partnerships to break decades-long dependence on Beijing's critical-minerals chokehold.
Paris Talks Test Fragile US-China Trade Truce Ahead of March Summit
Treasury Secretary Bessent and Vice Premier He meet this weekend to negotiate rare earth access, semiconductor restrictions, and agricultural purchases—with limited expectations but outsized market stakes.
The Great Fracture: Japan, France, Canada Split From U.S. Critical Minerals Strategy
Three G7 economies now pursue independent rare earth supply chains, shattering Western coordination as China maintains 90% processing dominance
What Is the Lithium Triangle and Why Does It Matter?
Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia control 58% of global lithium reserves, but divergent extraction policies and Chinese dominance of refining are reshaping who controls the electric vehicle revolution.
Lithium Triangle Splits Three Ways as Milei Opens Argentina, Chile Nationalizes, Bolivia Stalls
Political shifts across South America's battery belt are creating divergent investment regimes just as EV demand reshapes global supply chains.
Washington Locks Indonesia Into Trade Orbit as Nickel Becomes New Leverage Point
US-Indonesia reciprocal trade pact delivers concrete friend-shoring gains in critical minerals, testing whether tariff diplomacy can durably reshape supply chains dominated by Chinese capital.