Energy minerals: complexities of supply and risk
Energy Minerals are the suite of natural resources that are required to build the infrastructure to transition to a net-zero carbon economy. These range from metals with well-established existing supply chains such as copper, to specialty elements that are supply-constrained, such as the magnet rare earth metals like neodymium. Regardless of the maturity of the existing production networks for the various energy metals, it is predicted that the transition to net-zero will increase the demand for these minerals substantially. This will naturally increase their value, creating rushes to production and the attendant social, environmental and financial risks that can accompany rapid growth. Additionally, supply chain networks for supply-constrained resources will become increasingly important as geopolitical strategic assets, and it will be necessary for countries to ensure the stability of supply of these resources to maintain efficient and timely progress towards net-zero.
