Rare earths and critical minerals

Across a range of mining sector analysts there is agreement that a global boom in demand for critical minerals has been taking shape in recent years. Lithium demand, based on the high-powered batteries that are needed by the world’s growing fleet of electronic vehicles (EVs), is expected to surge by 400%-500% over the next ten years. Copper use in renewable energy could jump by 300%. Achieving the UN’s global carbon net zero target by 2050 could require a six-fold increase in critical mineral inputs by 2040. The underlying economic model suggests that every US$1bn invested in upstream mining generates US$3bn-$4bn in downstream manufacturing.