resource nationalism
S&P Global’s June quarter market review shows the pressure on Australian operations shifting from what miners sell to what they spend.
Africa's critical mineral producers are shifting from hosting resources to setting terms, and a recent intelligence briefing shows the leverage is real, the value capture is not yet, and the read-through for Australian operations is sharper than the geopolitics suggests.
Australia's share of China's lithium concentrate imports has almost halved since 2022, but the interesting question is not who took it – it is why they are being paid so much less for it.
At first glance, the WA Mining Club’s Market Outlook Luncheon at Optus Stadium looked like it would follow a familiar script.
When PLS chief executive Dale Henderson told the WA Mining Club’s November luncheon that it’s “easier to get things done in Brazil than in Western Australia,” the room went quiet for a moment.
When global power plays, policy whiplash and economic shocks collide, opportunity hides in the chaos — and for Australia’s critical minerals sector, survival now depends on strategy as much as supply.
When it comes to critical minerals in emerging nations, geology is often the easy part - what makes or breaks a project is navigating the politics, markets, and risks that sit behind the orebody.
China quietly built the world’s most powerful critical minerals supply chains while other nations - including Australia - dozed through a geopolitical shift that now threatens economic security, trade independence, and defence readiness.
As global demand for clean energy technology intensifies and geopolitical tensions rise, the importance of critical minerals has reached new heights.
