Regulatory intervention in the critical minerals sector: Geopolitical impacts, opportunities and challenges

As the global economy moves towards lower carbon energy that is more interconnected and dependent on electronics, the demand for critical minerals is set to surge.

Against this backdrop, as nations rapidly seek to either gain access to or leverage the critical mineral resources they possess, there have been a variety of legislative and policy developments intended to advance these objectives. These developments have had a variety of impacts on the sector, ranging from commodity price volatility (ie, the nickel market), to significant project relocation to secure public funding, to a shift in geographic investment focus to respond to increasingly stringent foreign direct investment (FDI) regimes.

The shifting landscape is complex and weighs heavily on the investment decisions of our clients. Understanding not only the domestic but international elements of the overall global critical minerals sector is paramount to ensuring investment decisions maximize the potential of a positive return (increasingly difficult in a volatile market) and the establishment of robust and resilient supply chains.

Our attorneys in Australia, Canada, Cameroon, Chile, China, European Union (EU), Indonesia, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, United States (US), Zambia, and Zimbabwe (Jurisdiction) have shared the recent material developments in their locations to provide a global view of how the sector is developing. These developments can be categorized into three areas (1) Financial measures; (2) Non Financial Measures; and (3) Changes to FDI regimes.

Our international team of attorneys is available to speak in greater detail to the developments highlighted below, potential opportunities (and how to pursue these) and how to best respond to legal challenges that any of these developments may present.