The geographic concentration of mining and refining of critical minerals has become increasingly concentrated last year — despite efforts by the West to diversify supply chains.
According to the latest IEA Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2024 report, the easing of short-term supply shortages in specific minerals, specifically in nickel and cobalt, has come as further production increases by the global dominant suppliers has exacerbated the problem across the EV battery supply chain, from mining to refining.
However, when assessing global critical mineral production by ownership (based on the leading owner company’s headquarter location) shows that companies in the US and Europe, such as Glencore and Rio Tinto, play a much greater role than the geographical location of mines suggests.