Making Critical Minerals Bankable: Policy Tools to Unlock Investment

The document argues that the primary barrier to critical minerals investment is not a lack of capital or geological availability, but 'bankability'. It identifies three specific frictions unique to critical minerals: varying pricing transparency and contracting norms, market-access risks due to concentration in processing and refining, and delayed revenue visibility caused by buyer specifications and qualification cycles. To address these, the paper suggests a policy framework that maps interventions across mineral market structure, jurisdiction risk profiles, and project stages to effectively crowd in private capital.

• The primary obstacle to increasing critical minerals investment and capacity is bankability rather than a lack of capital or geological resources.
• Critical minerals face three distinct frictions that hinder bankability: inconsistent pricing transparency and contracting norms across different markets, market-access risks stemming from concentrated processing and refining, and delayed revenue visibility due to buyer specifications and qualification cycles.
• To create resilient supply, policy interventions should be targeted based on three dimensions: the structure of the mineral market, the risk profile of the jurisdiction, and the specific stage of the project.

APA

World Economic Forum (2026). Making Critical Minerals Bankable: Policy Tools to Unlock Investment. https://www.weforum.org/publications/making-critical-minerals-bankable-policy-tools-to-unlock-investment/

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Making Critical Minerals Bankable: Policy Tools to Unlock Investment. 2026. https://www.weforum.org/publications/making-critical-minerals-bankable-policy-tools-to-unlock-investment/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Making Critical Minerals Bankable: Policy Tools to Unlock Investment |date=4 May 2026 |url=https://www.weforum.org/publications/making-critical-minerals-bankable-policy-tools-to-unlock-investment/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2026making, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Making Critical Minerals Bankable: Policy Tools to Unlock Investment}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2026}, month = may, url = {https://www.weforum.org/publications/making-critical-minerals-bankable-policy-tools-to-unlock-investment/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }