Securing Minerals for the Energy Transition

The report argues that the energy transition faces significant risks from supply-demand imbalances of critical minerals. It details financial, environmental, and cross-cutting barriers—such as high capital expenditures, lengthy permitting timelines, and a lack of ESG standardization—that hinder the expansion of primary and secondary supply. To unlock the value chain, the document recommends targeted financial support, streamlined permitting, and global multistakeholder collaboration to harmonize standards and improve data transparency.

• To meet growing demand for critical minerals through 2030, McKinsey analysis suggests that annual investments of $300-400 billion are required across mining, refining, and smelting, including secondary supply sources.
• Significant financial barriers impede the supply chain, including high and uncertain capital expenditures for early-stage mining, a lack of strong business cases for scaling existing innovations, and the high risk of failure associated with early-stage R&D.
• The enabling environment for mining is hindered by long lead times, with an average gap of 16 years between the discovery of a deposit and the start of production, often exacerbated by bureaucratic permitting delays.
• The mining sector faces a critical shortage of skilled labour, with over 70% of mining leaders surveyed in 2022 reporting that talent shortages are negatively impacting mine performance.
• Cross-cutting barriers include a lack of global ESG standardization, which can lead to a 'race to the bottom' where less-responsible companies undercut sustainable producers, and a lack of a globally authoritative source for supply and demand data.
• Proposed 'unlocks' to address these barriers include direct financial support (such as low-cost loans and tax credits), streamlined permitting processes, and the creation of public-private partnerships to reduce the commercial risks of deploying new technologies.

APA

World Economic Forum (2024). Securing Minerals for the Energy Transition. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Securing_Minerals_for_the_Energy_Transition_2024.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Securing Minerals for the Energy Transition. 2024. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Securing_Minerals_for_the_Energy_Transition_2024.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Securing Minerals for the Energy Transition |date=September 2024 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Securing_Minerals_for_the_Energy_Transition_2024.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2024securing, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Securing Minerals for the Energy Transition}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2024}, month = sep, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Securing_Minerals_for_the_Energy_Transition_2024.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }