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This research paper argues that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) must align its pursuit of economic structural transformation with economic sovereignty to regain credibility among its citizens. It highlights the region's potential to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) in critical minerals and renewable energy while warning that overdependence on external funding and fragmented infrastructure hinder sustainable growth.

This report outlines a strategy for establishing a circular battery economy in India, focusing on reuse, repurposing, and recycling to capture a ₹75,500 crore market opportunity and enhance mineral security.

The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) evaluates Canada's 2025 federal budget, noting a contradiction between investments in clean energy and critical minerals and the continued subsidization of the oil and gas sector.

This research paper argues that African nations must transition from fragmented national negotiations to a coordinated regional approach to trade diplomacy regarding green critical minerals. By leveraging the Africa Green Minerals Strategy (AGMS), the authors suggest that the continent can move beyond raw material extraction toward green industrialization and value addition, utilizing a collective negotiating framework to increase leverage against competing global powers.

This report examines how resource-rich developing countries can utilize fiscal strategies, legal frameworks, and infrastructure to capture greater domestic value from critical minerals through local processing, refining, and manufacturing.

This research paper by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute examines how the United States can reduce its heavy reliance on critical mineral imports through circular economy strategies, specifically focusing on recycling and secondary recovery from waste streams like acid mine drainage and phosphate fertilizer byproducts.

This research paper analyzes Nigeria's potential to become a key supplier of critical minerals (such as lithium, cobalt, and copper) for the global energy transition. While Nigeria possesses vast reserves valued at over USD 700 billion, the sector is hindered by severe underinvestment in exploration and a lack of functional processing infrastructure. The report emphasizes a shift toward domestic value addition—rejecting raw ore exports in favor of local battery and component manufacturing—and highlights the influence of foreign investments, particularly from China. It recommends a comprehensive national strategy and massive infrastructure investment to move from raw material extraction to high-value downstream production.

The research paper analyzes South Africa's Critical Minerals and Metals Strategy for South Africa (CMMSSA), released on 20 May 2025. The strategy aims to leverage the country's mineral wealth to drive industrialization and economic growth during the global energy transition. While the paper acknowledges the strategy's ambitious vision and integrated approach, it highlights significant risks regarding institutional capacity, regulatory contradictions with the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA), and a lack of concrete justice frameworks for affected communities.

This research paper examines the intersection of the evolving international trading system and the urgent need to address biodiversity loss, climate change, and sustainable development. It argues that while trade has historically contributed to environmental harm, it can be repurposed as a strategic tool for sustainability through new narratives, inclusive international cooperation, and coherent policy frameworks. The author identifies a shift from traditional trade liberalization toward 'multipurpose' approaches that balance security, resilience, and sustainability, and proposes a policy agenda to reorient trade rules, scale up sustainable technologies, and ensure equitable economic transformation for developing countries.

This report, co-published by the African Development Bank and the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF), examines how Africa can leverage its critical minerals to drive inclusive growth, industrialization, and regional integration by shifting from raw material exports to value-added production.

This research paper examines South Africa's G20 presidency, marking the end of the first cycle of summits since 2008. It analyzes the challenges facing the G20's consensus-based model amidst rising populism and the US's shift toward unilateralism, while detailing South Africa's specific priorities for the Global South, including climate finance, debt sustainability, and critical minerals.

This factsheet by Natural Justice outlines the Mineral Resources Development Amendment Bill 2025 (MRDB) in South Africa, which seeks to reform mining laws to boost the economy and accelerate projects, particularly those involving minerals for clean energy.

The Mineral Resources Development Bill 2025 (MRDB) is a draft amendment to South Africa's Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act of 2002 (MPRDA). Published by Natural Justice, this community booklet explains how the Bill aims to boost the economy, regulate artisanal and small-scale mining, and accelerate mining project approvals, while highlighting the potential risks to land rights, the environment, and community consent.

This guide by the World Resources Institute explains the mechanisms, current regulatory status, potential benefits, and ecological risks of deep-sea mining. It highlights the tension between the demand for critical minerals for the energy transition and the significant knowledge gaps regarding the impact on deep-ocean ecosystems and global carbon cycles.

This research paper examines how the trade war between the US and China, alongside President Trump's critical mineral diplomacy, creates a strategic window for African nations to transition from raw material exporters to green technology manufacturing hubs. It argues that countries rich in minerals like cobalt and lithium can leverage geopolitical competition to secure technology transfer, domestic value addition, and diversified investment portfolios.

This briefing by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute describes the critical mineral supply chain and the United States' efforts to secure domestic sources for its clean energy transition. It details the stages of the supply chain, the U.S.'s high reliance on imports, the environmental and social impacts of mining, and the legislative and executive actions taken to promote onshoring and secondary recovery.

This document is a policy brief from the International Energy Agency (IEA) regarding the role of the energy transition in the European Union (EU) and its global implications. It focuses on the EU's strategy to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, specifically examining the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, the role of critical minerals, and the geopolitical shifts resulting from the moveS transition. The brief highlights the need for diversified supply chains forS for critical minerals to reduce dependency on single sources, particularly China, and the importance of integrating energy security with climate goals. It also discusses the impact of the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) on international trade and the transition of energy-intensive industries. The documentS document emphasizes that while the EU is making progress, significant acceleration in deployment of wind and solar power is required to meet its 2030 targets. It also addresses the challenge of balancing economic competitiveness with the transition to a low-carbon economy, noting the role of the EU's Green Deal laS Deal Industrial Plan as a response to the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

This research paper argues that South Africa and the European Union (EU) should deepen their strategic interdependence in critical minerals to navigate geopolitical uncertainties and avoid the 'blackmailing logic' of mineral-for-security deals. It highlights the complementary nature of their economies, the EU's financial commitments to South Africa's energy transition, and the need to reconcile the EU's desire for strategic autonomy with South Africa's goal of domestic value addition.

African Civil Society Organisations are calling on the South African G20 Presidency to lead a justice-driven energy transition by prioritizing value-addition and beneficiation of critical minerals within the Global South. The group advocates for people-centred governance, including Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC), transformed industrial financing, and the establishment of a Global Critical Energy Transition Minerals Skills Compact to ensure that the transition addresses inequality and energy poverty in Africa.

This briefing by RMI outlines a strategy for the United States to transition from a linear electric vehicle (EV) battery supply chain to a circular economy. By implementing six specific strategies to maximize the utility of minerals and investing in domestic recycling and midstream manufacturing, the author argues that the need for new mined minerals can be eliminated by 2050.