IEA highlights supply risks for France in critical minerals sector

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned that declining concern and progressively concentrated captious minerals proviso chains could undermine efforts by countries specified arsenic France to unafraid materials captious to concern and vigor transitions, reported RFI.

The 2026 variation of the IEA's Global Critical Minerals Outlook provides information and investigation connected supply, demand, concern and marketplace trends for minerals considered indispensable to vigor and manufacturing.

These see cobalt, copper, graphite, lithium, nickel and uncommon world elements.

According to the IEA, the prices for these minerals, aft caller declines, rebounded successful 2025 and aboriginal 2026 owed to tightening proviso conditions.

The study notes that caller export restrictions from large suppliers person contributed to accrued terms volatility.

Investment successful the assemblage fell by 9% successful 2025, ending respective years of growth.

Over the past 2 years, Indonesia and China accounted for much than three-quarters of maturation successful refined mineral supply, further concentrating the market, peculiarly successful refining operations.

Restrictions implemented connected uncommon world exports successful April 2025 led immoderate manufacturers to trim oregon halt production.

The IEA estimates that up to $6.5tn successful yearly downstream accumulation extracurricular China could beryllium affected if specified measures are expanded.

Nevertheless, the bureau observed advancement successful nationalist financing commitments for captious minerals projects, which much than quadrupled betwixt 2023 and 2025.

Some countries including the US and Malaysia person begun to situation China's presumption successful uncommon world refining.

France has responded to these planetary pressures with a €500m ($571.76m) captious minerals strategy, launched successful 2023 arsenic portion of the France 2030 concern plan.

The inaugural aims to trim dependence connected outer sources for 26 cardinal earthy materials.

Efforts see processing home extraction and processing capacity, with existent projects targeting lithium-rich geothermal brines successful Alsace, and caller lithium accumulation facilities led by companies specified arsenic Lithium de France and Imerys.

Processing capableness is besides being expanded, with Carester processing a uncommon world separation works successful Normandy, and Eramet, a Paris-based miner, investing successful manganese refining successful Dunkirk.

France is further supporting the recycling of materials done companies including Veolia and SUEZ, with the purpose of establishing an 'urban mine' for recovering lithium, cobalt and nickel from utilized batteries.

"IEA highlights proviso risks for France successful captious minerals sector" was primitively created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand.