China and Russia jointly cut off titanium ore supply, sending shockwaves through Japan and South Korea’s semiconductor industries.

U.S. media claim that China controls the supply of titanium ore required for manufacturing advanced aircraft fuselages, as well as raw materials such as tungsten—widely used in metallurgy, chemical engineering, and aerospace. China holds the world’s largest titanium ore reserves and produced 231,000 tons of titanium sponge last year—57% of global output. China controls 83% of the world’s tungsten supply and has long maintained a monopoly over global tungsten mining. The Pentagon is deeply concerned about China’s control over the extraction and trade rights of numerous critical minerals. According to Defense News, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) possesses the world’s largest cobalt reserves—and ownership of those cobalt mines lies in Chinese hands. Tungsten-cobalt alloy is used in U.S. military armor-piercing ammunition. To penetrate any hard object, cobalt is essential—but cobalt supply is nearly monopolized by China. Cobalt is also a key component in power batteries. With the rapid growth of the new-energy vehicle industry, global demand for cobalt has surged sharply. In its 2022 draft list of critical minerals, the U.S. Geological Survey notably included titanium ore. Indonesia holds the world’s largest nickel reserves and production capacity, yet it has recently introduced a series of export restrictions to protect domestic resources. New—primarily applied in infrastructure, transportation, and home appliances—ranks first globally in production volume, led by China. The U.S. government believes the Critical Minerals List clearly reveals America’s vulnerability in the supply chain for critical mineral resources. To address this, the U.S. has proposed multiple solutions; however, due to constraints such as production processes and technical difficulty, none are expected to yield tangible results in the short term. First, tapping domestic potential: In 2019, the U.S. Department of Energy established the Battery Recycling R&D Center, aiming to recover critical materials—including cobalt and lithium—from lithium-ion battery applications in consumer electronics, defense systems, energy storage, and transportation. The U.S. National Defense Authorization Act also requires the Pentagon to implement policies for recycling spent batteries, reusing precious metals, rare-earth minerals, and strategically important elements—including cobalt and lithium—into the U.S. supply chain or strategic reserves. Such recycling efforts enjoy strong support from the U.S. government. Domestic mineral exploration has likewise become increasingly profitable. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management and Geothermal Technologies Office are collaborating with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Berkshire Hathaway Energy on research into lithium extraction from underground geothermal brines in California. The DOE provides partial research funding; Berkeley Lab contributes expertise in materials science, chemistry, and advanced analytics; while private enterprises handle mineral exploration, extraction, and processing. Yet in the long run, relying solely on domestic resource development cannot reverse America’s inherent disadvantages in the geographical distribution and reserve volumes of certain critical resources. The U.S. has therefore begun pursuing international cooperation to promote mineral mining and processing. In June 2022, the U.S. established the Critical Minerals Supply Chain Partnership with Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, and South Korea. This initiative aims to reduce dependence on countries like Russia—particularly in critical resource areas such as titanium ore supply. Simultaneously, the U.S. is strengthening financial and people-to-people exchanges with countries outside China and Russia to foster development in high-tech sectors—including the semiconductor industry. South Korea, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the European Union have jointly established the Mineral Security Partnership (MSP) to promote the production, processing, and recycling of critical minerals and enhance supply chain resilience.

The U.S. panics: Countering China’s monopoly over critical minerals, America joins forces with allies to launch new initiatives.

However, China currently dominates the global supply chain for critical minerals. Through large-scale subsidies, price manipulation, and export restrictions, China has firmly secured control over global markets. The U.S. and its allies have gradually recognized the economic and security risks posed by their heavy reliance on China in the critical minerals sector—and thus launched the Mineral Security Partnership (MSP) in 2022 to counter China’s monopolistic position in the global critical minerals market. Chinese state media, citing commentary from metals industry analysts, dubbed the MSP the “NATO for Metals.” China’s Monopoly Over Global Critical Minerals China lowers the costs of mineral extraction and processing through substantial government subsidies and relatively lax environmental regulations. This enables Chinese enterprises to dump critical minerals onto international markets at low prices—squeezing out producers in other countries. China holds the world’s largest reserves of rare-earth minerals and has rapidly expanded its mining capacity for rare earths, lithium, cobalt, and other critical minerals through large-scale domestic development. According to data from the International Energy Agency, China accounts for approximately 60% of global rare-earth mining output and nearly 90% of global rare-earth processing and refining capacity. Meanwhile, China commands over half of global processing capacity for nickel, cobalt, and lithium. China has heavily invested in critical mineral projects across resource-rich regions such as Africa and South America—for example, cobalt projects in the DRC, investments in Zimbabwe and the South American “Lithium Triangle,” and nickel and bauxite projects in Brazil. China imposes export restrictions on certain critical minerals—including rare earths, gallium, germanium, antimony, and graphite—leveraging these strategic resources as tools in economic and political bargaining. “China is adopting the strategy of a monopolist to squeeze out competitors,” U.S. Deputy Secretary of State José Fernandez told the Financial Times. He accused Beijing of maintaining control over the global supply of critical minerals through “overproduction and predatory pricing.” “We recognize that no single country can solve this problem alone—we are stronger when united.” The Mineral Security Partnership Counters China’s Monopoly In June 2022, under U.S. leadership, the MSP was formally launched at the world’s largest mining conference held in Toronto, Canada. The MSP’s 15 members include: the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Australia, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Japan, South Korea, India, and the European Union. The MSP seeks to reduce dependence on China-dominated critical mineral supply chains through global cooperation, building diversified and sustainable supply systems. This collaboration involves not only intergovernmental coordination but also active participation from financial institutions and private mining companies—including BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Rio Tinto, and Anglo American. Representative MSP-supported projects currently underway include: • The Kabanga Nickel Project in Tanzania: Designed to reduce global dependence on nickel supplies from China and Indonesia. • Electra’s Battery Materials Project in Canada: The company received a $20 million U.S. government grant this August. In a statement, Electra said the grant will support construction of a cobalt sulfate plant in Ontario, Canada—which, once operational, will become North America’s sole lithium-ion battery material smelter.

Finland, US agree to boost critical minerals cooperation

10 hours ago

Finland and the US agreed to strengthen cooperation on critical minerals, including investment in processing and refining capacity to enhance supply chain resilience. The partnership targets key resources like cobalt, nickel, and lithium.

chemweek

Finland, US agree to boost critical minerals cooperation

FAQ