NEW DELHI, July 19 (ANI): Global investment in critical minerals declined 9% in 2025, ending several years of growth despite strong long-term demand for minerals essential to clean energy technologies, electric vehicles, and advanced industries, according to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2026.
The report attributed the slowdown to rising geopolitical tensions, price volatility, and a more cautious investment environment, even as demand fundamentals remained strong.
“Critical mineral investment declined by 9% in 2025, ending several years of growth. Amid rising geopolitical tensions and price volatility, investors became more cautious despite strong underlying demand,” the report said.
Battery metals experienced the sharpest decline in investment.
According to the report, capital spending in the battery metals segment fell by more than 20%, marking the steepest decline in more than a decade. Lithium companies reduced investment by about 40%.
In contrast, copper continued to attract investment, with capital spending by copper-focused companies increasing 8%, reflecting confidence in the metal’s long-term demand outlook, the report said.
The IEA also reported that exploration spending declined by more than 10% in 2025.
Investment in lithium and nickel exploration dropped by about 45%, outweighing steady spending on copper exploration and modest growth in uranium exploration.
Most regions recorded lower exploration budgets, although the Asia-Pacific region stood out with a 20% increase.
Despite weaker private-sector investment, governments significantly increased financial support for critical mineral projects.
“Public finance commitments in advanced economies reached around USD 65 billion in 2025, over four times higher than in 2023,” the report said.
The IEA noted, however, that a substantial gap remains between announced funding commitments and actual disbursements, which will ultimately determine the effectiveness of efforts to diversify global supply chains.
The report also found that investment across the critical minerals value chain remains uneven.
While mining projects continue to advance, refining and downstream processing capacity are not expanding at the same pace.
“Analysis of project pipelines reveals a structural imbalance in efforts to promote supply chain diversification, with refining and downstream capacity lagging behind mining,” the IEA said.
It added that planned cathode production capacity for battery materials amounts to only about one-third of projected lithium mining capacity, underscoring the need for more balanced investment throughout the supply chain.
The agency said governments are increasingly using policy tools—including grants, concessional loans, and equity participation—to reduce investment risks and encourage private-sector funding for strategically important mineral projects as countries work to build more resilient and diversified supply chains. (ANI)
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