EU and US host Minerals Security Partnership Forum workshop on critical minerals supply chains

Today, the EU, the US and other stakeholders in the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) took part in a workshop titled 'Public-Private Investment in Critical Minerals Focusing on Developing a Positive, Trade-Friendly Local Value Addition Agenda in Producing Countries'.   

This was the first in a series of workshops that will be organised under the MSP Forum. The workshop took place in Brussels during the 2024 edition of Raw Materials Week. Participants discussed three key issues: the challenges facing investors, government policies aimed at fostering the development of the critical raw materials sector, and ways to mobilise investment to increase local value addition. 

Fostering investment in critical raw materials and creating sustainable local value addition for resource-rich countries is a key facet of the MSP Forum. Participants from financial institutions highlighted the importance of de-risking the investment climate to facilitate more investment, while government representatives outlined how successful policy initiatives can support greater development of the critical raw materials sector. Finally, representatives from civil society provided valuable insights into the inclusion of local communities, and the importance of upholding the highest possible sustainability standards and mitigating environmental and social risks in critical material projects. 

Next steps

The MSP Forum will convene another workshop on environmental, social and governance standards during the Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town in February 2025. 

Background

The MSP Forum builds on the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Package adopted in March 2023, which emphasised the need for more diverse and more sustainable critical raw materials (CRM) supply chains through new international mutually supportive partnerships, such as the CRM Club. The MSP consists of 15 partners, who are automatic members of the MSP Forum (Australia, Canada, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States and the EU), alongside 15 new MSP Forum members (Argentina, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Greenland, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Namibia, Peru, the Philippines, Serbia, Türkiye, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Zambia).

CRMs are indispensable for a wide range of technologies needed for EU strategic sectors such as the net-zero industry, digital, energy, transportation, space and defence. While demand for these critical raw materials has never been higher, the supply of CRMs faces increasing geopolitical, environmental, and social risks, highlighting the need for greater cooperation between like-minded international partners to secure and diversify CRM supply chains. 

For more information

Launch of the MSP Forum

European Critical Raw Materials Act

Minerals Security Partnership