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A new race to secure critical minerals is unfolding across the global economy.
From Washington’s proposed $12 billion Project Vault stockpile to expanding buffers in Asia and the European Union, governments are moving to secure access to metals increasingly viewed as essential to national security and industrial policy.
“In metals and minerals is where the newest wave of stockpiling is most visible,” said Patrick Schröder, senior research fellow at Chatham House. Governments are seeking to reduce exposure to concentrated supply chains and export controls, he said.
In the U.S., officials recently outlined a roughly $12 billion strategic mineral reserve dubbed Project Vault. The initiative aims to bolster supply-chain resilience for American industry by building stockpiles of rare earths and other essential metals for electrification, defense and advanced manufacturing.
