# Our work


## Workstreams

The initiative advances collaboration across four interconnected workstreams from investment mobilization to trade dialogue. Together, they reflect how the initiative brings global partners together to navigate complexity, build shared understanding and enable coordinated action across mineral value chains.


### Regional Deep Dives

Surface regional opportunities, promote economic value creation beyond extraction, and align investment and policy strategies to region-specific contexts and challenges.


### Trade dialogue

Facilitate high-level dialogue between global leaders and produce insights to improve minerals trade.


### Investment Mobilization

Identify investment and mobilize public and private capital by highlighting de-risking mechanisms and innovative financing solutions.


### Innovation & Responsible Sourcing

Highlight technological innovation in extraction, processing, and recycling alongside responsible sourcing practices to future-proof mineral value chains.


## Workstream 1: Regional Deep Dives

Regional Deep Dives connect global dialogue with regional realities. Designed to connect global trends with regional realities, they support multistakeholder engagement and coordinated approaches to policy, investment, and innovation.


### Southern Africa

Southern Africa is a resource-rich region with significant potential to contribute to global critical mineral supply chains. At the same time, stakeholders face challenges related to investment risk, infrastructure gaps, policy alignment and sustainability requirements.Related insight: Securing Minerals for Energy and Technologies: Finance for Southern Africa (2025).

[Discover more](https://initiatives.weforum.org/securing-minerals-energy-technologies/southern-africa)


### LATAM

Latin America plays a growing role in the supply of minerals critical to energy systems and advanced technologies. Regional stakeholders are navigating evolving policy frameworks, environmental and social expectations, and increasing global demand.Related insight: Energy Transition Readiness: Latin America and the Caribbean (2025).

[Discover more](https://initiatives.weforum.org/securing-minerals-energy-technologies/southern-africa)


### ASEAN

Southeast Asia is rapidly emerging as a strategic hub for critical minerals, anchored by Indonesia and the Philippines for nickel and cobalt, Myanmar and Thailand for rare earths, and a growing cluster of countries supplying bauxite, copper, and manganese. The region's resource base, combined with deepening industrial capacity, positions ASEAN as an indispensable partner in global energy transition supply chains.In scope – 2026/2027


### Europe

Europe’s critical raw material value chains are highly trade dependent, exposing European industries to supply disruption and price volatility. While the EU has stepped up efforts through the Critical Raw Materials Act, industrial policy proposals, and strategic partnerships, strengthened supply has not yet materialised, and sustained momentum is required.In scope – 2026/2027


## Workstream 2: Trade dialogue

Facilitating high-level dialogue to reduce concentration risks, ease policy barriers and promote transparency across global mineral supply chains and trade frameworks. As mineral demand grows, supply security depends on diversification, stronger policy coordination and clearer signals between governments and industry.


## >220 new trade restrictions affecting critical minerals were recorded in 2025.

Countries are pursuing bilateral agreements and plurilateral clubs to strengthen mineral supply chain resilience and deepen cooperation with like-minded governments. Source: Global Trade Alert


## Workstream 3: Investment mobilization

Identifying investment needs across mineral value chains and mobilizing public and private capital through de-risking mechanisms and innovative financing solutions to bridge projected supply-demand gaps and strengthen resilience.


## ~$200 billion of yearly investment gap.

Investment is constrained by high capital intensity, significant price and policy uncertainty, and limited mechanisms to de-risk projects.Source: OECD


## Workstream 4: Innovation and Responsible sourcing

Identifying shared challenges and opportunities to enable collaboration across technology, data, and operating models, connecting innovation efforts with industrial hubs for real-world testing and scaling. Innovation in mining and metals remains uneven, happening in isolated pockets rather than embedded across the industry.


## 11% of global GHG emissions come from mining and metals.

Making responsible innovation in extraction, processing and recycling are critical to decarbonizing mineral value chains.Source: International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM)