The United States convened more than 50 countries in Washington this week for a critical minerals summit that delivered a flurry of new initiatives designed to reshape the geopolitics — and pricing mechanics — of minerals essential to semiconductors, electric vehicles and the defense supply chain.

Explore the critical minerals trade shift in the US as tariffs and pricing negotiations become a priority for the government.

Understand how Rio Tinto’s potential acquisition of Glencore could signal a shift in large-scale mining economics and strategy.

Russian aluminium producer Rusal is making a calculated entry into the East African market, going into partnership with Ethiopia’s sovereign wealth fund to build an aluminium smelter with capacity for 500,000 tonnes per year

Canada has officially designated select minerals – including graphite, scandium, and rare earths – as national security priorities under the country’s Defence Production Act, providing guaranteed buyers for some domestic producers and signalling a move closer to government-backed price floors.

As global smelting margins weaken, a quiet revival is taking shape in the United States as new copper smelting and refining projects gather momentum. Policy shifts, strategic incentives and the push for industrial resilience are driving investment that could close America’s long-standing processing gap and reshape its role in the global copper market.

Harena Resources is staking a claim in Madagascar’s rare earths sector, intending to supply the US amid rising global demand and the continued dominance of Chinese producers, the company’s chairman has told Fastmarkets.

ACG Metals expects to begin to produce copper and zinc concentrates in mid-2026, marking a shift from gold toward base metals, as part of its plan to build a mid-tier copper company, according to its founder, chairman and chief executive officer.

Read this exclusive interview with the London Metal Exchange’s chairman, John Williamson, who took over the LME at a time when the 147-year-old institution was facing one of its most difficult periods in living memory.