FP Collections

The Scramble for Critical Minerals

What do Canada, Greenland, Panama, and Ukraine have in common? If you’re U.S. President Donald Trump, the answer could be potential access to China-free supply chains for critical minerals. These resources underpin technologies from advanced weapons systems to green energy—and have become a through line in Trump’s chaotic foreign-policy agenda. Subscribe to Foreign Policy now to gain access to a collection of vital perspectives on this century’s great green game to download and read at your leisure.

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What do Canada, Greenland, Panama, and Ukraine have in common? If you’re U.S. President Donald Trump, the answer could be potential access to China-free supply chains for critical minerals. These resources underpin technologies from advanced weapons systems to green energy—and have become a through line in Trump’s chaotic foreign-policy agenda. As a Foreign Policy subscriber, you can download a collection of vital perspectives on this century’s great green game to read and digest at your leisure.

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The cover of an FP Collections titled: The Scramble for Critical Minerals with a photo of an excavator atop minerals in a mine.
The cover of an FP Collections titled: The Scramble for Critical Minerals with a photo of an excavator atop minerals in a mine.

List of The Scramble for Critical Minerals articles

A worker mans a furnace during the nickel-smelting process in Indonesia’s South Sulawesi province.
A worker mans a furnace during the nickel-smelting process in Indonesia’s South Sulawesi province.

Trump’s Chaotic Agenda Has a Critical Through Line

What do Greenland, Canada, and Ukraine have in common? Critical minerals.

Analysis
Christina Lu
A hand holds a small glass bottle.
A hand holds a small glass bottle.

Rich Countries Stockpiling Critical Minerals Is Not a Plan

Remember the 1973 oil shock?

Argument
Patrick Schröder
A woman in a mask touches an XRF gun.
A woman in a mask touches an XRF gun.

What the Critical Minerals Race Means for Women

They are crucial to the success of mining yet disproportionately shoulder its negative consequences.

Analysis
Jessica Anania
The top of a Virginia-class submarine peeks out above the ocean, its forward fin looming against a pale blue sky.
The top of a Virginia-class submarine peeks out above the ocean, its forward fin looming against a pale blue sky.

America’s Military Runs on Chinese Rare Earths

But the Pentagon is hoping it can change that. This article has an audio recording

Report
Christina Lu
A general view of a rare-earth refinery north of the Inner Mongolian city of Baotou on Aug. 20, 2012.
A general view of a rare-earth refinery north of the Inner Mongolian city of Baotou on Aug. 20, 2012.

How Rare Earths Became China’s Top Trade Weapon

Washington wasn’t always so vulnerable to Beijing’s chokehold.

Explainer
Christina Lu
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen looks on during a press conference at the end of a European Council summit at the EU headquarters in Brussels on April 18, 2024.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen looks on during a press conference at the end of a European Council summit at the EU headquarters in Brussels on April 18, 2024.

Can Europe Break Free From China’s Rare-Earth Grip?

Brussels is worried it could be Beijing’s next target.

Report
Christina Lu
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Rwandan Foreign Affairs Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe and Congolese Foreign Affairs Minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner in the White House in Washington, D.C.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Rwandan Foreign Affairs Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe and Congolese Foreign Affairs Minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner in the White House in Washington, D.C.

Washington Should Prioritize Transparency and Sanctions in Congolese Critical Minerals Deal

Peace between Rwanda and Congo is good news, but more pressure is needed to make it stick.

Argument
Sasha Lezhnev, John Prendergast
Xi and Trump walk side by side.
Xi and Trump walk side by side.

How Strong Is China’s Rare-Earth Card? 

Washington is making big moves, but Beijing has a powerful hand.  This article has an audio recording

Analysis
Christina Lu
A man in a hard hat watches a conveyor belt loaded with bright blue chunks of raw cobalt.
A man in a hard hat watches a conveyor belt loaded with bright blue chunks of raw cobalt.

How to Avoid a New Cold War Over Critical Minerals

To prevent a return to the zero-sum logic of Cold War resource politics, critical mineral supply chains must be widened at every step.

Argument
Cullen Hendrix