Critical Minerals and Rare Earths
WHY ARE MINERALS SO ESSENTIAL THAT THEY FUEL TODAY’S TENSE GEOPOLITICAL LANDSCAPE?
Critical minerals are the foundation of modern economic, technological, and military power. They are essential for semiconductors, batteries, artificial intelligence, renewable energy systems, telecommunications, aerospace industries, and advanced weapons systems. Control over these resources — and the supply chains that process them — increasingly determines industrial strength, strategic autonomy, and geopolitical influence.
Critical minerals are also referred to as rare earths, strategic metals, and industrial raw materials. They are not necessarily considered “critical” because they are geologically rare, but because supply is constrained by economics, environmental restrictions, geopolitical dependence, limited refining capacity, and long development time for new mines and processing infrastructure.
Get the critical minerals overview in seven charts
-
![Info Chart Critical Minerals Mining and Processing World Map]()
1 of 7 | Resourcing
-
![Info Chart Critical Minerals Criticality Matrix]()
2 of 7 | Criticality
-
![Info Chart Critical Minerals Value Chain]()
3 of 7 | Value Chain
-
![Info Chart Critical Minerals and Weapon System Risk]()
4 of 7 | Weapon System Risk
-
![Info Chart Minerals Enabling Industries]()
5 of 7 | Enabling Industries
-
![Info Chart Critical Minerals and Recycling]()
6 of 7 | Recycling
-
![Info Chart Critical Minerals and Environment]()
7 of 7 | Enviroment
CRITICAL MINERALS STRATEGIES
NORWEGIAN MINERAL RESOURCES
Norway holds one of Europe's largest deposits of rare earth elements, placing it at the centre of the geopolitical struggle for mineral resources. The Norwegian government plans to incorporate the EU's Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) into the EEA Agreement — a step that would extend EU authority over Norwegian mineral projects, with significant implications for national sovereignty and the welfare model built on public control of natural resources.
Get the full picture of Norway's mineral resources and the country's role in the global contest for critical minerals in The Mineral Petition.
GEOPOLITICAL ARCHIVE
The archive is built on articles that reference public and reliable sources on geopolitical events during Donald Trump's second presidential term from 2025. The events show how the United States introduced tariffs to protect its own industry, and how control over critical minerals for the industry became the driver of conflicts between former allies in the West. Ukraine, Greenland and Norway, which hold large mineral deposits, are central to the conflict between the EU and the US.