In the 20th regular episode of Sustainable Planet, Jorden and Kimberly explore why critical minerals are vital to modern society, excavate who’s got what and where, and unearth just how deep the issues go surrounding critical minerals.

Key Topics Jorden and Kimberly discuss include:

Why all rare earth elements (REEs) are critical minerals, but all critical minerals are not REEs

Who defines what qualifies as critical minerals and why artisanal mines aren’t trendy

How China gained a stranglehold over most of the world’s critical mineral processing

Why just because a country has 75% of the world’s cobalt reserves or 52% of the global lithium supply isn’t necessarily the #1 processor of the mineral

How a slew of acronyms—from IRMA and ICMM to ISO and IEA are attempting to regulate critical mineral extraction

Strategies to tackle the abundance of environmental and humanitarian issues surrounding the mining industry

Recommended Resources

The IEA’s Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2024

Trade Tensions Escalate

The DOD and critical minerals

Mining in Africa

Critical Minerals Recycling

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