Demand for critical minerals that power technology from smartphones to missiles could triple by 2030 and quadruple by 2040, the United Nations political chief told the U.N. Security Council on March 5.
“A decade ago, minerals such as lithium, cobalt and nickel had limited strategic importance,” Undersecretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo said. “Today, they underpin the technologies powering the digital economy and the energy transition.”
Calling critical minerals one of the main drivers of the 21st century economy, DiCarlo said that in 2023, trade in raw and semi-processed minerals reached approximately $2.5 trillion.
“This represents more than 10 percent of global trade,” she said. “Demand could triple by 2030 and quadruple by 2040.”
The Trump administration is making bold moves to shore up supplies of critical minerals needed for electric vehicles, fighter jets and other high-tech products. China, which has had a stranglehold on rare earth minerals, choked off their flow in response to President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs last year.
As part of the U.S. effort to diversify critical mineral supplies, which also includes Australia and Ukraine , the administration is stepping up cooperation with Venezuela and Congo.
Last month, Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi offered U.S. companies access to eastern Congo’s rich minerals — mostly untapped because of decades of violence and estimated to be worth $24 trillion — as a bargaining chip for U.S. support to help fight off rebels and build critical infrastructure in the region.
