Investment In Critical Minerals Falls By Nine Percent In 2025, Warns IEA

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You probably know that high-tech gadgets, clean energy, and aerospace technologies all rely on a host of critical minerals, which include rare earth elements like neodymium and dysprosium. But despite the push to diversify supply chains, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has just announced that investment in these minerals fell by nine percent in 2025.

The Paris-based agency, which advises energy-consuming nations, made this warning in a report that's being taken very seriously by governments and industries around the world. According to the IEA, the geographic concentration of supply chains for critical minerals has narrowed further, particularly for refining. Top refining nations China and Indonesia accounted for over three-quarters of total growth in refined supply in the past two years.

The IEA pointed in particular to the proliferation of export controls as creating economic and security challenges. Rare earth export controls introduced by China in April 2025 forced some automakers to reduce production or temporarily suspend operations. The agency estimated that if Beijing follows through on plans to expand export controls, an estimated $6.5 trillion in annual downstream production outside China could be jeopardised.

Public financing commitments, however, more than quadrupled between 2023 and 2025. The United States and Malaysia are already reducing China's dominance in refining rare earths, it said. This is a significant development, especially as China's grip on the global supply of raw materials continues to tighten.

The IEA noted that over the last year in particular, concerns about high supply concentration have moved from being a theoretical vulnerability into an immediate economic security challenge. Tim Gould, the IEA's chief economist, said: 'Rare earth export controls introduced by China in April 2025 forced some automakers to reduce production or temporarily suspend operations.'

As the world increasingly relies on high-tech gadgets, clean energy, and aerospace technologies, governments and industries are starting to take this issue very seriously. The IEA's warning should serve as a wake-up call to policymakers and businesses alike to take action and address the growing vulnerability of global supply chains.