Critical minerals: What does the future hold?

Business Daily

BBC

News, Business

4.4 • 796 Ratings

🗓️ 29 May 2025

⏱️ 18 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In the final episode of our series, we've gather together a panel of experts who all have an interest in critical mineral mining.

Demand for minerals like cobalt, lithium and copper is growing rapidly, as countries turn to green energy solutions. These minerals are used in EV batteries and wind turbines.

So what does the future hold? How do countries approach China's dominance in both mining and processing, and what about the environmental and ethical concerns?

Presenter: Sam Fenwick Producer: Lexy O'Connor

(Photo: Off-shore wind turbines in Denmark, located on Middelgrunden a few kilometres outside Copenhagen. Credit: Getty Images)

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to Business Daily from the BBC World Service.
0:05.4	I'm Sam Fennick.
0:07.1	Today it's the final day in our series on critical minerals.
0:11.1	The materials at the heart of the green energy transition.
0:14.9	They include cobalt, lithium, nickel and copper,
0:18.0	and they're used to power electric cars, underpin modern defence systems, and
0:22.6	keep the global economy moving.
0:24.6	These minerals are in high demand, and that's fueling a worldwide scramble to secure supplies,
0:30.6	reshaping alliances, driving investment, and raising some big questions.
0:35.6	So in this episode, we're bringing together a panel of experts to discuss some of the issues.
0:42.0	Can countries really cut their dependence on China?
0:45.4	Can places like the Democratic Republic of Congo or Ukraine see more of the benefits from the minerals under their feet?
0:52.5	And is it even possible to mine and refine these minerals
0:56.0	without damaging the planet or exploiting people?
0:59.3	That's all coming up in today's Business Daily.
1:04.2	We have to get a significant part of our supply by ourselves.
1:08.8	When we have the operation of a plant like that in France,
1:12.3	we are able to control more precisely the impact on the environment. On a security point of view,
1:18.5	it's important, and also on the economy point of view. How far ahead is China?
1:24.6	I'd say they have a good 10 years. 10 years? Yes.
1:28.5	China has gradually built up and strengthened its export control regime
1:35.6	and then reflects a broader growing concern of China's weaponization of its control.
	...

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