Critical Minerals Policy Tracker

Methodology

Building on the IEA’s landmark report The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions as well as World Energy Investment 2022 and World Energy Outlook 2022, this Critical Minerals Policy Tracker is intended as a tool to help governments to explore new critical mineral policies in the three key policy areas of:

  • Ensuring supply reliability and resiliency.
  • Promoting exploration, production and innovation.
  • Encouraging sustainable and responsible practices.

The Tracker’s primary component is an interactive data tool that shows which policy approaches 25 countries and regions are already using to achieve their goals. Across the three policy areas, a non-exhaustive list presents 15 different types of policies that can serve each of these aims, and the explorer also indicates which policies each focus country has in place. From this brief summary, it is possible to identify potential gaps in national regulatory regimes as well as discover good practices from other countries.

Initial focus countries and regions of the Critical Minerals Policy Tracker

Country/region

Primary role

Major resources

Argentina

Producer

Lithium

Australia

Producer, consumer (end user)

Lithium, cobalt, bauxite

Bolivia

Producer

Lithium

Brazil

Producer

Bauxite, graphite

Canada

Producer, consumer (end user)

Nickel, cobalt, uranium

Chile

Producer, processor

Lithium, copper

China

Producer, processor, consumer (manufacturer)

Rare earths, bauxite

Colombia

Producer

Nickel

DRC

Producer

Cobalt, copper

Ecuador

Producer

Copper

European Union

Consumer (end user)

Recycling (secondary)

Finland

Processor, consumer (end user)

Recycling (secondary)

France

Consumer (end user)

Recycling (secondary)

Germany

Consumer (end user)

Recycling (secondary)

India

Producer, consumer (manufacturer and end user)

Bauxite, recycling (secondary)

Indonesia

Producer

Bauxite, nickel

Japan

Consumer (end user)

Recycling (secondary)

Mexico

Producer

Copper, lithium

New Zealand

Consumer (end user)

Recycling (secondary)

Peru

Producer

Copper

Philippines

Producer

Nickel

South Africa

Producer

Platinum, Palladium

Spain

Consumer (end user)

Recycling (secondary

United Kingdom

Consumer (end user)

Recycling (secondary)

United States

Producer, consumer (end user)

Lithium, copper, rare earths, recycling (secondary)

In developing this database, we comprehensively reviewed the policies, laws and regulations in place in each of our initial focus countries. Each policy has been categorised according to policy type and entered into the IEA cross-agency Policies Database, which collates information on past, existing and planned government policies and measures covering many energy sector areas, including energy efficiency, renewables, technology innovation and methane emissions abatement. All policy entries have been organised according to the following categories.

  • Strategic plans. Many countries develop a national strategy or policy roadmap identifying key priority actions for later policy development, often captured in a strategic plan or other public document.
  • Strategic mineral lists. Relevant authorities or governments are responsible for drawing up lists of all minerals designated strategic or critical. Sometimes referred to as lists of critical raw materials, they often indicate why these minerals are of particular importance and outline related policy provisions.
  • International co‑ordination mechanisms. Countries may join bilateral or regional mechanisms to co‑ordinate supply security efforts. These mechanisms may involve sharing best practices as well as collaborating on research and development, purchases, market reserves and joint stockpiling.
  • Stockpiling mechanisms. Policies can be designed to insure against risks such as supply chain disruptions, price spikes, etc. by retaining (and maintaining) reserves of extracted critical minerals. Stockpiling systems can be associated with release mechanisms triggered by supply disruptions.
  • Public investment. To develop new supply sources, countries may directly invest government funds through state-owned enterprises, by making public equity investments in private companies or projects, or by employing government procurement mechanisms to purchase output from a specific source for national stockpiles or other government usage.
  • Financing. Countries may use direct funding to support the development of domestic supplies through mechanisms such as grants, preferential loans or loan guarantees. These financial incentives can be administered to pre-existing or new extraction projects.
  • Tax incentives. Countries may use favourable tax schemes to incentivise domestic production. They may also allow tax deductions for specific types of investment.
  • Geological surveys. Countries may develop geological survey data on existing mineral reserves and make these data available both domestically and abroad. Geological data can be made directly accessible to the public, or governments can offer public funding for exploration and surveying activities.
  • Recycling support. Policies that target development of a secondary-material supply market with adequate processing capability may include research and development funding, regulations to require or increase collection rates, and other support measures for new recycling facilities.
  • Innovation funding. Measures designed to accelerate technological progress and innovation, generally through funding and information-sharing initiatives, may include direct funding through grants or subsidies for research, development, demonstration and deployment.
  • Environmental standards. Policies designed to safeguard or protect the local, regional or global environment can include air and water pollution standards specific to the mining sector, standards for managing tailings, environmental impact assessments and environmental management plans.
  • Transparency norms. Rules and regulations designed to provide public information on the extractive industry (such as those required under the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) Standard) may include requirements to publish licences or permits, production data, and tax collection and distribution rates.
  • Due diligence obligations. Requirements for companies to undertake supply chain due diligence in line with relevant international guidance (including the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas) generally involve adopting risk management systems to identify, assess, report and, ultimately, minimise or eliminate environmental and social impacts.
  • Inclusivity and gender policies. Policies can be designed to encourage gender diversity, engagement with indigenous communities, and inclusion of impacted community members’ views and feedback.
  • Permitting regimes. Governments can devise general or specific permitting or licensing regimes for mineral and metal exploitation, and can take special measures to streamline or enhance the process.
Next Acknowledgements