IEA - Critical Minerals Market Review, 2023

The Critical Minerals Market Review 2023 is a comprehensive report that provides an overview of the current state of critical minerals investment and market trends. The report focuses on a wide range of minerals used in clean energy technologies, with a particular emphasis on copper, major battery metals (lithium, nickel, cobalt, and graphite), and rare earth elements. The report highlights the need for enhanced market transparency through making more data publicly available. It also discusses trends for other important minerals and metals such as aluminium, manganese, platinum group metals, and uranium as relevant. The report reveals a mixed picture for progress on different ESG dimensions among major mining companies, with headway made on community investment, worker safety, and gender balance, but slower progress on environmental sustainability. The report advocates for policies to enhance the sustainability of energy, including promoting energy efficiency, accelerating the deployment of renewable energy, and supporting innovation in clean energy technologies. The report also provides full demand and supply projections for key materials and a number of deep-dives on key issues. It responds directly to the request in the G7 Five-Point Plan for critical minerals security, where the Group of Seven ministers asked the IEA to produce medium- and long-term outlooks for critical minerals demand and supply to help inform decision making. The report highlights the importance of critical minerals for the transition to a low-carbon economy and the need for a sustainable and responsible supply chain. Overall, the report provides valuable insights into the current state of critical minerals investment and market trends, and offers recommendations for policies to enhance the sustainability of energy.