Critical minerals play an essential role in defense, semiconductors, energy transition technologies, manufacturing, aviation, and other strategic industries. Yet markets for these materials are often characterized by limited transparency, fragmented data, and rapidly evolving geopolitical dynamics.

To help address this challenge, S&P Global has published five draft market reports examining critical mineral supply chains and providing an independent view of market fundamentals, supply chain bottlenecks, structural costs, and opportunities to strengthen supply resilience and transparency outside concentrated sources of supply and production.

Building a More Transparent Understanding of Critical Mineral Markets

As governments, investors, producers, processors, and manufacturers navigate an increasingly complex critical minerals landscape, access to consistent analysis and market intelligence is becoming increasingly important.

These reports are being released to start a dialogue process with producers, processors, consumers, investors, policymakers, and other market participants. The goal is to foster constructive discussion, improve the quality of the analysis, and continue building a more transparent understanding of these strategically important markets.

A Bottom-Up View of Supply Chains

In order to improve transparency and provide market participants with a consistent framework for understanding future supply, demand, structural costs, and investment requirements, S&P Global has developed a bottom-up, asset-level understanding of these supply chains.

The analysis draws on extensive research, industry engagement, company analysis, and proprietary market intelligence to provide an independent perspective on the factors shaping critical mineral markets.

Five Critical Minerals in Focus

The initial reports cover:

• Tungsten
• NdPr (Neodymium-Praseodymium)
• Antimony
• Gallium
• Germanium

Together, the reports examine markets that support a range of strategic industries and technologies while providing insight into supply chain dynamics, market fundamentals, and opportunities to strengthen supply resilience and transparency.

An Ongoing Research Initiative

These five reports are part of ongoing research from S&P Global to provide greater transparency and understanding across critical mineral markets, with future reports expanding coverage to additional minerals.

S&P Global would also like to acknowledge and thank Rovjok and Project Blue for their feedback and contribution.

Continuing the Conversation

Critical minerals are increasingly central to industries ranging from defense and manufacturing to semiconductors and energy transition technologies. Improving transparency around these markets can help market participants better understand future supply, demand, structural costs, investment requirements, and supply chain dynamics.

By publishing these draft reports, S&P Global aims to support informed discussion and contribute to a more transparent understanding of critical mineral markets.