Critical Minerals Weekly: China’s Rare Earth Reset, Copper Overcapacity, and Zimbabwe’s Big Lithium Gamble

File image of Chinese inspectors walking past piles of rare earths at the Port of Lianyungang in east China's Jiangsu province. (Photo by Wang chun / Imaginechina / Imaginechina via AFP)

This is a free preview of the upcoming Critical Minerals Weekly Digest, part of the new CGSP Intelligence service launching in Summer 2025.

After months of strategic restrictions, China has agreed to resume rare earth exports to the U.S. as part of a broader trade deal. This ends a crisis that crippled sectors such as automotive, defense, and robotics. The trade talks have demonstrated that China’s control over rare earths and high-performance magnets is not only economically significant but has also become a strategic and security lever.

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by Obert Bore

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