Global Critical Minerals Diplomacy Reaches 139 Agreements, but 68% Remain Nonbinding

Highlights

• IISD tracked 139 mineral-linked agreements out of 211 economic agreements since January 2025, with the US leading at 41 agreements.
• 68% of mineral agreements are nonbinding and 39% lack publicly available texts, raising questions about real-world impact.
• China's processing dominance persists; REEx urges investors to track committed financing, offtake terms, and verified production over diplomatic deals.
• 84 agreements involve resource-rich governments seeking domestic value-chain development, but infrastructure gaps threaten project economics.