Finance institutions will team up with private industry to strengthen supply chains of critical minerals.
The Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) members unveiled a new financing network on Monday to better coordinate joint projects and facilitate information sharing. The MSP Financing Network will direct its members’ export credit and development finance agencies to join forces with private industry to support critical mineral mining, refining, and recycling projects in order to diversify and bolster supply chains, according to a joint statement. The press release emphasizes that the MSP values projects that adhere to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards and promote local value creation with positive impacts on local economies and communities.
Ten projects have so far secured MSP support. The list includes Australian Strategic Materials’ Dubbo rare earth project, which received a non-binding letter of interest to provide debt financing of up to $600 million, and Canadian cobalt producer Electra Battery Materials, which was awarded a $20 million investment from the U.S. Pentagon earlier this year. A further 30 projects are currently being evaluated by the MSP.
The Minerals Security Partnership is a multilateral association comprising 14 countries and the European Union founded in 2022 following a U.S. initiative. It seeks to strengthen supply chains of critical minerals by connecting industry nations with resource-rich nations. The background of this is China’s dominance in the sector and Western nations’ dependency on the People’s Republic. In June, South Korea assumed the one-year lead of the MSP (we reported).
Photo: Chalabala via Canva
