Spain plans to leverage its natural resources more effectively, while military bases in the U.S. could be converted into refineries for critical raw materials. This week, the growing dependence on China sparked interesting approaches to diversifying sourcing strategies—the details in our roundup.
Spain Seeks to Expand Domestic Mineral Mining
The Spanish government has launched the Plan de Acción de las Materias Primas Minerales 2025-2029 this week. The initiative aims to enhance the availability of strategic materials—such as rare earth elements and nickel—for the domestic industry by developing new mines and promoting secondary mining.
To the article
Reports: U.S. Government Pushes for Critical Mineral Refining on Pentagon Bases
The U.S. government reportedly plans bold steps to reduce reliance on China for critical mineral processing. According to news reports, sources close to the administration stated that President Donald Trump plans to authorize the construction of refining facilities on Pentagon military bases through an executive order, expected to be signed as soon as Wednesday.
To the article
New Resource Alliance: South Korea Plans to Invest in Mongolia’s Mining Sector
South Korea and Mongolia aim to strengthen their cooperation on critical raw materials. The partnership is designed to help Mongolia develop its resource sector while enabling resource-scarce South Korea to bolster its supply chains. However, before Mongolia can become a key supplier of energy transition materials such as lithium and rare earths, numerous challenges must be overcome.
To the article
Kazakhstan and South Africa: EU Seeks New Raw Material Sources
The EU is expanding its raw material supply: New agreements have been reached with Kazakhstan under the Global Gateway initiative. The Central Asian country possesses reserves of rare earth elements and plans to increase extraction. At the same time, the EU and South Africa have agreed to strengthen their partnership, with South Africa being the world’s largest producer of platinum group metals.
To the article