IEA highlights supply risks for France in critical minerals sector
me-metals: The agency reports that critical mineral prices rebounded in 2025 and early 2026 after earlier declines.
According to me-metals cited by mining-technology.com, The International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned that declining investment and increasingly concentrated critical minerals supply chains could undermine efforts by countries such as France to secure materials vital to industrial and energy transitions, reported RFI
The 2026 edition of the IEA’s Global Critical Minerals Outlook provides data and analysis on supply, demand, investment and market trends for minerals considered essential to energy and manufacturing.
These include cobalt, copper, graphite, lithium, nickel and rare earth elements.
According to the IEA, the prices for these minerals, after recent declines, rebounded in 2025 and early 2026 due to tightening supply conditions.
The report notes that new export restrictions from major suppliers have contributed to increased price volatility.
Investment in the sector fell by 9% in 2025, ending several years of growth.
Over the past two years, Indonesia and China accounted for more than three-quarters of growth in refined mineral supply, further concentrating the market, particularly in refining operations.
Restrictions implemented on rare earth exports in April 2025 led some manufacturers to reduce or halt production.
The IEA estimates that up to $6.5tn in annual downstream production outside China could be affected if such measures are expanded.
Nevertheless, the agency observed progress in public financing commitments for critical minerals projects, which more than quadrupled between 2023 and 2025.
Some countries including the US and Malaysia have begun to challenge China’s position in rare earth refining.
France has responded to these global pressures with a €500m ($571.76m) critical minerals strategy, launched in 2023 as part of the France 2030 investment plan.
The initiative aims to reduce dependence on external sources for 26 key raw materials.
Efforts include developing domestic extraction and processing capacity, with current projects targeting lithium-rich geothermal brines in Alsace, and new lithium production facilities led by companies such as Lithium de France and Imerys.
Processing capacity is also being expanded, with Carester developing a rare earth separation plant in Normandy, and Eramet, a Paris-based miner, investing in manganese refining in Dunkirk.
France is further supporting the recycling of materials through companies including Veolia and SUEZ, with the aim of establishing an ‘urban mine’ for recovering lithium, cobalt and nickel from used batteries.
source: mining-technology.com
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