Critical Minerals Mining Companies

Mining companies form the foundation of the critical minerals supply chain, extracting the raw materials that downstream processors, manufacturers, and technology companies depend upon. The mining landscape for critical minerals is shaped by geological concentration, where commercially viable deposits of many strategic metals exist in only a few countries, and by corporate concentration, where a small number of companies control significant shares of global production. Understanding these companies, their operations, strategies, and competitive positions is essential for anyone analyzing supply chain security or investment opportunities in the sector.

Diversified Mining Majors

The world's largest mining companies have increasingly recognized critical minerals as a strategic growth area. BHP, the world's biggest miner by market capitalization, has expanded its exposure to copper and nickel, both of which appear on multiple national critical minerals lists, through acquisitions and organic growth in its operations across Australia, Chile, and Canada. Rio Tinto operates one of the world's largest lithium mines at Jadar in Serbia (subject to regulatory approvals) and produces significant quantities of titanium dioxide, borates, and aluminium through its global portfolio. The company also operates the Kennecott copper mine in Utah and has invested in battery materials research through partnerships with academic institutions.

Glencore stands out among the majors for its dominant position in cobalt production, primarily through its Mutanda and Katanga operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Glencore is also a major producer of zinc, nickel, and copper, and its trading division gives it unparalleled visibility into global commodity flows. Vale, the Brazilian mining giant, is one of the world's largest nickel producers through its operations in Canada, Indonesia, and New Caledonia. Anglo American produces platinum group metals through its Amplats subsidiary in South Africa and has significant copper operations in Chile and Peru.

Specialist Lithium Producers

The lithium market is dominated by a handful of major producers that have scaled rapidly to meet surging demand from the electric vehicle battery sector. Albemarle Corporation, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, operates lithium brine extraction facilities at the Salar de Atacama in Chile and hard rock mining operations at Greenbushes in Western Australia, one of the world's highest-grade spodumene deposits. SQM (Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile) is Albemarle's neighbor at the Salar de Atacama and the world's second-largest lithium producer, benefiting from the uniquely high lithium concentrations in Chilean brines.

Pilbara Minerals and IGO Limited represent the Australian hard rock lithium segment, operating major spodumene mines in Western Australia's Pilgangoora and Greenbushes regions respectively. Ganfeng Lithium and Tianqi Lithium are the dominant Chinese producers, with integrated operations spanning mining in Australia, Argentina, and China, through to lithium chemical production for battery manufacturers. These Chinese producers have pursued aggressive global expansion, acquiring equity stakes in lithium deposits across multiple continents to secure raw material supply for China's battery manufacturing ecosystem.

Rare Earth Miners

Rare earth mining remains heavily concentrated in China, which accounts for approximately 60 percent of global mine production. China Northern Rare Earth Group, the world's largest rare earth producer, operates mines and processing facilities in Inner Mongolia. Outside China, MP Materials operates the Mountain Pass mine in California, the only active rare earth mine in the United States, producing rare earth concentrates that are shipped to China for separation and refining. Lynas Rare Earths, headquartered in Australia, operates the Mount Weld mine in Western Australia and a separation plant in Pahang, Malaysia, making it the largest rare earth producer outside of China.

Emerging rare earth miners include Energy Fuels, which has begun producing rare earth carbonates from its White Mesa mill in Utah, and Vital Metals, which operated the Nechalacho mine in Canada's Northwest Territories. Iluka Resources is building a rare earth refinery in Eneabba, Western Australia, backed by Australian government funding. These projects represent critical efforts to diversify the rare earth supply chain away from Chinese dominance, though scaling production to commercially significant volumes remains challenging given China's cost advantages and established processing infrastructure. For more on the processing bottleneck, see processing and refining bottlenecks.

Cobalt and Nickel Miners

Cobalt mining is geographically concentrated in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which supplies roughly 70 percent of the world's cobalt, primarily as a byproduct of copper mining. Beyond Glencore, major producers include CMOC Group (formerly China Molybdenum), which acquired the Tenke Fungurume mine from Freeport-McMoRan, and Barrick Gold, which produces cobalt from its Lumwana copper mine in Zambia. The artisanal and small-scale mining sector in the DRC also contributes significantly to cobalt supply, raising supply chain due diligence concerns around labor practices and conflict minerals.

Nickel mining is more geographically dispersed, with major production centers in Indonesia, the Philippines, Russia, New Caledonia, Australia, and Canada. Indonesia has emerged as the world's dominant nickel producer, with companies like PT Vale Indonesia, Harita Nickel, and numerous Chinese-Indonesian joint ventures operating large laterite nickel operations. Norilsk Nickel (Nornickel) in Russia is one of the world's largest producers of high-grade nickel, palladium, and platinum, though Western sanctions have complicated its commercial relationships since 2022.

Junior Miners and Exploration Companies

A vibrant ecosystem of junior mining companies is advancing critical mineral deposits toward production, often in jurisdictions that Western governments consider strategically favorable. Companies like Patriot Battery Metals (lithium in Canada), Chalice Mining (nickel-copper-PGE in Australia), ioneer (lithium-boron in Nevada), and Aclara Resources (rare earths in Chile and Brazil) represent the pipeline of future production that could help diversify supply chains. Junior miners face significant challenges including capital-intensive development, lengthy permitting timelines, and the technical complexity of processing non-traditional deposit types. Government support through mechanisms like the U.S. Defense Production Act, the EU Critical Raw Materials Act, and the Australian Critical Minerals Facility is increasingly important in bridging the financing gap for these emerging producers.

For information on how these mining operations fit into the broader supply chain, see mining in our supply chain section. To explore the specific projects these companies are developing, visit our mines project database.