Central Asia: An emerging battlefieldfor strategic minerals

By Sergey Sukhankin – the interpreter

The world is becoming increasingly hungry for rare earth elements (REEs) and rare metals (RMs). Of particular importance are uranium, lithium, tantalum, and a range of other chemical elements.

Two main forces are driving demand. The first is economic need. With a global goal of net zero emissions and a growing reliance on artificial intelligence, the world’s appetite for green energy and the technologies to generate, store and use it are increasing. As projected by the International Energy Agency, the rising adoption of clean energy technologies is expected to quadruple the demand for REEs and RMs by 2040.