Future Minerals Forum 2026 Launches Pioneering FMF Barometer: Tracking Critical Minerals Supply Chains for Decarbonization, AI, and Global Growth

The Future Minerals Forum (FMF), the world’s premier government-led platform for critical minerals, officially launched the inaugural FMF Barometer on the opening day of FMF 2026. This groundbreaking tool provides the first comprehensive baseline for measuring progress in developing resilient and responsible critical mineral value chains across the “Super Region” — encompassing Africa, Western Asia, Central Asia, and Latin America.

Developed in partnership with McKinsey & Company and leading global experts, the FMF Barometer integrates stakeholder sentiment, market data, project-level insights, and intelligence into a single authoritative platform. It serves as a vital benchmark to guide governments, companies, and investors amid surging demand for minerals essential to decarbonization, artificial intelligence (AI), electric vehicles (EVs), renewable energy, and digital infrastructure.

Key Insights from the Inaugural FMF Barometer

The report highlights stark disparities in global mining investment:

• In the first three quarters of 2025, global mining mergers and acquisitions (M&A) totaled approximately $30 billion, with 74% of deal value concentrated in Latin America.
• Latin American mining deal values have surged over 200% since 2021.
• In contrast, Africa’s mining deal value declined by 79% over the same period, signaling shifting risk perceptions.

Despite the Super Region holding more than 50% of global critical mineral reserves, it attracts the lowest exploration expenditure worldwide. These trends expose a widening gap between vast mineral endowments and actual capital flows.

Saudi Vice Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources for Mining Affairs Khalid Al-Mudaifer emphasized:

The FMF Barometer is the first global effort to benchmark the readiness of critical mineral ecosystems amid surging demand for electric mobility, renewable energy, digital infrastructure, and defense applications.

The Barometer will continue tracking shifts in risk perception, investment flows, and advancements toward resilient supply chains.

The Future Minerals Framework: A Blueprint for Sustainable Value Chains

Underpinning the Barometer is the Future Minerals Framework, crafted with input from over 47 experts from multilateral organizations, NGOs, and private companies. Introduced at the 2025 Ministerial Roundtable, it outlines coordinated action across exploration, mining, logistics, processing, and advanced manufacturing to build sustainable value chains.

Jeffrey Lorch, Partner at McKinsey & Company, noted:

By integrating market data, stakeholder sentiment, and value-chain benchmarks, the FMF Barometer provides companies with a strategic roadmap to navigate volatility and unlock long-term growth.

Why Critical Minerals Matter: Leaders’ Urgent Call to Action

Critical minerals — including lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper, manganese, silicon, and rare earth elements — are indispensable for the global energy transition.

Industry visionaries reinforced their centrality:

• Robert Friedland (Founder, Ivanhoe Mines, Ivanhoe Electric, I-Pulse):

  You cannot decarbonize, compute, or transmit without mining. Electrifying power systems, digitizing the economy, and the explosive growth of AI are converging into a single, metals-intensive future.

• Duncan Wanblad (CEO, Anglo American): Global copper demand is projected to grow 75% to 56 million tonnes per annum by 2050, requiring around 60 new mines like Quellaveco in the next decade.
• Gustavo Pimenta (CEO, Vale):

  Mining is essential to everything — from AI processing units to EV batteries, wind turbines, and everyday devices.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects demand for critical minerals could rise dramatically — nearly tripling by 2030 in net-zero scenarios — with battery-electric vehicles alone driving significant consumption of rare earth elements. Digital expansion will amplify this further.

FMF 2026: Driving Global Collaboration

Hosted in Riyadh from January 13–15, 2026, FMF 2026 — themed

Dawn of a Global Cause: Minerals for a New Era of Development

— attracted 18,000 participants from 165 countries, including 89 government representatives. The event featured the world’s largest ministerial roundtable on minerals, focusing on establishing an international critical minerals framework, sustainability standards, centers of excellence, and infrastructure corridors.

Since its launch in 2022, FMF has evolved into the leading gathering for senior officials, industry leaders, NGOs, academia, and stakeholders to shape a responsible, resilient future for the global minerals industry.

The FMF Barometer marks a major step toward transparent, data-driven decision-making to meet the world’s accelerating mineral needs while promoting sustainable development.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.