The 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi produced the most consequential multilateral critical-minerals statement of the week. The New Delhi Declaration, adopted unanimously on September 12, calls for supply chains that are reliable, diversified, and resilient, with explicit provisions for benefit sharing, value addition, and sovereign resource rights in producing nations. On the summit's second day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing an open session in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping, warned that weaponising critical minerals and technology could impede shared progress, a remark read widely as a signal to Beijing given China's dominant position in rare-earth refining and its periodic export restrictions. Modi simultaneously announced that BRICS members had reached consensus on a BRICS Integrated Early Warning System for infectious diseases and confirmed that the BRICS Logistics Supply Chain Cooperation Framework would be activated to reduce supply vulnerabilities. The summit also adopted a photovoltaic industry action plan linking solar manufacturing, hydrogen, smart grids, and energy storage to industrial development, while calling for value addition in re

Parallel to the BRICS proceedings, the Indian government announced a significant expansion of domestic and overseas critical-minerals policy. Union Mines Minister G. Kishan Reddy disclosed that India has acquired five lithium blocks in Argentina and is negotiating additional opportunities with multiple nations, while mineral officers have been placed in embassies of all mineral-rich countries to support private entrepreneurs. The National Critical Mineral Mission encompasses 300 Geological Survey of India exploration projects this year and the development of four critical mineral-processing parks across Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha. Türkiye simultaneously unveiled its 2027–2029 Medium-Term Program, which targets regulatory reform to cut import dependence, calls for a national critical minerals strategy and a dedicated Critical Minerals Presidency, and plans a 139 percent increase in state exploration investment to shift the country from raw ore exports toward higher-value products.

In corporate tungsten developments, The Elmet Group signed a definitive agreement to acquire ams OSRAM's Schwabmünchen facility, a vertically integrated tungsten and molybdenum manufacturing operation in Bavaria dating to 1961 that produces more than 3,500 products across powder, rod, wire, electrode, and machined-component lines, establishing Elmet's first EU production base for these EU-designated critical raw materials with a targeted close in the first quarter of 2027. Separately, Almonty Industries experienced a seven-session 11% share decline with no company-specific catalyst, despite retaining a 30-day gain of 7.5% and a Jefferies Buy rating with a USD 26.25 price target initiated September 2; the Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio disclosed a new 109,121-share position in the company for Q2. Tungsten West CEO Jeff Court is leading the revival of a major mine in south-west England with British government backing for the project.

On investment and development diplomacy, the African Development Bank presented five African critical minerals projects to Korean business and financial executives at the Korea-Africa High-Level Dialogue in Seoul on September 8, coupling the pitch with guarantees, co-financing structures, and the Pan-African Guarantee Platform to reduce investor risk. Ghana used the 2026 Africa Down Under Summit in Perth to court Australian investors for lithium, bauxite, and iron ore opportunities, highlighting more than one billion tonnes of iron ore resources and an integrated iron and steel development plan through GIISDEC, while explicitly seeking to move beyond raw-mineral exports toward domestic processing and value addition.

On the technology and policy frontier, governments in the United States, Ghana, and India are directing public funds toward mining technology as a component of mineral strategy, with the US Department of Energy selecting four projects for $73 million through Mine of the Future to create real-world testing grounds for automation, electrification, digital connectivity, sensing, and mineral processing. At Texas A&M University, a research team secured $3.5 million from ARPA-E through the ROCKS program to develop the RAPTOR system, a mobile coiled-tubing rig combining rotary-percussive drilling, real-time on-site sample analysis, and machine learning to dramatically reduce the time required to identify viable rare-earth and critical-mineral deposits. Mining suppliers are increasingly required to provide integrated engineering, digital intelligence, and field-support capabilities rather than commodity components, with wear-solution providers emphasizing that unplanned downtime in crushing circuits carries supply-chain consequences well beyond the individual mine. The Women in Renewable Energy Conference 2026 is convening a two-day forum on women's leadership in renewable energy, critical minerals, and the green economy across Africa.

The White House has yet to finalize whether to impose refined copper tariffs under its Section 232 trade action, with a phased schedule of 15% in 2027 rising to 30% in 2028 still pending after the Commerce Department delivered its domestic market update without a public recommendation. The unresolved policy reset near-term tariff expectations, sending COMEX copper futures down more than 4% to roughly $6.45–$6.55 per pound and Freeport-McMoRan shares down more than 8% in premarket trading. The International Copper Study Group has pointed to the possibility of a small global refined surplus, though other analysts anticipate a deficit as mine disruptions and constrained concentrate supply limit refined output; a global surplus alongside regional tightness remains a credible simultaneous outcome. Upstream mine production is expected to grow only modestly in 2026, with disruptions in Indonesia, Chile, DRC demonstrating how quickly projected supply increases can be eroded. At the processing stage, copper treatment charges have fallen to extremely low levels, a signal that concentrate availability constrains refined output more than smelter capacity alone. Separately, silver's supply chain—closely linked to copper, lead, zinc and gold byproduct streams—faces a projected 46.3 million-ounce deficit in 2026, the sixth consecutive year of demand exceeding mine production and recycling, with recycling forecast to reach its highest level since 2012 at approximately 211.3 million ounces but still insufficient to close the gap. Refinery processing constraints within that supply chain can delay recycled material reaching markets, widen regional premiums on physical bars, and decouple deliverable metal prices from paper-market benchmarks, functioning as a risk multiplier on an already tight silver market.

On the processing infrastructure front, Talon Metals has abandoned the North Dakota facility planned for its Tamarack nickel-copper-cobalt project in Minnesota, redirecting feasibility work toward the existing Humboldt Mill in Michigan instead; a $114.8 million U.S. Department of Energy award tied to the now-cancelled North Dakota plant remains unresolved, and Talon said it is working with DOE on funding following the change, with a feasibility study on the Michigan option due by December 31.

In battery recycling, a Singapore pilot plant operating since late 2022 has demonstrated that fermented citrus and pineapple peel waste can serve as a reducing agent to leach cobalt, lithium, nickel, and manganese from shredded lithium-ion black mass, with the fruit-peel process recovering roughly 90 percent of target metals per batch at 2,000-litre scale; the approach avoids the hazardous secondary pollution associated with hydrogen peroxide while performing comparably, and the stated commercialization target was 2024, against a backdrop in which fewer than five percent of spent lithium-ion batteries are recycled globally.

In catalysis research, a multi-institutional team demonstrated that introducing a precisely dosed 50 mg loading of Ti₃C₂Tₓ MXene into a nickel cobalt oxide spinel yields a composite that requires 360 mV overpotential at 10 mA cm⁻² in alkaline electrolyte, with a Tafel slope of 65.71 mV per decade, markedly improving on both the unmodified spinel and under- or over-loaded variants by addressing the oxide's inherent conductivity deficit through intimate interfacial contact with the MXene sheets. Separately, cobalt–molybdenum bimetallic nanocatalysts confined within piezoelectric PVDF-HFP nanofibers were shown to release hydrogen from ammonia borane at 70.22 mol H₂ min⁻¹ g⁻¹ at room temperature, a 2.6-fold gain over monometallic cobalt, with the piezoelectric polymer scaffold actively assisting catalysis through mechanically induced internal electric fields. In a third electrochemical study, saccharin added at concentrations up to 2 g/L to a nickel-cobalt electrodeposition bath was found to suppress anomalous cobalt co-deposition, refine crystallite size from 18.69 nm to 14.18 nm, and raise dislocation density, collectively improving the hydrogen evolution performance of the resulting NiCo thin films on flexible substrates.

In materials science, Brazilian researchers applied a Varvenne-Luque-Curtin solid-solution strengthening model to design three new quinary CrMnFeCoNi alloys that deliberately reduce cobalt content relative to the equiatomic Cantor reference, targeting mechanical performance comparable to the strongest known single-phase FCC solid solutions; experimental validation confirmed single-phase FCC structure in two of the three compositions, while the remaining pair exhibited a minor Cr-rich BCC phase at grain boundaries despite thermodynamic predictions of phase stability, exposing the limits of CALPHAD-based design at elevated chromium levels.

In sensing applications, researchers synthesized a cobalt-based metal-organic framework from cobalt nitrate and an aminated biphenyl dicarboxylate linker that functions as a fluorescent probe capable of detecting dipicolinic acid — the primary chemical biomarker of anthrax spores — in drinking water within one minute, offering a lower-cost alternative to lanthanide-based MOF sensors and conventional chromatographic or spectrometric methods for rapid field screening.

A China-driven inventory shock dominated lithium equity markets this week: a data revision lifted reported carbonate stockpiles from 78,800 tonnes to 175,000 tonnes, sending the most-traded Chinese carbonate contracts down more than 14% over three sessions and pushing the LIT sector ETF 2.66% lower. European Lithium shares fell 3.2% in that broader rout, though the company's merger with Critical Metals Corp. remains on track: the Supreme Court of Western Australia is scheduled to hear the scheme on September 15, with shareholder votes pencilled for mid-October and completion targeted for early November; the conversion ratio remains tied to the 20-day VWAP of CRML on Nasdaq, with a maximum of 0.045 shares per EUR share if CRML stays below $8. Lithium Argentina AG (NYSE: LAR) dropped 7.64% on the week, with intraday price collapsing from the mid-$6.40s into the high-$5.80s; the company carries negative retained earnings, deeply negative operating and free cash flow of roughly –$4.7m, and working capital that is materially negative despite a current ratio of 2.3. IGO Limited (ASX: IGO) has risen nearly 80% over the past year, keeping it on investor watchlists despite the sector's current weakness. Among stocks flagged by volume screeners, highest-volume lithium names this week included QuantumScape, Critical Metals, Amprius Technologies, Lithium Americas, Enovix, SES AI, and Lithium Americas (Argentina).

On the corporate governance front, Standard Lithium announced that director Karen Narwold will resign from the board effective September 15, 2026, following her acceptance of a new executive role; the company's board will shrink to eight directors while a search for an independent replacement proceeds. U.S. Representative Bruce Westerman visited South Arkansas this week to discuss the region's lithium industry alongside data centers and nuclear power.

At the geopolitical and industrial policy level, India's coal and mines minister announced the government is negotiating five additional blocks in Argentina after having already acquired five, with parallel discussions underway with Australia and Chile; the minister added that critical minerals will feature at the BRICS Summit and revealed a ₹1,500 crore incentive scheme for recycling critical minerals from e-waste, with 58 companies shortlisted in the first phase, while four domestic processing plants are being established across Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha. Separately, a long-form analysis of Argentina's position under President Milei's RIGI investment regime observes that a South Korea partnership covering the entire lithium value chain was signed on July 31, 2026, and Posco was cleared to expand carbonate output at Salar del Hombre Muerto for export — yet carbonate from that project is shipped to Korea for conversion to higher-value hydroxide, and YPF's domestic battery cell plant remains at pilot scale, raising structural questions about whether Argentina will capture processing-stage value or remain a raw-material exporter.

In battery technology, researchers at NTU Singapore demonstrated that kraft paper carbonized at 1,200°C yields anodes surviving 1,200 cycles — roughly twice the durability of conventional phone battery anodes — though reversible capacity of 65–140 mAh/g falls well short of the ~372 mAh/g delivered by commercial graphite, with scaling beyond the lab the remaining obstacle. On cathode recovery, Indian researchers published a thermochemical direct-regeneration route that restores NMC 532 cathodes from spent EV batteries at an energy cost of roughly 39 kWh per kilogram, preserving original particle morphology without the acid dissolution or smelting required by conventional hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical processes. Two linked analyses report a breakthrough in lithium–sulfur chemistry: a University of Maryland-led team published findings in Nature Energy showing that a free-chloride-rich ionic liquid electrolyte enables a three-electron sulfur redox pathway via disulfur dichloride, lifting average operating voltage from ~2.05 V to 2.54 V and electrode-level specific energy above 1,700 Wh/kg over more than 100 cycles; a companion News & Views piece explains that halogen-assisted S⁺¹ chemistry eliminates the polysulfide shuttling that has historically undermined lithium–sulfur cycle life. A review of solid-state lithium metal batteries examines how voids and grain boundaries interact with lithium diffusion and mechanical stress to drive dendrite growth, the persistent obstacle to commercialization. DIMAAG-AI and Toshiba announced a collaboration combining Toshiba's SCiB lithium titanium oxide cells with DIMAAG's ZettaWatt platform to deliver continuous 10C charge-discharge for AI data center applications, targeting grid-side power fluctuations below 1% and a service life exceeding ten years.

On battery safety, a lithium-ion battery fire damaged a Kelowna carriage home Saturday, with two occupants escaping uninjured and damage confined to the kitchen area. An investigation into a fire at the Eckington recycling centre concluded that a discarded lithium battery caused the blaze, prompting fire authorities to renew guidance on safe battery disposal. A battery fire at the Sunbank solar farm in Summerside, P.E.I. — a $69-million facility with 20 MWh of storage capacity — continued to smoulder nearly a week after ignition, with officials warning residents of continued smoke from cells undergoing thermal runaway and around-the-clock site monitoring remaining in place; air-quality monitoring confirmed no acute health threat to the surrounding population.

Pax Silica, the US-led initiative covering critical minerals, semiconductors, AI infrastructure, and advanced manufacturing, is still a work in progress according to Philippine Finance Undersecretary Angela Ignacio, who described the 4,000-acre industrial hub planned for New Clark City as a prime but premature topic, with a November signing previously reported by the government. The Philippines formally joined in April alongside 23 other signatories, including the European Union, Israel, Japan, India, Singapore, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. US State Department Ambassador Heather Variava confirmed the initiative would operate within legal requirements of both countries, emphasizing high legal standards and tangible public benefit over community disruption.

The proposed hub at New Clark City, covering roughly 1,619 hectares of Bases Conversion and Development Authority land within the Luzon Economic Corridor, is projected to attract $40–$70 billion in investment and generate between 130,000 and 190,000 direct jobs once fully developed, with initial site development targeted for 2028. An analysis of the corridor's real estate implications notes the hub would require 3 gigawatts of power—roughly 16 percent of Luzon's grid capacity—and approximately 130 million liters of water daily, a scale comparable to Japan's TSMC-anchored fab in Kumamoto Prefecture, which generated an estimated $45.6 billion economic impact on Japan's electronics sector over ten years.

A commentary published on the initiative cautions that Pax Silica is not an AI data center project, arguing that mischaracterizing it as such reduces an industrial strategy to a buzzword and creates expectations the program was never designed to fulfill. The piece stresses that the Philippines' existing semiconductor industry is concentrated in assembly, testing, and packaging, and that advancing up the value chain requires sustained investment in power, water, logistics, research institutions, and regulatory consistency across political administrations.

The initiative has drawn staunch criticism from left-wing groups over transparency, labor exploitation, mineral resource use, and environmental concerns. Protesters attempted to approach the Grand Hyatt Manila during the Luzon Economic Corridor Investment Forum on September 10, leading to five arrests following police confrontations. Malacañang subsequently urged opposing groups to raise concerns through dialogue with responsible agencies rather than through confrontation, while President Marcos called in his keynote for responsible critical minerals development, domestic processing, and clear benefits for affected communities, including orderly relocation and fair compensation for displaced residents.

Bangladesh faces a distinct strategic inflection point, having simultaneously received a US invitation to join Pax Silica and announced observer status in the China-backed World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization. US Envoy Sergio Gor indicated Bangladesh could become a Pax Silica partner, yet Bangladesh's semiconductor exports stand at just $8 million against an announced $1 billion target for 2030, with infrastructure gaps including unreliable power, insufficient research capacity, and regulatory constraints further complicating full participation. Analysts note that closer alignment with the US-led initiative could carry expectations regarding technology standards and vendor choices at a time when China remains Bangladesh's largest import source and a major infrastructure investor.

At the BRICS Summit hosted by India, energy and industry leaders are pressing the bloc to move beyond dialogue toward concrete action on critical mineral supply chains, calling for diversifying refined mineral dependencies across member economies rather than pursuing outright self-sufficiency. A single refining nation currently controls 72% of processed supply for key energy minerals, and global battery demand exceeding 1.5 TWh has sharpened vulnerabilities that BRICS leaders say the Delhi Summit must directly address through supply-chain mapping covering lithium, graphite, and rare earths. Speakers at the summit also called for New Development Bank lending beyond the current $30 billion target and prioritization of local-currency financing to lower the cost of capital for clean energy infrastructure. The newly launched BRICS Digital Centre of Excellence for Smart Grids and Energy Storage was identified as a foundation for harmonized standards and accelerated technology co-development among member states. Leaders further emphasized building closed-loop supply chains within the bloc, with investment in recycling and reprocessing capacity for critical materials including rare earths to reduce waste and extend material lifecycles. Separately, Africa's position in the rare earth sector faces structural headwinds, as China's decades-long lead in processing, infrastructure, and trade gives Beijing a formidable advantage over the continent despite its vast rare earth deposits.