Australia's BHP is one of the three largest mining companies by market cap globally, and the second-largest copper producer, making it a pivotal lever on critical-minerals supply.
UK-Australian mining group dual-listed in London and Sydney; the world's second-largest miner, dominant in Pilbara iron ore and a fast-expanding force in copper and lithium.
full dossier ›Producers and processors: the fifteen miners and refiners who set the critical minerals supply floor
From Chilean brine fields to Congolese copper pits, fifteen companies mine and refine the lithium, copper and cobalt the energy transition depends on.
Selective lithium recovery from brine without solar evaporation ponds, achieving over 90% yield; the technology reshaping lithium supply in Chile, Argentina, and the US Smackover Formation.
Switzerland-based Glencore, one of the world's largest commodity traders and miners, dominates global cobalt supply and is central to Western strategies to secure critical minerals from the DRC.
A 200-tonne LCE shipment to Shanghai in March 2026 marked the start of commercial output at Rincon; IFC, IDB Invest, EFA and JBIC co-financed the $1.175B tranche; the 60,000 tpa target is 2029
The Mutanda-KCC stake transfer gives Washington indirect control over two of the DRC's largest mines; a six-month Takeover Panel cooling-off period on the Rio Tinto mega-merger expires in August 2026