Global mining outlook in 2025

Despite high inflation, geopolitical tensions and the spread of trade protectionism, the world economy still achieved stable growth in 2024. Growth in developed economies, such as the United States exceeded expectations, with medium-to-high-speed growth in developing countries, such as China and India. Emerging oil country Guyana has achieved consecutive double-digit growth, the economic performance of OPEC countries has been relatively stable, and the development speed of African countries has accelerated. Global mineral exploration budget fell slightly for the second consecutive year in 2024 amid the financing difficulties of mining companies. Investment in mineral exploration in Australia fell for the first time in seven years, with drilling activity falling for the third consecutive year. Exploration investment in the United States continues to grow, and major progress has been made in lithium and rare earth. The exploration activities are still active in central, southern and western Africa and relatively cold in the north-eastern part. The attractiveness of mining investment in Latin America has declined, but copper in Argentina and rare earth in Brazil have become hot spots. Developed countries in Europe began to pay attention to mineral exploration, and a series of large rare earth deposits discovered in Sweden. The global mineral products market continues to fluctuate and diverge. The contradiction between supply and demand of bulk commodities such as coal, oil and natural gas has eased, while there are bottlenecks in the supply of rare earth metals such as gallium and germanium. Geopolitical tensions have made critical minerals increasingly important. Countries now recognize the value of minerals, and the mining industry has risen in global politics. Energy transition brings opportunities, but the risks faced by mining companies’ operations continue to rise, mainly due to difficulties in financing and rising costs. In 2025, the global mining industry will still face various challenges and risks such as imperialism, hegemonism, and resource nationalism. Strategic minerals such as antimony, rare earths, copper, lithium, and graphite will still be hot spots for mineral exploration and development in the world.