The Global Race for Critical Minerals — Vlado Vivoda

17. 2. 2025

This episode of The IR thinker explores how critical minerals are reshaping global power relations, in conversation with Dr Vlado Vivoda. The discussion examines the role of lithium, cobalt, rare earth elements and other critical minerals in the energy transition, national security and supply chain resilience, with particular attention to the strategic rivalry between the United States and China. It considers the potential “weaponisation” of mineral dependencies, the balance between competition and cooperation among states, the aims of initiatives such as the Minerals Security Partnership, and the risks of conflict, neocolonial extraction practices and disinformation campaigns, especially in the global South.

Vlado Vivoda

Dr Vlado Vivoda is a scholar based at the Sustainable Minerals Institute at the University of Queensland, Australia. His research focuses on the geopolitics of critical minerals, sustainable energy policy and the strategic implications of global energy transitions for states and industries. He is Editor in Chief of Resources Policy, a leading journal on the economics and policy of energy and mineral extraction, production and use, and has published widely on how shifting resource dependencies are transforming contemporary international relations.

Publications:

Uncharted depths: Navigating the energy security potential of deep-sea mining

A critical minerals perspective on the emergence of geopolitical trade blocs

Friend-shoring and critical minerals: Exploring the role of the Minerals Security Partnership

Some links mentioned in the video:
What is a critical mineral?
Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025
EU Partnerships on Raw Materials
The Jadar Project (Serbia)

Content

00:00 – Introduction
02:36 – Strategic Rivalries: Critical Minerals and the US-China Competition
12:19 – National Security Implications of Critical Minerals
16:56 – The Weaponisation of Critical Minerals
24:13 – Competition or Cooperation? State Dynamics in the Critical Minerals Race
28:36 – The Minerals Security Partnership: Objectives and Impact
33:16 – Can the Quest for Critical Minerals Spark Conflict?
38:38 – Neocolonialism in Mineral Extraction Practices
42:57 – Chinese vs Western Mining Strategies: A Comparative Perspective
45:55 – Non-State Actors and NGOs in the Critical Minerals Sector
51:39 – The Disinformation Campaign Against Rio Tinto in Serbia
57:23 – Three Underexplored Areas in Critical Minerals Research