By Mian Majid Ali Afzal
Great powers always try to organize the world in line with their economic and strategic interests, influencing defense productions, Information Technology (11), defense systems and value chains well beyond their individual borders. In the contemporary world, mineral diplomacy is reshaping global power dynamics, creating new strategic mineral resource based alliances, influencing the economics and political stability of mineral resource-rich nations. As global powers lead towards clean energy, digitalization and advanced chip manufac turing, the demand for critical minerals is skyrocketing. This transformation has redefined mineral resources not merely a s commodities but as strategic assets vital for countries’ national security and economic competitive ness. Today, amid renewed global turbulence, division and competition between the great powers and their respective strategic allies, strategic minerals are increasingly influencing policy and action beyond the military-industrial sector. This has led to the politicization of supply chains, include ing those in clean energy, advanced technology and other emerging strategic industries. Securing the mineral inputs, which are necessary for all the downstream applications, has, thus, become a subject of growing attention of great powers. Understanding how they define and pursue mineral security is, therefore, essential for better understanding and anticipating key trends in commerce and international security. Geopolitically, Pakistan sits on the confluence of the Middle East, South Asia and Central Asia, offering a natural corridor for mineral trade. Under the Belt & Road Initiative (BRI), Pakistan is playing a significant role in developing the infra stru ctur e nece ssary to support rnining, transport and export of rare earth metals. The country is offering itself as a reliable, neutral and secure strategic partner to major global powers in their quest for securing mineral resources. Now, Pakistan has also agreed to build a miner als-based Pasni Port – at an estimated cost of 1.2 billion dollars – so as to provide critical rare earth elements (REEs) as well as offer investment opportunities to both Western and Eastern partners while ensuring environmental compliance, local community engage ment and strategic economic benefits without compromising onits autonomy and national interests.
In a global landscape marked by shifts in power dynamics, mineral diplomacy – the strategic use of mineral resources as leverage in international rela tions – has become increasingly central to geopolitical competition. Critical raw materials (CRMs) are miner als indispensable to modem defense, energy and technological capabilities, making their supply chains a key area of international focus. Minerals like REEs, lithium, cobalt and graphite are vital for technologies like electric vehicles, wind turbines, defense systems and Al. However, many critical minerals are concern traded in limited number of countries, notably China, giving them significant influence in the global market. China’s market share in refining critical minerals is particularly high, reaching approximately 85-9096 for REEs. Major powers like the US, China and Russia engage in mineral diplomacy to secure access to these resources, leading to strategic investments, trade agreements and even export restrictions. For example, China has dominated the rare earth market through state subsidies and vertical integration, while Western nations are trying to diversify their supply chains through initiatives like the Minerals Security Partner ship. Countries are developing national and regional strategies to ensure mineral security, including stockpiling materials, promoting responsible sourcing and exploring circular economy models focused on recycling and efficiency. The EU, for instance, has set benchmarks for domestic capacity in extraction, processing and recycling. Since supply chains of these ‘commodities of power’ are highly concentrated in a few nations, it has led to a new form of geopolitical contestation.
This conflict involves mineral diplomacy, where countries use economic leverage, strategic alliances and control over supply chains to secure access to resources like lithium, cobalt and REEs, impacting both global markets and the stability of resource-rich developing nations.
Nowadays, critical minerals have moved from the periphery of trade to being the central focus of statecraft t. Rather than taking neutral inputs of lithium, cobalt, graphite, REEs and copper for granted, governments are now using export licensing, invest ment screening, state-backed finance, long-term off take agreements, strategic stockpiles and technical standards to control the sites of extraction, refining and manufacturing. The EU’s legislation on critical materials, namely, the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), hard codes the landscape for 2030 targets for domestic extraction, processing and recycling, capping reliance on any third country as an obvious attempt to shape industrial geography by law.
Pakistan’s place in this landscape is good but a conditional one. Geography offers the Middle East, South Asia and Central Asia a route; geology offers copper and gold enrichment at Reko Diq (Baluchistan) one of the largest unexploited copper-gold reserves in the world, which is currently gaining attraction with multilateral examination of the environmental and social impacts. These are tangible assets, but as long as the nation remains a provider of raw mineral ore into a market which is con trolled by a few refiners, then leverage will be lost. Instead of becoming caught in a monopo listic or standard-setting relationship with any individual credible environmentally friendly management. Transforming Pakistan into a global leader in the mineral sector requires a multifaceted strategy, much like cultivating a garden to attract butterflies. By addressing regulatory, infrastructural, technological, marketing, financial and human resource aspects, Pakistan can effectively harness its mineral wealth. This comprehensive approach promises not only economic growth but also a sustainable future, demonstrating the far reaching impact of the Butterfly Effect in economic development.
The writer is the author of The Reforms. He can be reached at mianmajid582@gmail.com
