Successful mining of critical minerals now demands a more sophisticated government relations skillset

While the development and management of critical minerals supply chains has become a top-tier national security priority for the US, traditional mining jurisdictions such as Canada, Australia, Chile and South Africa cannot alone offer sufficient resources to meet these demands.

To meet surging needs for copper, cobalt, lithium and rare earth minerals, new mining and infrastructure projects must also be launched in challenging jurisdictions.  Procuring these critical resources from sensitive regions such as DRC, Pakistan, Zambia, Ghana, Panama, PNG, Ecuador, Angola, Namibia, Indonesia and more requires ongoing and high-level political approval.

The US government has also signaled its desire for more resources to be mined domestically. However, long-standing impediments to expeditious approvals in the US -- slow permitting, long legal disputes, and community unease -- need to be addressed to make domestic projects a reality.

In order to be successful, modern mining companies need to navigate an increasingly complicated political landscape: working with host nation governments in difficult jurisdictions, leveraging the US government interests domestically and internationally, engaging social and traditional media to strengthen the company’s position, and understanding the integration of community and sub-national issues within the national political context.

CGS works with mining companies who need to engage with governments to navigate this complicated arena. We leverage our deep networks in mining jurisdictions globally and our practical expertise in messy problem-solving to help companies succeed.