Critical Minerals Geopolitics: The Resource Wars Shaping the AI Economy
The US USGS 2025 Critical Minerals List expanded from 50 to 60 minerals. China controls ~60% of rare earth mining and ~85% of processing globally. Export controls on gallium and germanium were first imposed August 1, 2023; expanded to US-specific prohibition in December 2024; partially suspended in November 2025. Graphite controls took effect December 1, 2023. These minerals underpin the AI economy: every data center GPU, every EV battery, every 5G antenna. This dossier maps the geopolitical resource layer beneath the AI revolution.