Plenary 1 | Redrawing the Map: New Routes for Critical Minerals

The global energy transition and rapid technological advancements are driving an unprecedented surge in the demand for critical minerals—lithium, cobalt, and rare earths. This demand throws up new challenges for shipping and logistics. Deposits of these minerals are distributed across parts of Africa, Asia, and Latin America; but the capacity to process them, on the other hand, remains heavily concentrated elsewhere. This imbalance must be bridged. Efforts must be made to target investments in local processing facilities closer to extraction sites—as well as towards the development of new maritime corridors to connect these sites with global production hubs and consumer markets. This panel will examine how emerging resource-rich regions can be better integrated into global supply chains through innovative maritime shipping routes, infrastructure development, and strategic partnerships. 

Driving Questions: 

• What new maritime and multimodal routes could increase efficiency within critical mineral and rare earth supply chains—from extraction to processing and distribution?
• As global supply chains undergo strategic rebalancing, how urgent is the need to invest in decentralised processing facilities near emerging mineral deposits—and how can these be connected to end-use markets?
• What cutting-edge technologies and innovations can be deployed along these new corridors to enhance efficiency, traceability, and sustainability in the critical minerals supply chain?

Scene-setting Remarks

Bruno Pozzi, Deputy Secretary General, International Seabed Authority

Panellists

J.P. Irene Cynthia, Managing Director, Kamarajar Port Limited

Nancy Karigithu, Special Envoy and Adviser, Maritime and Blue Economy, Executive Office of the President, Kenya

Mads Qvist Frederiksen, Executive Director, Arctic Economic Council

Konstantinos Foutzopoulos, Executive Director, Athens Riviera Forum, Greece

Moderator 

Harsh V. Pant, Vice President, Observer Research Foundation, India