A Critical Geopolitics Analysis of “Critical Minerals” Discourses from Formal Geopolitics, Indigenous and Civil Society Actors

Demand for “critical minerals” (CM) for energy transitions is propelling significant expansion of mining and an evolving formal geopolitics (e.g. inter-state rivalry, diplomacy, friendshoring) for CM supply security. Applying a critical geopolitics methodology of discourse analysis, this article investigates associated discourses, and in parallel, those of an Indigenous community network and relevant non-governmental organisations. This aims at identifying whether formal geopolitics recognises Indigenous communities’ “Right to Say No” to CM projects, driven by relational ontologies. Discourse themes identified indicate that formal geopolitics does not reconcile a “need” for prolific CM mining with Indigenous onto-epistemologies. Therefore, two “steps” for strengthening recognition of Indigenous perspectives (including catalysing ontological shifts among CM stakeholders and prioritising CM demand reduction), and a new “geos-politics” of CM, are discussed.