
in association with


OVERVIEW
Used in everything from consumer electronics to clean tech to advanced military hardware, critical minerals and rare earths are building blocks of the modern economy—and are essential to the global energy transition and national security. But with China’s established processing dominance and recent export curbs, the precarity of the Western world’s supply of these fundamental inputs has finally struck home.
In response, Western nations have embarked on a major push to secure their critical minerals and rare earths supply chains. Yet their complexity, and the advanced processing capabilities involved, pose significant challenges for even the largest, most advanced economies. At this critical junction, coordinated cross‑sectoral efforts and collaboration between like‑minded countries are essential.
This live, in-person event in New York City on October 16th will examine the critical role North America is playing in enabling a robust critical minerals and rare earths supply chain for Western nations as part of an integrated energy security and resource strategy.
Structure + Audience
- Half-day event followed by a networking reception hosted at Clifford Chance
- 100 attendees, including leaders from mining companies, financial services, government, professional services firms.
- A program comprised of panel discussions, fireside chats and presentations on the themes outlined above.
Program
11:45 AM – 12:50 PM: Registration + Networking Lunch
12:50 – 1:00 PM: Opening Remarks
1:00 – 1:45 PM: Panel | The State of Affairs: North America’s Critical Minerals Ecosystem in 2025
- The global geopolitics and domestic policies reshaping North America’s critical minerals supply chains
- Opportunities and challenges in building out Western mining and processing capacity
- Sources of capital and how that capital is being allocated to address the critical minerals challenge
- How circularity and new technologies could change the picture
1:50 – 2:35 PM: Panel | Mining Developments at Home and Abroad: The Case for Patient, Strategic Capital
Unlocking the full potential of partnerships and reframing risk around mining investments.
- New opportunities for mining developments at home and abroad
- Reconsidering how risk is characterized and assessed
- Strategic capital: Why bigger investments aren’t always better
2:40 – 3:25 PM: Panel | The Strategic Imperative: Building out America’s Midstream
- Supply and demand: A look at North America’s processing and production capacity and its ability to meet internal demand
- Supply chain vulnerabilities and how those vulnerabilities are being addressed
- The role of recycling in creating a robust domestic supply chain
- How government and OEMs are working with producers to build secure, stable supply chains and fuel innovation
3:25 – 3:45 PM: Break
3:45 – 4:10 PM: Tech Spotlight | The Role of Innovation in the New World Order
How innovation is unlocking new opportunities and moving the sector forward, with technologies that:
- Identify and harvest unconventional deposits
- Improve battery production processes
- Optimize supply chains
- Improve metal recycling and recovery
4:15 – 5:00 PM: Panel | Matching Capital with Opportunity: How Free-Market Economies Can Support National Strategic Priorities
- Drivers + trends in financing resource extraction and the broader supply chain in North America’s critical minerals ecosystem
- The nascent market context: How investors and manufacturers can make sound investment decisions in a context of price opacity and ongoing uncertainty on the direction of the sector
- Filling the gaps: The pieces and players needed to support further onshoring of critical minerals production and processing
5:00 – 6:00 PM: Networking Reception