Amanda Van Dyke, founder of the Critical Minerals Hub and author of The Mineral Imperative, joins us to discuss the global race for critical minerals, the future of copper, lithium, rare earths, and uranium, and why mining investment is becoming one of the most important geopolitical issues of the decade. In this interview we explore the biggest bottlenecks in critical mineral supply chains, why new mines now take 20 years to develop, Europe’s struggle to rebuild its mining sector, China’s dominance in rare earth processing, and how energy security, AI data centers, and electrification are driving a structural surge in demand for metals. Amanda also shares insights on the copper supercycle, lithium supply challenges, graphite markets, nuclear energy, SMRs, and the geopolitical risks that could disrupt global energy and mineral markets. This conversation is essential for investors interested in commodities, mining stocks, uranium, energy markets, and the geopolitics of critical minerals.
Website: https://criticalmineralshub.org/

🗓️ Recording date: March 10, 2026

📖 Chapters
0:00 Intro
0:46 Amanda Van Dyke Introduction & Background in Mining and Finance
2:01 Why the Critical Minerals Hub Was Created
4:41 EU Critical Raw Materials Act & Financing Challenges
7:14 Why Mining Is Declining in Europe
7:41 The Biggest Choke Points in Global Critical Mineral Supply
9:31 Why Investors Avoid Mining
10:39 Why It Now Takes 20 Years to Build a Mine
11:01 How Permitting Rules Could Be Fixed
14:03 Critical Minerals and Military Supply Chains
16:34 Geopolitics and the Middle East Energy Situation
18:46 Copper Demand Surge from AI, Electrification & Grids
20:49 Graphite Markets: Natural vs Synthetic
22:48 Lithium Supply Challenges
24:38 Rare Earths: China vs the West
26:06 Uranium & Nuclear Energy Renaissance
28:28 Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and AI Energy Demand