The Cold War lasted from 1945 until 1989, but was it really so “cold” ? Major wars like Vietnam and Korea and a myriad of lesser conflicts as decolonialism, separatism and the struggle between capitalism & communism broke out all over the globe.

The supposed Peace Dividend after 1989 saw Western (and ex-Warsaw Pact countries) slash their militaries, scrap conscription and shrink stockpiles of materiel: weapons, munitions & metals/minerals in stockpiles to make this defensive material.

Now the West finds itself with supply chains, for metals used for defensive purposes, disconnected or distant from the West’s industrial/military complex. The mines, and processing of metals from them, are now preponderantly in countries either potentially, or actually, in conflict with the West. Regions like Africa are seeing minerals vacuumed up by potentially hostile powers for processing at the mothership.

The wake-up call has been heard but the torpid mining industry, going through its formulaic processes, is not fit for purpose in a (quasi-) war economy or even for taking precautionary measures such as rebuilding stockpiles.

The goal of Mission Critical Metals is to supply (and deny) metals & minerals for this stockpile rebuild.

Almost all metals and minerals in the periodic table have applications in the defensive industries, some are ubiquitous such as iron. Some though are absolutely vital, such as the military metal par excellence, Tungsten, and Antimony, with its myriad of applications, though the best known being in bullets. We are also focusing on Tin (as the most widely used technology metal) and Beryllium (with its applications in light weighting in jets and in nuclear applications).