A photograph taken on March 11, 2025 shows the trading boards at the trading floor of the open outcry pit, also known as The Ring, at the London Metal Exchange Ltd (LME) in London. (Photo by BENJAMIN CREMEL / AFP)
DEFINITIONS vary as to which minerals and metals are genuinely critical, but one thing is certain. The prices of many of them are currently weak and not reflecting their supposed importance to the global energy transition.
The contrast between the current soft pricing for metals such as lithium, nickel, cobalt and copper and the still widespread expectations of a demand surge in the next decade was a key feature of an industry gathering last week on the Indonesian island of Bali.
