The world needs more critical minerals. Governments are not helping

Mining companiesBHP have always mattered. Without the iron ore and copper they unearth, there would be no steel to build with and no wiring to carry electric power. Today miners have an extra responsibility. , it will need 6.5bn tonnes of metals between now and 2050, according to the Energy Transitions Committee, a think-tank—and not just lithium, cobalt and nickel, the much-talked-about , but steel, copper and aluminium, too. Because that output is several times greater than today’s capacity, producing it will require miners to invest more and dig faster.Unfortunately, than they once did, as their latest set of earnings, released this week, confirm. The world’s biggest miner, , last year spent less than half of what it did a decade ago. In part that is for sensible reasons: miners are rightly conscious that theirs is a boom-and-bust industry. The last time they splashed out, during the China-led bonanza of 20 years ago, a spectacular crash followed. Markets are volatile. Whereas copper prices remain relatively high, those for cobalt, nickel and lithium have fallen dramatically, as more supply has come on stream. But lately investment decisions have also been tied up in red tape. Governments insist they want to encourage the green transition. Their actions too often say otherwise.