Executive Summary

The G7 has a historic opportunity to mobilize Western allies in a robust geopolitical response to China's weaponization of critical minerals markets. China's systematic use of export restrictions and price manipulation to deter Western investment demands a strategic collective response. The G7 should establish a true multilateral institution to contest China's dominance and secure critical minerals supply chains for the Western alliance. The proposed Critical Minerals Investment Committee would have an initial $50 billion capitalization to co-invest, a comprehensive market intervention toolkit including price floors, a proportional governance structure with voting shares reflecting capital contributions, and independent secretariat with the specialized expertise to execute an effective long-term investment strategy.

There are three pathways for the new G7 Production Alliance:

• Bilateral Deals: Following the MP Materials template with targeted national investments in critical minerals projects. This option is most tractable but cannot achieve the scale necessary to contest Chinese dominance.

• Coordinate Investment: Build on the Minerals Security Partnership to establish a more strategic approach to mining investment that aligns and coordinates existing national investment vehicles. 

• Multilateral Innovation: Create a new multilateral Critical Minerals Investment Committee (CMIC) modeled on World Bank governance principles.

This brief recommends transforming the Production Alliance into a robust international institution. The proposed Critical Minerals Investment Committee would have the following features:

• An initial $50 billion capitalization to invest in diversified mining and processing.

• A comprehensive market intervention toolkit including price floors, equity positions, coordinated supply agreements, and profit-sharing among members.

• Proportional governance structure with voting shares reflecting capital contributions.

• Independent secretariat with specialized expertise to execute an effective long-term investment strategy.

While politically ambitious, this institutional approach would send the strongest possible signal that the West is serious about contesting mineral dominance through coordinated, market-based mechanisms.

It is more important than ever to keep the momentum building on G7 critical minerals action. The key for any pathway is to collectively deploy price mechanisms to send a strong signal and catalyze mine development now, while working on longer-term strategies to support diversified production.

While politically ambitious, creating a real club would send the strongest possible signal that the West is serious about contesting mineral dominance.