World Bank Group targets $19B, fivefold boost for metals, minerals

The World Bank Group plans to quintuple support for metals and minerals to a total of $19 billion between fiscal 2026 and fiscal 2030, as it looks to leverage mineral resources for jobs and economic growth.

The initiative covers reforms to licensing and geological data, environmental and social oversight, infrastructure, workforce development and local supply chains, the organization said Oct. 16. Planned support will use a combination of public financing, private investment and risk guarantees, and policy support for mineral-producing countries.

The World Bank Group $19 billion target, an increase from $3.6 billion between fiscal 2021-2025, comes as some mineral-rich countries seek a greater share of processing and other economic benefits associated with metals, while governments and investors pursue more diversified supply chains for critical minerals.

"The next phase is execution at scale," Ajay Banga, World Bank Group president, said in an Oct. 16 address in Bangkok, according to a World Bank Group copy of the remarks.

The organization has identified 20 countries it could partner with on critical minerals, Banga added.

In a separate same-day release, the World Bank Group pegged its fiscal year 2030 goal at $19 billion and said that eight governments had launched "country partnerships and compacts to advance responsible metals and minerals development, create jobs and strengthen local economies."

The listed countries are Argentina, Bolivia, Egypt, India, Kazakhstan, Malawi, Mauritania and Zambia, and are part of the 20 countries Banga flagged.

"Our goal is not simply to export minerals, but to turn this wealth into development and prosperity for all Bolivians," Christian Andrés Morales Burgos, Bolivia's economy and public finance minister, said in a statement.

India aims to mobilize $5 billion through 2031 for exploration, processing, advanced manufacturing, recycling and skills, while Kazakhstan is seeking to mobilize as much as $20 billion by 2031, according to metals and mining country targets outlined by the World Bank Group.

"This compact with the World Bank Group will help us bring together the reforms, infrastructure and investment needed to turn our mineral wealth into lasting economic opportunities for our people," Situmbeko Musokotwane, the Zambian minister of finance and national planning, said in a statement.

The World Bank Group has been involved in mining-related projects including Africa's Lobito corridor, where a rail route developed principally for minerals is increasingly carrying agricultural products to markets, Banga said.

The objective of the $19 billion World Bank Group initiative will be the same: to "advance development and generate jobs," Banga said.

On Oct. 15, the US urged the World Bank to support deep-sea mining as part of broader strategies to bolster critical mineral supply chains. The World Bank made no mention of deep sea mining in its announcement.

The World Bank Group has long seen mining as a means to meeting economic development goals. In 2015 the organization made the case that in Africa electricity-intensive mining should be used to unlock energy resources for sustainable development.