High. This portfolio invests across the global critical minerals ecosystem, including companies involved in the mining, processing, refining, and production of minerals such as copper, lithium, uranium, and rare earth elements. While the sector benefits from structural tailwinds such as electrification, artificial intelligence infrastructure, clean energy adoption, defense modernization, and efforts to strengthen domestic supply chains, it remains exposed to commodity price volatility, operational and project execution risks, permitting delays, geopolitical developments, and changes in environmental and mining regulations. Portfolio performance may also be influenced by fluctuations in global demand, supply chain disruptions, technological advancements, capital-intensive project development, and shifts in government policies affecting the production and strategic importance of critical minerals.
You are seeking long-term exposure to one of the world's most strategically important resource themes through companies supporting the global critical minerals value chain. This portfolio is suitable for investors who are comfortable with higher volatility in pursuit of long-term capital appreciation driven by electrification, artificial intelligence infrastructure, clean energy adoption, defense modernization, and increasing investment in resilient domestic supply chains.
Critical minerals have become the foundation of the modern global economy, underpinning technologies that power electrification, artificial intelligence, clean energy, advanced manufacturing, and national defense. As governments and industries invest to meet rising electricity demand, modernize infrastructure, and build resilient supply chains, demand for minerals such as copper, lithium, rare earth elements, and uranium is expected to grow significantly. At the same time, increasing geopolitical tensions and concentrated global supply have elevated critical minerals from a commodity theme to a strategic priority.
The opportunity extends well beyond mining. The critical minerals ecosystem includes companies involved in exploration, extraction, processing, refining, and the production of strategic materials that are essential for electric vehicles, battery storage, AI data centers, power transmission, semiconductors, aerospace, and defense technologies. Investment across the value chain enables exposure to businesses supplying the raw materials required for the next generation of global industrial and technological growth.
Key drivers supporting this theme include accelerating electrification, rapid expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure and data centers, growing investment in renewable energy and grid modernization, increasing defense spending, and government initiatives aimed at securing domestic supply chains for strategically important minerals. As countries seek to reduce dependence on concentrated foreign supply while investing in long-term industrial competitiveness, companies producing and processing critical minerals are positioned to benefit from sustained capital investment and structural demand growth.
The Critical Minerals Portfolio provides diversified exposure to this long-term theme by investing across the global critical minerals value chain - from leading copper, lithium, uranium, and rare earth producers to companies involved in mineral processing and refining. By emphasizing businesses with durable competitive advantages, high-quality resource assets, and exposure to multiple secular growth drivers, the portfolio aims to participate in the increasing strategic importance of critical minerals and their essential role in enabling the technologies and infrastructure of the future.
For this portfolio, we have identified the below companies:
| Company | Description |
|---|---|
| Albemarle Corporation (ALB) | As one of the world's largest lithium producers, this company is crucial for manufacturing the high-performance batteries needed for electric vehicles and modern energy storage systems. |
| Compañía de Minas Buenaventura S.A.A. (BVN) | This Peruvian mining company is a major producer of precious metals and also mines critical industrial metals including copper and zinc, which are essential for manufacturing. |
| Cameco Corporation (CCJ) | This company is a leading global producer of uranium, a critical fuel source that is absolutely required for generating clean and reliable carbon-free nuclear energy. |
| Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX) | As a premier international mining company, it has significant operations in copper, a vital mineral for global electrification, renewable energy infrastructure, and modern electronics manufacturing. |
| Hudbay Minerals Inc. (HBM) | This integrated mining company primarily produces and markets copper and zinc, which are essential base metals for industrial applications and the growing green energy transition. |
| Lithium Americas Corp. (LAC) | This company is focused on advancing major lithium projects in the United States, aiming to become a key domestic supplier for the electric vehicle battery supply chain. |
| Lithium Americas (Argentina) Corp. (LAR) | This corporation focuses exclusively on its significant lithium brine operations in Argentina, a country that represents a key region for the world's total lithium supply. |
| MP Materials Corp. (MP) | This company operates the only scaled rare earth mining and processing site in the Western Hemisphere, crucial for magnets in electric vehicles, drones, and wind turbines. |
| Southern Copper Corporation (SCCO) | With some of the largest known copper reserves globally, this company is a major producer of copper, a fundamental metal for electrical wiring, construction, and manufacturing. |
| Sigma Lithium Corporation (SGML) | This company is developing a large-scale, environmentally sustainable lithium mining operation in Brazil, positioning itself to supply high-purity lithium for the clean energy economy. |
| Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM) | As a leading global producer of lithium, iodine, and specialty plant nutrients, this Chilean company plays a vital role in electric vehicle batteries and advanced agriculture. |
| Teck Resources Limited (TECK) | This diversified Canadian mining company is a significant producer of copper and zinc, providing essential raw materials required for modern infrastructure and developing technologies. |
| Energy Fuels Inc. (UUUU) | This is a leading American producer of uranium and vanadium, and is also developing rare earth element processing capabilities to strengthen domestic critical material supply chains. |