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picture: President Donald Trump (White House, public domain Creative Commons Attribution 3.0-licentie ). While Brussels drafts legislation on strategic autonomy, Europe has already surrendered it on the ground. We speak endlessly about reducing dependence on China for critical minerals, yet we've sold off the very infrastructure needed to process them. The Nyrstar case perfectly illustrates this contradiction. What was presented as a necessary rescue operation in 2019 was, in

Alexander Verbeek explains why Trump wants Greenland. A matter of national security for sure. But the real answer lies beneath the ice: rare earth minerals essential for advanced technology and defence systems. While Arctic mining remains extremely challenging, Nyrstar owns significant off-take rights on one of the largest zinc & critical minerals deposits of the island, the Citronen mine, ready for exploitation and strategically invaluable. In 2019, Trafigura acquired Nyrst

professor Herman Matthijs (UGent, VUB) Zinc mining isn't just about zinc. It's about critical byproduct minerals essential for defense and advanced technology. Europe stood by as Nyrstar, a world-leading European zinc smelter traded in Brussels, fell into the hands of Singapore-based commodity trader Trafigura. A preventable loss with lasting geopolitical consequences. In this video professor Herman Matthijs (UGent, VUB) explains how Europe is losing this strategic race.

When De Tijd highlighted zinc’s vital role in the green transition, it might have sounded like a niche industrial story. Zinc may not appear on the European Commission’s list of “critical” materials, but its byproducts — germanium, indium, and gallium — are indispensable for semiconductors, fiber optics, batteries, and advanced defense systems. These rare metals place zinc smelters like Nyrstar at the heart of a geopolitical contest. As demand for critical minerals surges, Eu

As geopolitical tensions and fears of war escalate, the race for strategic raw materials has reached a fever pitch among the world’s major power blocs. Commodity giants such as Glencore and Trafigura are cashing in on global scarcity, posting record-breaking profits that underscore their growing dominance in the global supply chain. Traders Thrive Amid Geopolitical Turmoil A recent Bloomberg article confirms that the world’s top metal traders are among the biggest beneficiari

“You're losing.” With these harsh words, Jamie Dimon, CEO of the world's largest bank, addressed Europe today in the Financial Times....

In recent posts, I warned about Europe’s eroding grip on critical industrial capabilities. Now, new evidence from Australia confirms just...

'Critical infrastructure and smelting capacity are a national security issue and therefore they need some kind of government ownership or...

"Trafigura has been exploring a range of potential deals involving the metals business as it weighs the future of the unit, Bloomberg...