U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday reaffirmed his support for a long-delayed revamp of the International Monetary Fund's quota resources and called on the World Bank to move quickly to support projects to develop critical ​minerals to diversify supplies away from China…Bessent, who manages the dominant U.S. shareholding ​in the World Bank and the IMF, said that the Trump administration expects the bank to ⁠do more to develop critical minerals mining and processing, adding that these are "central to economic growth, technological leadership, and countries’ economic ​security."…"We expect to see all parts of the Bank move quickly to support the policies, projects, and associated infrastructure needed to ​unlock more deals that will help diversify critical minerals supply chains and increase domestic value capture across the supply chain," Bessent said in the statement to the International Monetary and Financial Committee.

Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL) has earmarked $4.4 billion to expand its critical minerals mining business amid a global energy shock that raised fears over its supply of battery raw materials…On Wednesday, the Chinese EV battery maker — one of the world’s largest — said it will create a new subsidiary to act as an investment and operations platform for the new energy mining sector. Its business scope would include mineral resources exploration, metals processing and sales of chemical products, it added…The move comes at a time when battery manufacturers are grappling with rising costs and supply uncertainty for their raw materials such as lithium, whose price has risen more than 140% over the past year. Other metals like nickel and cobalt have also seen their prices surge in recent months due to measures taken by their respective leading suppliers (Indonesia and Congo).

Democratic Republic of Congo has established ‌a strategic reserve for cobalt and other critical minerals, the national minerals regulator said on Thursday, strengthening its ability to stockpile unused export quotas and exert more control over global supplies…Under a decree adopted by the cabinet on April ​10, management of the strategic reserve has been handed to the markets regulator ARECOMS, which ​is now authorised to acquire, hold and market strategic minerals, the agency said ⁠in a statement…Congo is the world's largest producer of cobalt, a critical component of electric vehicle ​batteries, and accounted for about 70% of global supplies last year…The strategic reserve ​gives the ⁠state an additional lever to intervene in global cobalt markets, complementing the quota policy aimed at rebalancing prices, ARECOMS said.

Interest in electric trucks has picked up in Australia, one of the most road-freight dependent countries in the world, as the ​Middle East crisis disrupts fuel supply and sends prices soaring…"We've seen a massive uptick in interest from governments around the world, from customers around the world and from customers ​here in Australia," he said…Australia's geography and low population density makes it one of the most heavily ⁠dependent countries in the world on road freight, relying on diesel trucks to transport raw materials, food and goods across vast distances…But ​despite the interest in electric trucks in recent weeks, the country remains a "diesel truck-dominated system" with around 800,000 diesel trucks on the ​road compared to only 1,000 electric ones, said Hermione Parsons, CEO of the Australia Logistics Council (ALC), the apex body of the country's freight and logistics industry…The electrification of the sector has long been stymied by high upfront costs, limited charging infrastructure and doubts about the technology's range and load capacity…That equation ​is beginning to shift for operators as diesel prices climb above A$3 ($2.14) per litre, eating away at their bottom lines, people in ​the industry said…"The technology works, the range is there, the power and torque is there and economically they're much cheaper to run," said Hutt. More ‌drivers were ⁠also becoming accepting of electric trucks, he said…"This (the war) is definitely going to push it much quicker."