Norton Rose Fulbright hosts critical minerals forum in New York

Partners from Norton Rose Fulbright's New York, London, Ottawa, Vancouver and Washington, DC offices hosted a forum in New York on October 6, 2026 focused on insights relevant to the global push for critical minerals.

The event, "Mining in a multipolar world: Geopolitics, capital and the race for critical minerals," followed the G7's Critical Minerals Action Plan and subsequent Critical Minerals Resilience and Production Alliance announced in June 2026, which aims to accelerate projects, mobilize capital and coordinate supply chain development among G7 members and like-minded partner countries.

"We are fortunate to have advised many of the world's leading mining companies across key mining jurisdictions for many years," said Martin McCann, Norton Rose Fulbright's Global Head of Mining. "The success of our practice has been built on understanding the particular nuances of each country, commodity and financing structure, and tailoring transactions accordingly."

The panel discussion was moderated by Norton Rose Fulbright project finance partner Todd Alexander, who was joined by Norton Rose Fulbright's Global Head of Mining, Martin McCann and senior industry leaders including Alvaro Belevan, Senior Director, Société Générale Corporate and Investment Banking; Tim Mister, Head of Credit & Royalties, Appian Capital Advisory LLP; and David Rhodes, Managing Director of Endeavour Financial and Executive Chairman of Empress Royalty. The speaker panel was also joined by Wai Htoon, Senior Business Development Officer, Infrastructure & Critical Minerals Lead, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).

"We love being 'in country', close to the resources and the people developing them," added Martin. "This local knowledge is complemented by Norton Rose Fulbright's presence in the world's major capital markets and our deep experience across corporate transactions, debt finance, bonds, streams and royalties. Increasingly, our work extends well beyond the mine itself to encompass the ports, power infrastructure, refineries, processing facilities and battery plants that are critical to the success of major mining projects."

"With growing global demand for metals and minerals creating both tremendous opportunities and significant challenges, we felt this was an ideal time to bring four leading industry clients together at our New York office to share their perspectives on the future of the sector," Martin concluded.

The discussion addressed how governments, investors and lenders are responding to increased demand for critical minerals, including the impact of national security priorities, evolving sources of project finance capital and the central challenges facing the global mining sector, from geopolitical vulnerabilities and scrutiny of resource supply chains to the need for stakeholder collaboration and the operational gaps between the discovery of a deposit and commercial production.

"Norton Rose Fulbright is uniquely placed to connect our clients with the people, capital, and expertise that drive the most consequential mining projects in the world," said Steve Suzzan, US Head of Mining. "We have guided clients through the full range of market conditions, and our standing as trusted counsel to top-tier developers and funds - across every major mining equity market and jurisdiction - reflects the depth of that commitment."

Norton Rose Fulbright's global mining team has been focused on this area for more than two decades and is one of just three global firms to be ranked Band 1 by Chambers Global for Projects & Energy: Mining & Minerals. The firm's recent mining sector activity highlights total more than US$295.13 billion in aggregate deal value.