A 60% slump in cobalt prices over the last two years has exposed the fragility in Washington’s efforts to bolster supplies of critical minerals.

The industry saw a significant rise in M&A activity across metals and mining companies in 2023 driven by the global energy transition, a theme Fitch Solutions expects to continue.

The company last fall announced its long-anticipated plan to filter lithium from the Smackover brine formation that flows under Arkansas.

Lithium prices have dropped more than 80% in the past year.

John Thornton, an ex-investment banker from Goldman Sachs, joined Barrick in 2012 as a director under founder Peter Munk.

Silver reserves by year-end, totalling 238 million oz., were also its second-largest ever.