CUAU:CC - How Market Trends in the Critical Minerals Space are Influencing M&A Deals

Fueled simultaneously by the clean energy transition and the race to net-zero emissions, demand for critical minerals such as nickel , lithium and copper is higher than ever. Analysts believe this will cultivate big growth in the market value of these materials. To an extent, we've already seen its beginnings.

According to a June 2022 report from PwC, market capitalization for mining companies targeting critical minerals outperformed the average of the top 40 miners by between 49 to 147 percent. The spike has taken alongside the average merger & acquisition (M&A) deal value increasing by 159 percent since 2019 . This trend is expected to continue over the next five to ten years.

Copper made up the largest revenue share of critical minerals in 2021, with prices up 26 percent last year and expected to continue growing over the short term. Demand for the metal is also expected to increase 50 percent by 2040. Yet even this pales in comparison to the growing demand for lithium — according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, all the lithium mined this year would supply approximately one month by 2050.

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