Sean Gilliam

Governments are beginning to treat critical mineral supply chains with the same strategic urgency as energy security. While this shift has been building for years, recent G7 action signals a more coordinated approach. On June 17, 2026, G7 leaders strengthened the Critical Minerals Resilience and Production Alliance, building on the initiative launched during Canada's 2025 G7 presidency. The alliance establishes a framework for market monitoring, data sharing, financing, stockpile...

AI demand is moving faster than many corporate and government plans anticipated. One of the clearest signals is coming from South Korea’s semiconductor industry. South Korea is accelerating discussions with Samsung Electronics and SK hynix around major new semiconductor investments, with officials indicating that AI demand could require capacity expansion more than a decade earlier than previously planned. At the same time, SK hynix has overtaken Samsung as South Korea’s most valuable...