World Bank Partners With Private Equity In Global Critical Minerals Race

Private equity investors are boosting their participation in the global race for critical minerals. As these commodities take the central stage in international trade negotiations, fresh ten-figure deals are taking place.

Appian Capital Advisory announced a $1 billion critical minerals deal with the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC).

IFC, the World Bank’s private-sector arm, will anchor the fund with an initial $100 million investment, with more capital raised through its asset management division.

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The investment vehicle Appian–IFC Critical Minerals Fund will focus on emerging markets — equity, credit, and royalty investments in projects spanning construction to production stages.

“Minerals are essential for building industries, creating jobs, and driving economic growth,” said Makhtar Diop, IFC’s managing director.

“Partnering with companies like Appian will help bring more private capital to places that need it the most, expanding access to critical resources and helping local communities benefit from the development of their mineral wealth,” he added.

Flagship Project: Brazil’s Santa Rita Mine

The fund’s first investment is in Atlantic Nickel’s Santa Rita mine in Brazil’s Bahia state. It is one of the world’s largest open-pit nickel sulfide operations transitioning to underground production.

Santa Rita produces nickel, copper, and cobalt, all vital to electric-vehicle batteries and defense technology. Once fully operational underground, annual output is expected to reach 30,000 tons of nickel equivalent with a mine life exceeding three decades.

Sulfide ore nickel differs from laterite nickel found in leading producers such as Indonesia. It’s refining requires significantly lower carbon and energy costs. Thus, the mine will be of interest to many green supply chains.

Appian’s Track Record and Industry Context

The fund marks IFC’s first direct partnership with a private-equity mining specialist and reflects Appian’s strong conviction in the sector. The London-based firm began investing in the 2010s during a commodity downturn, when most large miners were slashing spending.

Since 2016, Appian, which manages $5 billion in assets, has brought 12 mining projects into production. That track record is stronger than that of the five biggest global producers combined over the same period. However, in this commodity bull market, the sector is also competing directly with governments.

Western Governments Must Act Faster

According to veteran South African mining executive Brian Menell, Western governments are still too slow in their efforts to secure critical mineral supply chains.

“We have to out-innovate the Chinese and out-fund the Chinese,” he said in an interview for Bloomberg at an event in London. “We’ll see bigger deals and far more active U.S. government engagement in these supply chains than we have in the past,” he added.

Menell’s critical minerals investment firm, TechMet, received about $105 million from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation so far.

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