Op-ed: The paradigm shift in critical mineral investment –Tungsten is just the beginning.

Critical minerals strategies must shift from catching up with China to targeting contestable markets where real leverage remains.

Nicholas Vafeas | July 7, 2026 | 11:01 am

Op-Ed: The decoy effect — how Beijing steers western mining capital

By periodically rattling the sabre of export restrictions, Beijing deliberately keeps geopolitical anxieties at a boil, Nicholas Vafeas writes.

Nicholas Vafeas | June 29, 2026 | 4:25 am

Op-Ed: Scripted to fail — Europe’s critical minerals blind spot

If Europe finds itself struggling to secure the materials required for the energy transition, the narrative often tends toward simply being outmatched, writes Nicholas Vafeas.

Nicholas Vafeas | June 12, 2026 | 4:00 pm

Op-Ed: Sodium-ion batteries are not the end of lithium, but they may be the end of something else

Lithium solved a very real problem, offering energy density high enough to make modern portable electronics and electric vehicles commercially viable.

Nicholas Vafeas | June 7, 2026 | 10:13 am