Amid rapidly shifting global trade dynamics and rising strategic competition, the United States is intensifying efforts to secure and diversify critical mineral supply chains. While policy momentum and capital deployment have accelerated in recent years, Dana Mincey-Breaux, Managing Director of Fenix Capital, argues that the central challenge is not strategic intent. Having worked in the Critical Minerals Appeals within the private sector, Mincey-Breaux highlights that it is the absence of a structured, scalable execution model that has already demonstrated success in another domain.
"The biggest gap is in midstream processing. That is where China currently dominates, accounting for the vast majority of global processing capacity," she explains. "While upstream mining activities attract attention and downstream applications drive demand, it is midstream processing that ultimately determines supply chain control and resilience. This segment is both capital-intensive and technically complex, yet many capable smaller operators remain excluded from meaningful participation due to limited access to financing."
