Dig Deep Future-Proofing Mining: Supply, Geopolitics, and Innovation - with Mark Cutifani
Nov 20, 2025
Mark Cutifani, former CEO of Anglo American and Chair of the ICMM, brings invaluable insight into the world of mining. He discusses the critical need for trading across geopolitical blocks due to no single country dominating mineral supply. Mark highlights the lengthy project approval timelines as the real supply challenge, not the resources themselves. He emphasizes the importance of flexible production to outperform peers and warns of future supply bottlenecks in specialty alloys. Mark's advice on securing long-term contracts and boosting cyber defenses further underscores the industry's future resilience.
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Global Supply Requires Cross-Block Trade
- No single country dominates global minerals, so cross-block trade is essential for functioning markets.
- Mark Cutifani warns that multipolar centres (US, China, Europe, Saudi, Africa) will require cooperation despite fractures.
Permitting, Not Discovery, Is The Bottleneck
- The industry has plenty of resources but not enough developed reserves ready for market due to long lead times.
- Mark Cutifani highlights permitting and approval timelines as the core constraint, not exploration quantity.
Stay Low-Cost And Flexible On Volume
- Operate in the bottom half of the cash cost curve and hold flexible production to exploit price cycles.
- Mark Cutifani says volume flexibility and long-term customer relationships drive top-quartile returns through cycles.