The race for critical minerals is often framed as a high-stakes deadlock: a desperate dash for the energy transition that many believe must inevitably steamroll over the rights and concerns of host communities. In the report "Mined the Gaps", independent consultant Sefton Darby reveals that this "speed vs. fairness" tension is actually a false choice that is currently stalling the very transition we need.
Drawing on extensive global data and sentiment surveys from tens of thousands of respondents, the report demonstrates that strong regulation is an enabler of project speed, not a blocker. By building community trust through procedural fairness and robust oversight, developers can avoid the costly "adversarial loops" of conflict that often delay projects for years.
"Mined the Gaps" offers a provocative look at the future of mining governance, highlighting:
The Reality of "Criticality": An honest assessment showing that roughly 60% of minerals on major "critical" lists—including those in the EU and US—actually serve defense and geopolitical agendas rather than the green energy transition.
The Brownfield Advantage: Why the most immediate impact on mineral supply will come from expanding existing operations (brownfield mining) rather than just waiting decades for new "greenfield" sites to come online.
A Broken Market Model: An exploration of how the "junior" mining sector creates deep-seated social and environmental risks years before a project even reaches the permitting stage.
Adaptive Governance Partnerships (AGP): A revolutionary proposal for a continuous, multi-party regulatory mechanism that replaces intense, one-off hurdles with shared, trust-based decision-making throughout the mine's lifecycle.
Download the full report to discover how innovative governance and a commitment to fairness can break the cycle of conflict and accelerate the global shift toward sustainable energy.
You can check out as well this Appendix with Supporting information for the "Mined The Gaps" report.