Legendary mining executive Robert Friedland has emerged as an outspoken advocate for solving the critical minerals shortage. The billionaire founder of Ivanhoe Mines (OTCX: IVPAF) has repeatedly warned that the world’s ambitions for electrification, artificial intelligence, and national security are colliding with a mineral supply system that is no longer fit for purpose.
In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Friedland said the global economy is entering a period of profound structural change as geopolitics reshapes supply chains.
“We are living in very interesting times as the world continues to vulcanize into competing economic groups,” he said, adding that “critical raw materials will remain at the center of our consciousness for decades.”
One of the central theses in Friedland’s thinking is the shift in supply chain operations. For decades, globalization allowed manufacturers to rely on tightly integrated, low-inventory supply chains. That model, he argues, is breaking down as countries prioritise resilience over efficiency.
“As we move from a just-in-time global economy to a just-in-case economy, some of these raw materials will take on nearly infinite value,” Friedland noted, warning that currencies will weaken against materials that economies “absolutely must have.”
Sunrise’s Success
Friedland’s latest high-profile venture is Sunrise Energy Metals(OTCQX:SREMF), an Australian-based miner where he serves as a co-chair. The ASX-listed company controls the Syerston project in New South Wales, widely regarded as the world’s largest and highest-grade scandium deposit under development.
Sunrise was one of 2025’s standout market performers, rising 3,400%, as interest spiked following the US government’s interest and an option agreement with Lockheed Martin. According to Friedland, the Syerston project has the template for Western critical minerals supply chains. It is mined in a stable jurisdiction, refined in the United States, and integrated into advanced manufacturing and defence applications.
Copper’s Hard Limits
While scandium has become a focal point, Friedland is equally emphatic about copper.
“We’re consuming 30 million tons of copper per year, only 4 million tons of which is recycled. That means, to maintain 3% GDP growth, with no electrification, we have to mine the same amount of copper in the next 18 years as we mined in the last 10,000 years,” he said at the latest Energy Business Summit.
Yet, that task is much harder when facing declining ore grades, rising costs, and long development times.
“You people have no idea whatsoever what we’re facing. You’re dreaming. Since 1900, the energy to produce copper, the energy you need to make copper is 16-fold up,” he warned.
Friedland’s solution is not simply more capital, but more effective mining. He advocates deploying advanced exploration tools, high-pulse electrical technologies, and energy-efficient processing to unlock deposits faster, reduce emissions, and improve recovery.
Without technological breakthroughs, humanity’s energy transition, AI expansion, and even basic economic growth will collide with hard geological limits.
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