2026 Summit


CMF US-Africa Investment SUMMIT

June 3, 2026 Washington, DC

​The Critical Minerals Forum is hosted its 3rd Annual Summit, a convening of senior U.S. government officials, international finance institutions, sovereign investors, and mining executives focused on accelerating investment across critical mineral supply chains.

Attendance was open to investors, manufacturers, metals traders, miners, U.S. Government, and minerals processing firms. Paid CMF member companies received free admission.

Summit Programming

Join us for a full day of programming, including panels, investment showcases, supply chain mapping and cost forecasts. Senior U.S. government officials, foreign ministers, and private sector executives will meet with investors to to identify opportunities, deploy capital, and accelerate collaboration across critical industries. Topic include:

  • Strengthening U.S.–Africa cooperation in critical minerals and strategic industries

  • Transparent cost and pricing mechanisms methodology and role for supporting sustainable supply

  • Providing a forum for secure, ethically sourced offtake to allied manufacturers

  • Advancing environmentally responsible mining, processing practices, and community development

  • Addressing regulatory considerations and investment frameworks to support project development

  • "…according to more than two dozen industry consultants, purchasing agents, analysts, regulators and investors who told Reuters the [Critical Minerals Forum] reflects one of the boldest efforts to date to transform the ways certain metals are bought and sold."

    Ernest Scheyder, Reuters

  • "The value-add for me, having worked in this for a number of years, was bringing together a group of people who actually were from industry: mining, OEMs, big primes. Oftentimes, it's just not like that."

    Dennis Bartow, Polemarchoi

Speakers

  • Hugo Yon

    Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Economics, Energy, and Business Affairs

  • Rob Strayer

    President, Critical Minerals Forum

  • Alice Uwase

    CEO, Rwanda Mines, Petroleum and Gas Board

  • Amb. John Giordano

    U.S. Ambassador to Namibia

  • Tidjane Thiam

    Executive Chairman, Freedom Acquisition 1 Corporation

  • Namrata Thapar

    Global Head of Metals & Mining at the International Finance Corporation (IFC)

  • Hon. Dominic Raab

    Head of Global Affairs, Appian Capital Advisory

  • Puja Turner

    Head of CEEMEA Loans and Structured Credit, J.P. Morgan

  • Shirley Webber

    Managing Principal for Coverage Head Resources & Energy, Absa Group

  • Mike Moen

    Managing Director and Head, Minerals, Metals and Mining Investment Banking, BTIG

  • William Schirano

    Deputy Assistant Secretary, Department Energy

  • Randall L. Harvey

    Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for Special Operations Policy & Programs, Secretariat for Special Operations

  • Amanda Jennings

    Deputy Vice President of Infrastructure, Environment and Private Sector (Acting), Millennium Challenge Corporation

  • Mark Mitchell

    Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Middle East and Africa at the U.S. Department of Commerce

  • Donald Davidson

    Head of US Public Affairs, Volkswagen Group of America

  • Stacy Newstead

    Lockheed Martin, Materials Strategy and Risk Manager

  • Shayne Bennett

    Applied Materials, Commodity Business Manager Rare Earths & Magnetic Materials

  • Clementine James

    Director and Owner, Alistair Group of Companies

Last Year’s Summit

October 7 & 8, 2025 | 2nd Annual Summit

We convened the full supply chain, connecting miners, minerals processors, and advanced manufacturers with metals traders, private equity, venture capital, and U.S. and foreign government officials in one room. The result was actionable connections, commercial transactions, and durable partnerships.

In panels with the defense sector, we discussed procurement strategies and navigating sourcing across multiple tiers of suppliers. Allied foreign governments underscored their capacity to collaborate on tangible steps toward mineral resilience, while making clear that the “middle” of refining and processing must be built into U.S. and allied supply chains. Former and current U.S. government officials emphasized the urgency of this issue—from project finance to direct engagement with mineral-related projects. Executives from domestic producers, including South32 Hermosa and NioCorp Developments, spoke about their anticipated role in securing supply for U.S. industries.

We also previewed the CMF Dashboard, a comprehensive, novel tool for supply, demand, and cost insights with geographic customization and asset-level cost curves. Powered by AI-driven models that forecast trends by country and identify minerals most vulnerable to disruption, it provides transparent outputs to help stakeholders make informed investment decisions and accelerate new capacity. With transparent cost information and without relying on manipulated benchmark indices, suppliers and end-users can confidently enter into offtake contracts using price indices that are relevant to the counterparties and viable for the long term. Data-driven modeling of supply-demand dynamics and production costs helps de-risk investments and counteract the distortions created by state-backed market manipulation

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2026

Summit

CMF US-Africa Investment SUMMIT

June 3, 2026 Washington, DC

​The Critical Minerals Forum is hosting its 3rd Annual Summit, a convening of senior U.S. government officials, international finance institutions, sovereign investors, and mining executives focused on accelerating investment across critical mineral supply chains.

  • Strengthening U.S.–Africa cooperation in critical minerals and strategic industries

  • Transparent cost and pricing mechanisms methodology and role for supporting sustainable supply

  • Providing a forum for secure, ethically sourced offtake to allied manufacturers

  • Advancing environmentally responsible mining, processing practices, and community development

  • Addressing regulatory considerations and investment frameworks to support project development

Attendance is open to investors, manufacturers, metals traders, miners, U.S. Government, and minerals processing firms. Paid CMF member companies receive free admission.