London International Disputes Week: Beneath the Surface: Mining Disputes, Geopolitics and the Future of Critical Minerals

The global race for critical minerals has accelerated sharply in the first half of 2026, with states tightening control over strategic resources, supply chains fragmenting under geopolitical pressure, and new forms of regulatory intervention emerging across key mining jurisdictions. As governments pursue security of supply, energy transition commitments and industrial resilience, the resulting policy shifts are generating a surge of complex disputes and transforming the way companies and investors engage with host states.

In this fireside conversation our panel will unpack the major mining sector disputes and political developments that shaped 2025 and the opening months of 2026. Through the lifecycle of a critical minerals mining project, we will explore how investment protections are being reinterpreted, how ESG related claims and community driven actions are reshaping project risk, how operational issues are being dealt with in JVs and how trust between states, investors and local stakeholders is being tested by sudden regulatory and contractual shifts. Looking ahead, the discussion will map out the pressures most likely to drive disputes in the coming year, from strategic mineral export controls, tax and nationalisation risks to joint venture fractures and sanctions related obstacles.

Designed for disputes practitioners, arbitrators, funders, GCs and sector leaders, this session provides an opportunity to gain a clear, practical understanding of the emerging risks and the tools available to navigate a rapidly evolving landscape.

Speakers:

• Joshua Kelly – Partner, Freshfields
• Andrés Chambouleyron - Senior Managing Director, Ankura (and former Undersecretary of Energy at Argentina’s Ministry of Energy and Mining)
• Nania Owusu-Ankomah – Disputes Partner, Bentsi-Enchill, Letsa & Ankomah (Ghana)
• Ambassador Terence McCulley - McLarty & Associates, an Ankura company (former US Ambassador to the Ivory Coast, Mali and Nigeria)
• Josh Kwicinski – Managing Director, Ankura

Discover the other sessions we will be hosting as part of London International Disputes Week.