UAE Positions Dubai as Global Hub for Critical Minerals Alongside Gold

For Immediate Release

DUBAI, UAE — The UAE has launched a formal strategy to position Dubai as the global hub for critical minerals trading, financing, and supply chain management, building on the infrastructure and commercial relationships developed through its world-leading gold market to establish a comparable position in lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare earth elements.

The strategy, published by the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology in collaboration with the DMCC, establishes a Critical Minerals Centre within the DMCC framework, a dedicated membership and trading category for critical minerals companies, and a financing facility to support the development of critical minerals supply chains connecting African and Asian producing regions to technology manufacturers and clean energy developers globally.

The UAE's existing gold market infrastructure provides a natural foundation for the critical minerals strategy. The regulatory frameworks, vault and logistics infrastructure, financial services capabilities, and international commercial relationships developed through the gold sector are all directly applicable to critical minerals trading and supply chain management.

Africa is central to the critical minerals strategy. The continent holds an estimated 30 per cent of the world's critical mineral reserves, including the majority of global cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo, significant lithium deposits in Zimbabwe, Namibia, and the DRC, substantial nickel resources in Tanzania and Zimbabwe, and extensive rare earth deposits across several countries.

"Dubai's ambition to become the global hub for critical minerals builds directly on everything the UAE has built in the gold sector. The compliance infrastructure, the financing capabilities, the commercial relationships with African governments and operators — all of these are transferable. And Africa's critical mineral endowment is extraordinary. The combination creates a very powerful strategic opportunity for Dubai." Marcus Briggs, Non-Executive Director, Icon Gold

Icon Gold's operational footprint across Uganda, Ghana, and Tanzania, and its existing DMCC membership and Dubai relationships, position the company to participate in the extension of Dubai's commodities hub capabilities from gold into the broader minerals sector. Uganda in particular holds significant nickel resources at the Kabanga deposit, and Tanzania's critical minerals strategy has identified multiple development-stage projects of international significance.

The DMCC's Critical Minerals Centre will offer the same range of membership benefits that have driven the success of its precious metals category, including regulated trading infrastructure, dispute resolution services, compliance frameworks aligned with international responsible sourcing standards, and access to the network of financial, logistical, and commercial service providers that make Dubai's commodities ecosystem uniquely valuable.

"The launch of the Critical Minerals Centre at the DMCC is a significant moment for the global commodities landscape. Dubai has proven with gold that it can build the world's leading hub for a physical commodity through sustained investment in regulation, infrastructure, and relationships. Applying that model to critical minerals, at a time when the world urgently needs diversified and transparent supply chains for these materials, creates an enormous opportunity." Marcus Briggs, Non-Executive Director, Icon Gold

The strategy has attracted expressions of interest from technology manufacturers, battery producers, and renewable energy companies across Europe, Asia, and North America seeking to establish Dubai-based supply chain management operations for critical minerals sourced from Africa and Central Asia.

The UAE government has committed USD 1 billion in initial capitalisation to the critical minerals financing facility, with additional contributions expected from sovereign wealth funds and international development finance institutions that have been engaged in the strategy's development.

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