Editorial note for issue 31

This week’s developments—from temporary US–China mineral truces to Europe’s €15.5 billion clean-energy drive in Africa, and from Peru’s deepening REINFO debate to Africa’s assertive push at the G20—point to a world where minerals, energy, infrastructure, and legitimacy are no longer separate agendas. They have merged into one integrated system. The stories selected in this issue reveal three converging forces shaping that system. • First, mineral security has become a macro-economic variable. Every shift in China’s export controls, in Europe’s industrial policies, or in Africa’s mid-stream ambitions now influences inflation, industrial planning, and geopolitical bargaining. Minerals are no longer a sector—they are a pillar of economic strategy. • Second, infrastructure has re-emerged as the currency of credibility. Ports, corridors, grids, processing plants, and digital systems—not speeches—determine whether countries attract investors or lose them. Europe’s pivot from policy to infrastructure in Africa, and China’s renewed push along the Tazara corridor, highlight this shift more clearly than any communiqué. • Third, legitimacy is defining competitiveness. Peru’s mining debates, Congo’s extended trade bans, and local opposition movements across the Andes show that compliance is no longer enough. Countries and companies are being judged on trust, transparency, and how value flows into communities, not just on production volumes. At VERIDICOR, what we observe is a structural reconfiguration of the global economy: countries that combine geology + industrial capacity + predictable institutions are pulling ahead, while those that rely solely on extraction are facing tighter margins, rising conflict sensitivity, and declining geopolitical leverage. The minerals and energy transition will not reward the largest reserves—it will reward the most coherent strategies. And coherence today means stable governance, credible infrastructure, and the ability to align national goals with territorial realities. The events of this week make the pattern unmistakable: the future will belong to those who can turn mineral wealth into institutional capability and shared prosperity.