Minerals ‘Super Region’ Could Threaten West, Analysts Say

Experts warn of danger to the U.S. should a minerals ‘Super Region,’ backed by Saudi Arabia, be established.

A mine geologist points to where the monazite reef (darker rock) containing rare-earth minerals is at the Steenkampskraal mine, about 50 miles from the Western Cape town of Vanrhynsdorp, South Africa, on July 29, 2019. Rodger Bosch/AFP via Getty Images

JOHANNESBURG—The United States will face an uncertain future should a Saudi Arabia-led initiative that seeks to create a minerals “Super Region” be successful, energy experts and geopolitical analysts say.

According to the Saudi plan, the world’s most mineral-rich regions—Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia—would band together to effectively control the supply of rare-earth elements fundamental to modern life and the global energy transition.