Event

Bridging Demand, Policy, and Innovation to Secure a Just and Sustainable Critical Minerals Future

Breakfast Roundtable

08:30 – 10:00 am ET, 24 September 2025

Loews Regency, New York

As countries rush to secure access to critical materials – including cobalt – essential minerals are, more than ever, at the top of the world’s agenda. With the national security, economic growth and energy transition hinging on secure, responsible and equitable access to these materials, the need for a coordinated response across industry, policy, and finance has never been more urgent.

Without a clear convergence between market signals, policy frameworks, and technological innovation, we risk deepening global inequalities, delaying decarbonisation, and undermining supply chain resilience. We must act urgently to ensure that critical minerals achieve their economic, industrial and energy transition potential.

In this context, Cobalt Institute is convening a high-level event during the New York Climate week, to explore the intersection of demand, policy, and innovation in shaping a sustainable and just future for critical minerals.

This event will provide a platform to:

Outline long-term demand trajectories and material needs through to 2050, in the context of global climate goals, the energy transition, and the drive toward net-zero emissions
Analyse geopolitical and financial factors impacting critical mineral supply chains, with a focus on how to secure access while supporting climate resilience and sustainable development
Highlight breakthrough technologies and AI-driven solutions that enable traceability, efficiency, and emissions reduction across the supply chain
Build strategic dialogue among stakeholders—governments, industry, finance, and civil society—to align efforts toward a just and climate-aligned mineral economy
Inspire solutions that bridge innovation, investment, and policy, accelerating the deployment of critical minerals in support of clean energy systems, decarbonisation, and a net-zero future

Special emphasis will be placed on cobalt—a material critical to the automotive, electronics, defence, and healthcare sectors – and its unique position in the global sustainability conversation.

speakers

H.E. Louis Watum Kabamba,
Minister of Mines, DR Congo

Born in 1962 in Kinshasa, His Excellency Louis Watum Kabamba has held numerous positions, including Operations Director at the Yatela gold mine in Mali from 2001 to 2005. From 2006 to 2009, H.E. Louis Watum worked on the Moto Gold Mines project before successfully leading the development and commissioning of Randgold’s Kibali project.

In December 2014, he joined Ivanhoe Mines as General Manager of the company’s operations in the DRC. There, he played a key role in developing the Kamoa copper mines and the Kipushi Corporation’s zinc-copper-silver mine. He has served as Chairman and CEO of the company for several years.

With valuable professional experience in the mining sector, he became the Managing Director of Kamoa Copper SA in March 2015. In August 2025, he was appointed the Minister of Mines having previously served as the Minister of Industry & Small and Medium Enterprises.

Mahnaz Khan,
Vice President of Policy for Critical Supply Chains,
Silverado Policy Accelerator

Mahnaz Khan is the Vice President of Policy for Critical Supply Chains at Silverado Policy Accelerator, where she leads the critical minerals portfolio. She specializes in developing innovative trade policy frameworks for critical mineral partnerships and analyzing geopolitical policy strategies related to strategic defense and battery dual-use critical minerals.

Prior to joining Silverado in 2024, she spent 14 years as a career civil servant in trade policy at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the U.S. International Trade Commission, and the Department of Commerce. She also serves as a Non-resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s GeoTech Center. Mahnaz holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Boston University and a Juris Doctor from Chicago-Kent College of Law.

Prof. Jef Caers,
Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences and, by courtesy, of Geophysics,
Stanford University; Stanford Mineral-X Co-Founder

Jef Caers received both an MSc (’93) in mining engineering / geophysics and a PhD (’97) in mining engineering from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium. Currently, he is Professor of Earth and Planetary at Stanford University, California, USA. His research interests are decision making under uncertainty in developing the critical mineral supply as well as geothermal energy required to transition to 100% renewable energy.

Jef Caers is founder of the Mineral-X, a community building effort to strengthen stewardship for a prosperous future for all, powered by Earth’s minerals. He has published in a diverse range of journals covering Mathematics, Statistics, Earth Sciences, Engineering and Computer Science. Jef Caers authored or co-authored five books entitled “Petroleum Geostatistics” (SPE, 2005) “Modeling Uncertainty in the Earth Sciences” (Wiley-Blackwell, 2011), “Multiple-point Geostatistics: stochastic modeling with training images” (Wiley-Blackwell, 2015), “Quantifying Uncertainty in Subsurface Systems (Wiley-Blackwell, 2018), “Data Science for the Geosciences” (Cambridge UP, 2023). He was awarded the Krumbein Medal of the IAMG for his career achievement.

Popol Mabolia Yenga,
Director General,
Mining Registry of the DRC (CAMI)

Since August 1, 2023, Mr. Mabolia Yenga has been Director General of the Mining Registry of the DRC (CAMI). Previously, he served as Coordinator of the Technical Unit for Mining Coordination and Planning (CTCPM), an agency within the office of the Minister of Mines, from late 2017 to 2023.

It should be noted that Mr. Mabolia was responsible for the PROMINES Project of the Ministry of Mines, as National Coordinator, which supported Ministry of Mines, as National Coordinator, which supported good governance in the mining sector in order to promote economic growth in the DRC. This was a nine-year program worth $50 million, financed by the World Bank, which ended in December 2018.

Before taking over as head of Promines in 2009, Mr. Mabolia was
Coordinator of the DRC’s Kimberley Process Commission in the
office of the Minister of Mines from 2003 to 2009. He was responsible for issues relating to conflict minerals, precious and semi-precious minerals, gold and 3T minerals. In this capacity, he chaired the steering committee of the ICGLR Regional Initiative against the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources.

From 1986 to 2003, Mr. Mabolia worked in Kinshasa, London, New York, and Brussels for the DRC’s national copper mining company, Gecamines, where he held various positions in the areas of hedging, sales, marketing, and financial analysis.

Mr. Mabolia holds a master’s degree in economics from the University of Ottawa, Canada (1984).

Marina Demidova,
Head of Communications,
Cobalt Institute

Marina is the dynamic force behind the communications strategy at Cobalt Institute, driving its mission to amplify the Institute’s impact and visibility across key global markets—including in Europe, North America, and Africa. Through her leadership, she has significantly enhanced the Institute’s presence among media, industry stakeholders, and international organizations, ensuring its voice is heard in critical conversations about the future of cobalt.

With a wealth of experience advising high-profile trade associations, energy and tech companies, Marina excels in shaping strategic communications, advocacy campaigns, media relations, and reputation management. Marina holds a Master’s in Political Communications and Strategy from the University of Kent, and she is multilingual, fluent in Russian, English, and French.

Registration is now closed. Please contact CI@cobaltinstitute.org for more information.