proEXPLO 2026 to Address Critical Raw Materials Security in the New Global Geopolitical Landscape
Christopher M. Keane will analyze how the combination of geoscience, coherent public policy, and a robust workforce is key to securing the supply of critical raw materials in a context of growing international competition.
Lima, March 31, 2026.- The security of critical raw materials will be one of the central themes of proEXPLO 2026, featuring a keynote lecture by Christopher M. Keane, Director of Geoscience Profession and Higher Education at the American Geosciences Institute, who will discuss how subsurface knowledge, public policy, and talent development have become strategic factors in today’s geopolitical landscape.
The expert, with more than two decades of experience analyzing the relationship between geosciences and society and currently Vice President of the International Raw Materials Observatory, argues that mineral security begins with geology, but is only achieved when coherent public policies are in place to transform resource potential into reliable supply.
Security and Policy
Keane will explain that geoscience reduces uncertainty and investment risk by identifying and characterizing mineral resources. However, he notes that geology alone does not guarantee secure supply: clear regulatory frameworks, efficient permitting, adequate infrastructure, and predictable rules across economic, environmental, and social domains are also required.
In the current geopolitical context, he adds, critical minerals are no longer just productive inputs but have become instruments of economic security and industrial strategy. International competition is no longer limited to access to deposits, but now extends across the entire value chain, from exploration to processing, refining, and long-term offtake agreements.
According to his analysis, countries with high geological potential, including several in Latin America, have a strategic opportunity, provided they align their geoscience capacity with clear mining policies and a long-term development vision.
Strategic Talent
Another key focus of his presentation will be the geoscience workforce challenge. Keane warned that the world faces not only a shortage of professionals, but also a gap between academic training and the skills currently demanded by industry, particularly in areas such as data analysis, modeling, artificial intelligence, and interdisciplinary work.
In his view, closing this gap requires closer collaboration between universities and industry, with programs that integrate geoscientific thinking, quantitative and computational skills, and an understanding of regulatory and social contexts and critical thinking skills to address these increasingly complex challenges.
En su opinión, cerrar esta brecha requiere una colaboración más estrecha entre universidades e industria, con programas que integren pensamiento geocientífico, habilidades cuantitativas y computacionales, y una comprensión de los contextos regulatorios y sociales y habilidades de pensamiento crítico para abordar estos desafíos cada vez más complejos.
Professional Profile
Christopher M. Keane is a geologist with a PhD in Marine, Estuarine, and Environmental Sciences from the University of Maryland. He has more than 25 years of experience analyzing the interaction between geosciences and society, with a focus on public policy, natural resource economics, workforce dynamics, and human capital development in the Earth sciences.
With this integrated perspective, proEXPLO 2026, to be held from May 4 to 6, 2026, at the Centro de Exposiciones Jockey in Lima, is positioned as a key forum to discuss not only where the next major Andean porphyry deposits are located, but also which conceptual, technological, and strategic tools will be needed to discover and develop them successfully.