Gracelin Baskaran

Director, Critical Minerals Security Program
5Baskaran

Dr. Gracelin Baskaran is director of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. She is a mining economist and has spent over a decade working on critical minerals globally. She began her career in South Africa’s platinum belt and later spent five years at the World Bank in South Africa, where she coauthored the book Africa’s Resource Future: Harnessing Natural Resources for Economic Transformation during the Low-Carbon Transition. She recently published a policy playbook, Critical Minerals and the Future of the United States Economy, and is now writing a book on an international strategy for critical minerals engagement for the United States. Dr. Baskaran is also an adjunct associate professor at Georgetown University, where she teaches critical minerals in the Center for Security Studies. She was a Fulbright Scholar and has held positions at the University of Cambridge, the University of London, and the University of Cape Town. Dr. Baskaran has been cited as an expert in The Economist, Financial Times, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Fox, CNN, Bloomberg, and BBC, and regularly appears on television. She has authored more than 200 policy reports, white papers, and op-eds. In 2025, Mining Journal ranked Dr. Baskaran No. 8 on its “Top 50 Most Influential” list—the only woman in the top 12. She regularly speaks at international conferences and policymaker forums and has testified before the U.S. Congress. She holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge.

Programs & Projects

Areas of Expertise

Gracelin Baskaran's Reports

Photo: Aleks Taurus/Adobe Stock

Photo: Aleks Taurus/Adobe Stock

Using Minerals and Energy to Rebuild the U.S.-South Africa Relationship

Minerals have been the backbone of the U.S.–South Africa relationship for over a century. South Africa is a mineral production and processing powerhouse, but rising energy costs are pushing capacity to China. If it declines, U.S. dependence on China and Russia deepens.

Brief by Gracelin Baskaran — March 18, 2026

Gracelin Baskaran's Analysis

Photo: snvv/Adobe Stock

Photo: snvv/Adobe Stock

Winning the Minerals Race Requires Building Demand, Not Just Supply

Minerals security is not just a supply challenge; it is a demand one. China built dominance by linking mines to manufacturing and driving demand through firms like BYD. The United States needs bold demand-side policy and real incentives to source from allies and unlock investment.

Commentary by Gracelin Baskaran — April 3, 2026

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Audio Briefs

Winning the Minerals Race Requires Building Demand, Not Just Supply

An audio version of “⁠Winning the Minerals Race Requires Building Demand, Not Just Supply⁠,” a new Commentary by CSIS’s Gracelin Baskaran. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs.

Podcast Episode by Gracelin Baskaran — April 3, 2026

Audio Briefs

Winning the Minerals Race Requires Building Demand, Not Just Supply

Minerals security is not just a supply challenge; it is a demand one. China built dominance by linking mines to manufacturing and driving demand through firms like BYD. The United States needs bold demand-side policy and real incentives to source from allies and unlock investment.

Commentary by Gracelin Baskaran — April 3, 2026

Using Minerals and Energy to Rebuild the U.S.-South Africa Relationship

Minerals have been the backbone of the U.S.–South Africa relationship for over a century. South Africa is a mineral production and processing powerhouse, but rising energy costs are pushing capacity to China. If it declines, U.S. dependence on China and Russia deepens.

Brief by Gracelin Baskaran — March 18, 2026

Industrial Policy Is Back—And Minerals Are at the Center

The United States has revived its industrial policy playbook to support critical minerals through price floors, stockpiles, and equity. But in a sector shaped by geology, cost curves, and market risk, durable security depends on commercial viability—not just public capital.

Critical Questions by Gracelin Baskaran and Meredith Schwartz — February 26, 2026

Critical Minerals Ministerial Introduces New International Cooperation Strategy

At the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial, 55 foreign ministers convened to advance minerals security through new bilateral and plurilateral frameworks, marking a shift toward coordinated, market-shaping efforts to stabilize prices and strengthen allied supply chains.

Critical Questions by Gracelin Baskaran and Meredith Schwartz — February 13, 2026

Project Vault: A Minerals Security Backstop

Project Vault is a $12 billion EXIM-backed critical minerals stockpile. OEMs commit capital in exchange for access during supply chain disruptions, creating an insurance-style buffer that strengthens industrial resilience and economic security.

Critical Questions by Gracelin Baskaran — February 11, 2026

Audio Briefs

Project Vault: A Minerals Security Backstop

An audio version of "⁠Project Vault: A Minerals Security Backstop⁠," a new Critical Questions by CSIS's Gracelin Baskaran. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs.

Podcast Episode by Gracelin Baskaran — February 11, 2026

Audio Briefs

Securing Critical Mineral Supply: A Government–Industry Dialogue

Join the CSIS Critical Minerals Security Program virtually for public sessions on financing, investment conditions, supply-chain resilience, and public–private coordination, as part of "Securing Critical Mineral Supply: A Government–Industry Dialogue."

Event — February 3, 2026