<a title="An unlicensed mining operation in Toboali, on the southern shores of the island of Bangka, Indonesia, in April 2021" href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/japantimes/uploads/images/2026/11/01/571526.jpg" data-fancybox="gallery" data-caption="An unlicensed mining operation in Toboali, on the southern shores of the island of Bangka, Indonesia, in April 2021

| REUTERS">

An unlicensed mining operation in Toboali, on the southern shores of the island of Bangka, Indonesia, in April 2021

| REUTERS

YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia – Interdependence may have been one of the key themes going into this year’s annual meeting of the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals, and Sustainable Development (IGF), held in Geneva on Oct. 12 to Oct. 14, but competition between countries to secure transition minerals remains intense.…