How Sovereign Wealth Funds Invest in Mining and Critical Minerals

At a glance

• 34 deals by 24 sovereign funds in our tables.
• 10 carry an amount we can show in USD; 1 are USD 1 billion or more.
• Most active fund: Mutapa Investment Fund (Zimbabwe) with 3 deals.
• Main structure: direct investment.

Key findings

1. Our profile tables list 34 mining and critical minerals deals across 24 funds, 3% of all deals we track.
2. Most active: MIF (3), CADFund (3), MIIF (3).
3. Most common structure: direct investment (21 deals, 62%). Co-investments and joint ventures: 7. Fund commitments: 1.
4. Biggest amount in our tables: USD 4.2B, National Fund in Gold (2025).
5. By fund home region: Asia 12, Africa 10, Europe 7.
6. 34 operating funds name mining and critical minerals as a focus sector on their profiles.
7. 17 of these deals are dated 2024 or later.
8. Top stages: growth (14), credit (6), public markets (6).

Most active funds

Biggest deals in our tables

Structures and stages

Regional patterns

Most common target countries: Ghana (4), Zimbabwe (3), Global (3), United Kingdom (3), South Africa (2), Uzbekistan (2).

Partners named most often: Orion Resource Partners (2), ADQ (2), China National Nuclear Corporation (1), WISCO International (1), Somisen SA (1), Asante Gold (1).

Mini case studies

Tungsten with Cove Capital: the co-investment model (Samruk-Kazyna)

• Agreed to develop two tungsten deposits with a US partner.
• When: November 2025 / Size: USD 1.1B planned capex
• Why: Shows the fund's minority, partner-led model for bringing foreign capital into critical minerals.
• Outcome: Subject to a feasibility study.
• Src: S5

Gold as a strategic reserve (SOFAZ)

• Built gold to 200 tonnes, 38.2 percent of assets, by end 2025.
• When: 2012 to 2026 / Size: USD 28.1B at end 2025
• Why: SOFAZ treats gold as part of national reserves and a hedge, not a short-term return asset.
• Outcome: Sold 22.1 tonnes in early 2026 to help meet budget transfers; 178.1 tonnes held at June 2026.
• Src: S11, S8, S12

Cornwall critical minerals (National Wealth Fund)

• Backed Cornish Lithium and Cornish Metals with GBP 84 million since 2023.
• When: 2023 to 2026 / Size: GBP 84M
• Why: Build a domestic supply of battery and industrial metals.
• Outcome: A further GBP 31M went to Cornish Lithium in 2025-26.
• Src: S1

What this means for founders, managers and family offices

• Know the stage. Growth is the most common stage here (14 deals), then credit (6). Seed deals: 0.
• Bring a clear offtake and processing plan. Supply-chain security is the usual reason a fund looks at minerals.
• Co-investing beside a state miner or offtaker is often easier than a standalone pitch.
• Fund commitments are 3% of deals here. Most money goes direct, so managers should lead with co-investment rights.
• Family offices: 7 co-investments and joint ventures in our tables. Sitting beside a sovereign fund is more realistic than raising from one; start with the funds listed above.

Data notes: Counts come from the investment, case study and size tables in our fund profiles. They cover the deals each profile lists, not every deal a fund has done, so read them as a guide, not a full census. USD figures marked approx are either stated in USD in the profile or converted at the exchange rate implied by a fund profile headline in the same currency. Amounts are as the profile states them, so some are the full deal size and some are the fund's own ticket. Sector is the tag on each deal in our tables.

Sources

Every figure on this page comes from the fund profiles linked in the tables. Source ids such as S3 refer to the numbered sources on each fund's own profile page, where the original document is listed with its date.