Annual report

Mineral resources: OFREMI publishes its 2025 annual report

OFREMI, the French Observatory for Mineral Resources for Industrial Sectors, led by BRGM, has published its 2025 annual report, which covers Chinese restrictions on rare earths, a national strategy for copper, a stress test on tungsten and discussions about a European metals exchange, among other subjects. Three years after its creation, OFREMI has established itself as a key player in securing supply chains, both in France and across Europe.

25 August 2026

Ofremi 2025 annual report.

The French Observatory for Mineral Resources for Industrial Sectors (OFREMI) applies its expertise to support French and European sovereignty by providing valuable insights to the Government, the European Union and industry.

In 2025, its activities were disrupted and amplified by growing tensions in the metals market, fuelled by international conflicts and export restrictions.

A public-private partnership

Founded in 2022, OFREMI unites the expertise of six partner organisations – BRGM, which coordinates it, the CEA, ADEME, IFPEN, IFRI and CNAM – within a multidisciplinary team of around twenty experts. Its unique model, based on a public-private partnership, enables it to provide rapid and independent insights to the authorities and industry, both during times of crisis and on an ongoing basis.

The 2025 Annual Report highlights the growth of this institution, which is now recognised in France and across Europe as one of the few capable of delivering reliable expert appraisal on strategic minerals and metals.

Extensive expertise in critical metals

Last year, OFREMI focused its efforts on a range of minerals and metals that are critical to French and European industry, in particular rare earths and permanent magnets, identifying threats to their supply as well as possible courses of action to secure them.

Working in close consultation with its partners, who are involved in various working groups, it has drawn up and shared a national strategy for copper, aimed at meeting future demand for the metal, and has continued to carry out valuable and confidential market monitoring of titanium, increasingly appreciated by manufacturers.

It furthermore examined the situation regarding platinoids with respect to the development of the hydrogen sector and the increasing electrification of transport, which amongst other things requires an increase in battery manufacturing facilities in France.

Analyses based on tried and trusted methods

To carry out its research effectively, OFREMI draws on its knowledge of value chains, with ongoing monitoring and exclusive information provided by its industrial partners – some of whom are quoted in this annual report. It also applies tried-and-trusted methods, which it is constantly refining, to assess the criticality of a metal or to estimate the consequences of a disruption to its supply.

Thanks to its expertise, OFREMI is able to analyse the mechanisms behind price formation and the workings of export restrictions, particularly those imposed by China, with one goal in mind, that of furthering our knowledge and understanding so that we can anticipate developments and adapt to changes. This is also why it has developed its private-access information system, designed as a dynamic and evolving platform, which is constantly updated to provide its partners with solutions to their problems.

Putting manufacturers in touch with one another

Deeply involved in the implementation of the CRM Act (Critical Raw Materials Act), OFREMI aims not only to support decision-making but also to bring together French and European manufacturers with a view to promoting the development of major projects for the energy and digital transitions across Europe.

In their words

The strategy for securing supplies of critical minerals and metals, which France has been implementing since 2023, is based on a detailed understanding of the value chains for the various strategic metals and their use by the various downstream industrial sectors. This knowledge is, in fact, essential for assessing criticality issues, anticipating crises and setting priorities for industrial investment. This is precisely the role of OFREMI, which, after three years of existence, has established itself at both national and European levels as a key player in the implementation of public policy and the provision of expert advice to industrial companies in this field.

Benjamin Gallezot, Interministerial Commissioner for the Supply of Strategic Minerals and Metals (DIAMMS)

The year 2025 was intended to be one in which our activities would stabilise at a steady pace, building on the experience gained in 2023 and 2024, but current events changed matters! OFREMI has therefore adapted to go beyond its original remit and provide the analyses required by the government and industry regarding strategic metals, export restrictions and price formation.

Stéphane Bourg, Director of OFREMI