cmforum.org

What cmforum.org does

The Critical Minerals Forum (CMF) is an independent 501(c)(6) nonprofit business trade association established in 2024 and headquartered in Washington, DC, with seed funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) under its Open Price Exploration for National Security (OPEN) initiative. The organization convenes critical mineral miners, minerals processors, end-user manufacturers (including automotive, electronics, and defense firms), institutional investors, and US public-sector stakeholders to accelerate investment across critical mineral supply chains. It serves as a neutral convener with direct access to senior US government officials, international finance institutions, and sovereign investors, and has been recognized by Congressional and Department of War stakeholders as a key advisory voice.

CMF's core product is the CMF Dashboard (also referenced as the Resilient Price Data Platform), a data analytics platform providing forecasts of resilient price, supply, and demand for critical minerals with geographic customization and asset-level cost curves. The platform is powered by AI-driven models developed through partnerships with preeminent data analytics firms under DARPA's OPEN initiative, with Forum members providing feedback to refine forecasts. The proprietary "Resilient Price" metric articulates the true cost of production for ethically produced metals without state-backed subsidies, providing transparent price indices intended to support long-term offtake contracts. CMF also operates two annual convenings: the CMF US-Africa Investment Summit (3rd edition held June 2026) and the NIMI 2026 Nuclear & Medical Isotope Summit (scheduled September 2026).

The organization's business model relies on 501(c)(6) membership dues and event-related revenue (including sponsorships). Paid CMF member companies receive free admission to the annual summit as a core membership benefit. Distribution is membership-based with global geographic reach spanning the United States and more than 14 African nations, supported by engagement with major US agencies (Departments of War, Energy, Commerce, State), the World Bank Group/IFC, Millennium Challenge Corporation, and named enterprises including South32 Hermosa, NioCorp Developments, Volkswagen Group of America, Applied Materials, and Lockheed Martin.

Name

cmforum.org

Legal name

Critical Minerals Forum

Website

https://cmforum.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Critical Minerals Forum is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit trade association that convenes critical mineral miners, processors, manufacturers, investors, and US government stakeholders, and operates a DARPA-funded data platform for AI-driven forecasting of resilient mineral pricing, supply, and demand.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Critical Minerals Market Intelligence & Trade Association

NAICS

Support Activities for Metal Mining (213114), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Critical Minerals Trading, Offtake & Marketing (IMAKAFAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Carbon Market Data, Indices, Ratings & Price Reporting (MRPAs) (EUAGAIAH), Training, Enablement & Talent Development Summits (THAHAMAH), Battery & Critical Minerals Trading (Lithium, Cobalt, Graphite, Manganese, Rare Earths) (IMAKAJAE)

Keywords

• Critical minerals intelligence
• Mineral supply chain data
• Mining trade association
• Commodity price forecasting
• Investment forums

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: 501(c)(6) non-profit business trade association funded through membership fees. Paid CMF member companies receive free admission to the annual summit as a membership benefit.
2. Seed Funding: Initial seed funding provided by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), Department of War, as part of the Open Price Exploration for National Security (OPEN) initiative.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Critical Minerals Forum is an independent 501(c)(6) non-profit business trade association that convenes critical mineral miners, processors, end-user manufacturers, investors, and public sector stakeholders. It operates a data platform providing AI-driven forecasts of resilient price, supply, and demand for critical minerals with geographic customization and asset-level cost curves, and hosts annual summits including the CMF US-Africa Investment Summit and the NIMI Nuclear & Medical Isotopes Summit.

Product overview

The Critical Minerals Forum is a 501(c)(6) independent non-profit business trade association, not a traditional SaaS product company. The organization operates the CMF Data & Project Pipeline Platform (also referred to as the CMF Dashboard), which is a data analytics platform providing forecasts of resilient price, supply, and demand for critical minerals. This platform is powered by AI-driven models and offers geographic customization and asset-level cost curves. A complementary offering is the Resilient Price Data Platform, which articulates transparent cost structures for ethically produced metals. The organization also hosts two annual summits: the CMF US-Africa Investment Summit and the NIMI (Nuclear & Medical Isotope) Summit.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CMF Data & Project Pipeline Platform (CMF Dashboard)

Quantifiable outcome

• Provides transparent cost information and price indices relevant to counterparties and viable for long-term offtake contracts, counteracting distortions from state-backed market manipulation
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• S&P Global / RovjokcoreTechnology or IntegrationBaseline market presentations for commodity deep dive sessions at the Summit covering tungsten, copper, and tantalum. S&P/Rovjok provides market intelligence supporting the CMF data platform.
• World Bank Group / International Finance CorporationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNamrata Thapar, Global Head of Metals & Mining at IFC participated as a speaker at Summit 2026. World Bank Group represented in fireside session on international development approaches to minerals.
• U.S. Department of WarcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRecognized by Department of War stakeholders as a key advisory voice. Created joint working group for technical and strategic planning. Attended by senior officials including Randall L. Harvey, Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for Special Operations Policy.
• U.S. Department of EnergymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWilliam L. T. Schirano, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multilateral Engagement and Market Development at DOE participated in U.S. Interagency Approaches panel. DOE presented at copper commodity session.
• U.S. Department of CommercemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMark Mitchell, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Middle East and Africa participated in Summit 2026 panel on operational and industrial readiness.
• Millennium Challenge CorporationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAmanda Jennings, Acting Deputy Vice President of Infrastructure, Environment and Private Sector participated in U.S. Interagency Approaches panel at Summit 2026.
• Rwanda Mines, Petroleum and Gas Board (RMB)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlice Uwase, CEO of RMB participated in sovereign perspectives fireside. RMB presented at tungsten commodity session. Active participant in African mineral development discussions.
• Nigeria Ministry of Solid Minerals DevelopmentmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPresented at tantalum commodity session at Summit 2026, discussing Nigerian mineral development opportunities.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (S&P Global Commodity Insights): Specialist provider of critical minerals (lithium, cobalt, nickel, rare earths) price forecasts, supply/demand intelligence, and proprietary market data. Most direct functional comparison to CMF's Resilient Price/Dashboard offering, with significantly larger scale.
• Adamas Intelligence: Independent research and advisory firm focused exclusively on critical minerals and battery raw materials, offering price, supply, demand and cost forecasts. Closely comparable specialty niche and productized intelligence model to CMF's.
• European Raw Materials Alliance (ERMA): EU-convened alliance with a parallel mission to build resilient critical raw material value chains, involving industry, finance, and public-sector actors. Closest analog to CMF's convening and policy-adjacent mandate, but serving the European policy ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• Wood Mackenzie / S&P Commodity Insights: Global commodity research and consulting provider with broad metals/mining coverage including critical minerals as part of a much wider portfolio. Represents the incumbent benchmark that CMF's Resilient Price attempts to compete with or complement.
• Fastmarkets: Leading commodity price reporting agency covering metals, minerals, and battery raw materials with assessments, forecasts, and indices. Most direct analog to the price discovery function CMF is building, on a much larger and longer-tenured basis.
• CRU Group: Independent commodity research and consultancy covering battery raw materials alongside a broad metals/mining franchise. Similar subscription-based analyst model and enterprise customer base to CMF's target segments.

Emerging players

• National Mining Association: U.S. mining industry trade association focused on federal policy advocacy for domestic mineral production. Comparable as a 501(c)(6)-style convening body, although broader in scope (all mining vs. critical minerals only) and primarily legislative in orientation.

Others

• International Energy Agency (IEA): Intergovernmental energy policy organization with an expanding Critical Minerals Programme producing supply, demand, and scenario analyses for governments. Tangentially comparable as a policy-adjacent critical minerals data publisher and convener.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/critical-minerals-forum

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about cmforum.org