Appian Capital Advisory is discussing potential funding for critical minerals projects with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and other institutions, following its $1 billion joint fund with the International Finance Corporation announced a year ago. The EBRD confirmed that discussions are ongoing, but the potential transaction’s size and terms were not disclosed. Paulo Castellari, Appian’s CEO for critical minerals, said the IFC partnership has helped establish a model for additional European deals, although similar arrangements could take years to develop. Western governments, sovereign wealth funds and development institutions are directing more capital toward minerals supply chains after Beijing imposed export curbs on permanent magnets last year, exposing reliance on a single source. Appian says its record of building 14 mine projects over the past five years has helped attract new partners. The firm plans to deploy $5 billion to $7 billion globally over the next 12 to 24 months, including roughly $2 billion in Africa, while policy uncertainty is shifting some investment toward Latin America. Appian is also considering downstream processing assets, where capacity constraints have emerged for minerals used in rare-earth magnets.