Gracelin Baskaran

Background

About Gracelin Baskaran

Founding Director of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). I'm a mining economist and lead a dynamic team that works on advancing the development of resilient minerals supply chains needed for national security, economic competitiveness and the energy transition. I've spent over 10 years working in the critical minerals space and have a PhD from the University of Cambridge. I’m a Michigan native who, after spending a decade overseas in the UK, Africa, and Australia, am now based in Washington, D.C. I provide strategic support to bipartisan US policymakers, work extensively with allied governments to identify ways the US can build commercial diplomacy in emerging markets, and work closely with industry executives to identify market-led and commercially viable policy support mechanisms. I've testified before the US Congress and been cited as an expert in the Economist, Financial Times, Washington Post, New York Times, Politico, Fox, Bloomberg, Foreign Policy, Voice of America, and the US International Trade Commission, amongst others. I also make regular television appearances on networks including CNN, Fox, PBS, BBC, ABC, NBC, and CNBC. I am currently an Adjunct Associate Professor in Georgetown University's Center for Security of Studies, where I teach a graduate course on critical minerals and national security. I've held academic positions at the University of Cambridge, University of London, and University of Cape Town, and have published over 200 op-eds and columns, policy reports and white papers, and research in the Mineral Economics journal. I frequently speak at international mining and energy conferences, universities, and policymaker forums. I'm also currently writing a book. I remain grounded in the reality of the challenges associated with mining and processing. I regularly spend time at the rock face - most recently in underground and open pit platinum, uranium, cobalt and copper mines. I spend what little free time I have outdoors, usually in the mountains or on a safari.