implementation-oriented screening, addressing the persistent fragmentation between mineral criticality analysis and downstream industrial decision-making. The method follows a three-step logic. The sequence begins with the FWE Nexus–oriented criticality assessment, which identifies minerals that are systemically significant and whose disruption may generate cascading impacts across food, water, energy, and industrial systems. This assessment serves as a screening mechanism, not a ranking exercise, and indicates whether a mineral warrants strategic attention from a nexus and sustainability perspective. With the defined list of FWE Nexus critical minerals, the MidReVa tool is then applied to examine whether realistic pathways exist to develop or expand midstream activities for these minerals, particularly through repurposing existing industrial assets. Lastly, the outputs of both tools are translated into structured policy dialogue, supporting cross-ministerial coordination, intervention sequencing, and alignment with industrial, energy, and resource strategies. Methodologically, the workflow is deliberately bottom-up, relying on asset-, system-, and project-maturity information structured through UNFC and UNRMS, while remaining fully compatible with top-down industrial and diversification strategies. The two tools can be applied independently or jointly, and their combined use strengthens coherence between strategic mineral prioritization and actionable development pathways, consistent with UNRMS principles of sustainability, resilience, and long-term value creation. 4. FOOD-WATER-ENERGY NEXUS-ORIENTED CRITICALITY ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY The FWE Nexus-oriented criticality assessment tool provides an upstream framing and prioritization lens. At the policy level, it supports the identification of minerals, thereby informing priority setting, diversification strategies, strategic stockpiling, recycling, and substitution policies. At the project level, the assessment provides an indicative policy signal, whereby minerals assessed as highly critical may warrant sustained policy attention, coordinated permitting approaches, or risk-mitigation measures. It is designed to complement conventional criticality analyses by explicitly integrating considerations of food, water, and energy systems. The methodology supports policy-relevant prioritization of critical minerals in a manner consistent with sustainable resource management principles, as articulated under UNRMS and UNFC. The methodology does not replace existing economic or market-based criticality metrics but broadens the analytical lens to capture systemic importance, resilience, and sustainability. It is intended as a screening-level tool to inform strategic planning, without producing rankings. The tool evaluates criticality across two core dimensions: System Exposure and Supply Risk. System Exposure captures the magnitude of systemic consequences arising from a disruption, while Supply Risk reflects the likelihood, severity, and persistence of such disruptions, explicitly anchored in UNFC classifications. To operationalize this perspective, the FWE Nexus-oriented criticality assessment is structured around two interlinked dimensions. 58
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