Gracelin Baskaran

Founding Director – Project on Critical Minerals Security CSIS

Dr. Gracelin Baskaran is the research director and senior fellow for the Energy Security and Climate Change Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). She is a mining economist, and her primary expertise is in critical minerals, trade, and emerging markets. Prior to joining CSIS, she spent 7 years in South Africa working on the platinum group metals sector and later joining the World Bank. Dr Baskaran coauthored the book Africa’s Resource Future: Harnessing Natural Resources for Economic Transformation during the Low-Carbon Transition (World Bank, 2023). She has also held academic positions at the University of Cambridge, University of London, and University of Cape Town. Her work has been published in the Journal of Mineral Economics, Energy Intelligence, Bloomberg, US International Trade Commission, the Brookings Institution’s Foresight Africa, Business Day, and Foreign Policy amongst others. She frequently speaks at international mining forums. Dr. Baskaran was a Fulbright Scholar and holds a doctorate from the University of Cambridge.