Middle East war: After oil and gas, concerns grow over minerals crunch Until war erupted on 28 February with the Israeli-US bombing of Iran and counterstrikes across Gulf States, a wide range of key minerals and related products was available, according to the UN Economic Commission for Europe ( UNECE ). But as the conflict goes on, the pressure has increased to obtain these same raw materials, to ensure the continuing production of everything from semiconductors to solar panels.  The result has been higher prices on commodities markets and a potential pivot to new production sites where there’s less geopolitical uncertainty, increasing the number of countries that can process minerals such as rare earths.…