Ilan Goldfajn, president of the Inter-American Development Bank, meets privately with Pope Leo XIV to argue for rare-earth mining, outlets report. The meeting comes as the Vatican promotes a divestment campaign related to the mining industry. According to reports, Goldfajn makes the case that rare-earth extraction can be conducted while avoiding past mistakes, positioning the materials as important for supplying a global technology boom.
Multiple outlets describe the audience as private, with Goldfajn presenting his views directly to the pope. Fortune reports that the pope has firsthand experience with mining in Peru, after hosting mining executives in a “very constructive” private audience roughly two months earlier. Following that, the Vatican launches or accelerates a divestment effort. Other reports place the focus on Goldfajn’s attempt to counter the Vatican’s call for divestment by emphasizing potential benefits and the possibility of improved practices in rare-earth mining.
The coverage is consistent on the key elements: the banker’s private meeting with Pope Leo XIV, the rare-earth mining topic, and the backdrop of the Vatican’s divestment campaign.
