Peter Buchholz is heading the German Mineral Resources Agency (DERA) at the German Geological Survey (BGR). The main focus of DERA is to provide market intelligence to assess potential price and supply risks for mineral raw materials as well as to develop mitigation strategies for the German industry to diversify supply sources. Peter joined the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) in 2005 as economic geologists. 

Before his time at the BGR he worked in the areas of ore deposit research, exploration and commodity trading. In 1995 he completed his PhD in economic geology at the RWTH Aachen in Germany. Subsequently, he worked as assistant professor at the TU Bergakademie Freiberg and from 1998 to 2002 as director of the M.Sc. Programme in Exploration Geology at the University of Zimbabwe. After this time he joined a commodity trading company. His research and entrepreneurial work has, nationally and internationally, been awarded.