After several decades of mine closures throughout Europe, the trend is reversing on the Old Continent. Stéphane Séjourné, European Commissioner responsible for industrial strategy, said on Tuesday January 14, 2025, that he had received no less than 170 mining exploitation or research projects on the Old Continent. And the former Minister of Foreign Affairs does not intend to stop there, particularly for rare earths.
“We are currently studying, we will launch the first (financial) guarantees for companies that want to explore,” he assured. The critical raw materials legislation, which came into force in the European Union (EU) in May 2024, has set a high bar. The institution wants to develop its extraction capacities to 10% of its annual consumption by 2030, those of refining by 40% and those of recycling by 25%. Last condition, a single third country cannot alone ensure the annual consumption of the European Union at more than 65%.
Demand for lithium 12 times greater by 2030
These objectives are all the more ambitious as Brussels expects demand six times greater by 2030 for rare metals, and twelve times greater for lithium. Projects concerning the extraction of this strategic metal are currently subject to debate. This is the case of the Imerys project in France, in Allier, or that almost twice as large of Rio Tinto, in Serbia, relaunched in the summer of 2024 after two years at a standstill.
The European Commissioner notably visited Romania on January 8 and 9 where the issue of mines was addressed. “(In the country), we had nine projects, I’m not going to give you a date, but I’m trying to speed things up as much as possible,” added Stéphane Séjourné.
In April 2024, the Verde Magnesium company received the green light to relaunch a metallic magnesium mine and smelter in Romania. This billion-euro project will start production around 2027, and would allow Europe to regain a foothold in this critical market dominated more than 90% by China.
Source: www.usinenouvelle.com
