The European Union has identified 46 projects that will receive fast-tracked permits and help in attracting financing. Total capital investment in them is estimated at about €21.1 billion. The goal is to reduce dependence on China for raw material supplies to the defense, aerospace, automotive, and energy sectors.
The EU, along with other Western economies, is heavily dependent on China for critical minerals and components, from batteries to rare earth elements. Over the past two years, Beijing has increasingly used this dependence as a trade lever, accelerating Brussels’ efforts to diversify supply and work out joint stockpiling of raw materials.
The new list spans 16 EU countries and covers 15 of the 17 items on the European list of strategic raw materials: copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, graphite, rare earth elements, magnesium, and tungsten.
Notable projects include the Zinnwald lithium project in Germany, the Skouries mine in Greece, the planned Arctial aluminum smelter in Finland, and the Viscaria copper project in Sweden. The list also includes projects backed by major European industrial groups, including Umicore, Aurubis, and Leonardo.
Strategic project status does not guarantee automatic funding. The Commission merely eases access to EU funds and helps developers establish contacts with lenders. Progress on last year’s projects is slow: more than €2 billion in public funds has already been mobilized, but in August developers warned that without urgent financing some initiatives may not go ahead.
Separately, the European Commission granted strategic status to two projects of Poland’s KGHM Polska Miedź with a combined value of about $2.44 billion. The Retków-Grodziszcze mining project is designed to extract more than 100 million tonnes of ore through 2055, yielding nearly 1.5 million tonnes of copper and over 5,000 tonnes of silver. The Legnica copper smelter will be converted into a processing facility with expected output of about 135,000 tonnes of electrolytic copper and 250 tonnes of nickel per year. KGHM shares gained 4% on the news.
The new list shows the EU is trying to turn raw materials security into a systemic policy. However, without real financing and faster permitting, even strategic status remains merely a declaration of intent.
Source: Reuters
Image: MiningWeekly
