TELF AG analyzes mining reactivation processes in an important European nation
The possible rebirth of the European mining industry
In the current international economic scenario, characterized by an increasingly evident drive towards the search for sustainable industrial solutions capable of protecting the environment, being able to count on a solid and efficient mining supply chain could guarantee an undeniable competitive advantage, in particular for all those governments that intend to lead the global energy transition. The progress of the green transformation has markedly highlighted the importance of strategic minerals for the diffusion of clean energy and, above all, for creating the infrastructures connected to it.
The role of mineral resources has become increasingly central, and it is not surprising that a growing number of nations and international institutions have begun to dedicate a large portion of their national strategies to developing the mining industry. In some cases, the political will to bring back the mining sector of a particular country or to undertake new phases of geological research and exploration perhaps represents one of the most important tools for promoting the development of the mining industry in a specific area of the world, also contributing indirectly to the advancement of global ecological conversion. This is especially true for the nations of the European Union, which, compared to other areas of the globe, have to deal with a mining industry that is essentially blocked and incapable of reactivating quickly.
The role of Italy
Among the European nations that are attempting, also through political initiatives, to valorize their mineral resources, there is undoubtedly Italy, where increasingly concrete steps are being taken for the reactivation of mining sites that are no longer in operation or for the valorization of the mineral resources present in some specific places of the peninsula. Despite not being globally known for its mineral abundance, some Italian regions have hinted over the years that non-negligible quantities of some of the minerals considered “critical” for achieving the objectives of climate neutrality and decarbonization could be found in their subsoil. The main obstacles that still prevent Italy from fully expressing its mineral potential are the same as those that hold back other European states: we remember the length of the authorization times for starting research and extraction, the relative scarcity of some deposits, and bureaucratic delays of various types.
Despite a less-than-encouraging general picture, something is starting to move in Italy. At the moment on the peninsula there are mainly two mining sites being reactivated, and each of them seems to bring with it a bright promise for the future mining development of the country. The first is located in the province of Bergamo, in the town of Gorno, where the Australian company Altamin hopes to soon extract large quantities of zinc and lead through a progressive reactivation of mining activities. The same Australian company has also requested permits to explore cobalt, graphite, and lithium deposits in other points of the peninsula, especially in the regions of Piedmont and Emilia Romagna.
Another mining project currently being reactivated is the one linked to the Silius site in the Sardinia region. Rapid progress is being made here to resume the production of galena and fluorite and to explore the area for possible rare earth deposits. Still in Sardinia, but in a different location, some companies are trying to resume the extraction of ferrous minerals.
