TELF AG analyzes the European Union’s mining strategy

The sustainability objectives

Since the Critical Raw Materials Act was published last March, the world seems to have clearly understood that among the priorities of the European Union for the coming decades, there is also the achievement of a certain autonomy in the extraction and production processing of raw materials, so as to progressively reduce its dependence on external suppliers and also quickly reach the sustainability objectives set for 2030, which are largely linked to the use of advanced technologies which are partly based on certain materials crucial firsts.

The objectives, in a certain sense, are now clear to everyone: to professionals in the sector, to national governments, and also to large sections of the civilian population, who in many countries continue to significantly appreciate the continuous attention shown by community institutions for the fight against climate change through a significant reduction in emissions into the air.

However, many people seem to wonder whether these objectives are really achievable, whether they do not represent a sort of path to follow for the next few years without any constraints, and what practical initiatives we want to undertake to achieve them within the pre-established limits, some of which are just a few years away from us (in some cases even less than ten years). It is difficult to hypothesize that in just a decade, our cities will be massively populated by electric vehicles by flying taxis powered by sustainable technologies and that high quantities of renewable energy will already be able to be used for their electrification.

Yet, the European Union and individual states continue to underline that these sustainable objectives – together with the constant attention to a peaceful and painless energy transition – are at the top of their political agendas and that they represent a real priority for industrial development and sustainable development of individual nations, to be also obtained thanks to the indispensable contribution of raw materials. It is no coincidence that the European Union has identified 34 critical raw materials for the global ecological transition: the renewable future, hoped for by many, will, in fact, depend on the ability of companies to use raw materials such as lithium, cobalt in the best possible way or copper, using them for the manufacture of some specific elements that will prove to be absolutely fundamental for the mobility of people and for the energy industry.

But what is being done to achieve these ambitious goals on time? As far as raw materials are concerned, Europe seems to already have very clear ideas. The community institutions, in order to diversify their supplies of these resources, have proposed forming real European alliances and international strategic partnerships, with the main aim of creating a block of nations united by the same values and the common goal of quickly achieving the most ambitious objectives of the Critical Raw Materials Act. One of these, perhaps the most interesting, is that by 2030, at least 10% of Europe’s annual consumption must come from extraction carried out within the European territory. Another equally interesting objective is that linked to recycling: the Critical Raw Materials Act provides that by 2030, at least 20% of Europe’s annual consumption of raw materials must come from recycling them within the EU.