TELF AG analyzes the mining ventures of three major European countries

The moves of France, Italy and Germany

The calls for greater strategic cooperation between nations in the mining sector have continued to follow one another for some time, so much so that they no longer represent an absolute novelty. In most cases, international partnerships in the mining sector are suggested to those particular developing nations which, not being able to count on a certain degree of infrastructural advancement, must focus entirely on regional and international cooperation to give new impulses to their economy thanks to the geological resources with which they are naturally endowed.

However, developing nations are not the only ones who can find themselves in a position to act in a concerted manner, as a single bloc, multiplying concerted actions and multilateral cooperation agreements. Faced with specific needs, such as revitalizing the mining sector in an entire continent or finding a way not to succumb to the overwhelming supremacy of other international players, other nations could also decide to act this way. A concrete example of this fact is represented by some recent initiatives undertaken by some of the major countries of the European Union, which a few days ago expressed their common desire to collaborate and find a shared strategic alignment in mining matters.

These are France, Germany, and Italy, which, during the EIT summit focused on innovation held a few days ago in Brussels, presented their national investment plans in the mining sector. They also expressed their willingness to collaborate and act together in ‘common interest. ‘

2.5 billion for the mining sector

In total, national investment plans for the sector reached 2.5 billion dollars. This figure not only demonstrates the strategic importance that European governments attribute to the mining sector (and all the industrial sectors in which it is directly involved, such as all those linked to the energy transition) but also confirms a trend that was starting to establish itself with ever greater force, and which has to do with the substantial reactivation of the mining industry in Europe.

Through their representatives, the three nations have expressed the desire to finance national mining operations to ensure a solid supply of all those raw materials considered of great importance for ongoing ecological conversion. Specifically, the funds made available by governments will be dedicated to those minerals included in the Critical Raw Materials Act, including copper, battery metals, and rare earths, all resources destined to play a leading role in the defense industry, aerospace, and energy sectors.

A concrete example of the scope of these strategies has to do with France, whose government has already announced that it has made 500 million euros available for the national fund for national minerals. The funds (to which private financing will presumably also be added) will cover every phase of mineral production, from extraction to recycling. Italy and Germany, on the other hand, have already allocated 1 billion euros for their respective mining sectors in the hope of reactivating extraction operations in their national territories and entering the great global game of raw materials.