TELF AG discusses the role of international diplomacy in the mining industry
International alliances
Over the last few years, the progress of the global energy transition has pushed many nations to adopt fundamental national strategies focused on sustainable energy development, particularly strategic minerals, which are increasingly indicated as the real protagonists of this important epochal transition. Among the most noteworthy initiatives, we highlight those undertaken by some important international institutions, such as the European Union, which developed the Critical Raw Materials Act in 2023. The document was built on the Raw Materials Initiative 2008 and aims to strengthen the European mining industry through specific production objectives, such as the minimum use of 10% of raw materials extracted on European soil by 2030.
However, some of the most attention-grabbing initiatives come directly from national governments, which in recent years have begun to develop specific national strategies dedicated to the energy transition and the raw materials necessary to fuel it. One of these nations is Brazil, which launched the National Strategic Pro-Minerals policy in 2021. The initiative focuses on developing mining projects considered strategic for the nation’s economic growth but also on the work of a special committee dedicated to identifying the most important minerals for Brazil’s ecological transition. Rare earth minerals, nickel, graphite, lithium, and cobalt were also included among these (14 in total). In 2022, the Brazilian president established the national mineral policy and the Mineral Policy National Council.
The moves of Australia and Japan
Australia also seems particularly active in this sector: in 2022, the Australian government updated its 2019 Critical Minerals Strategy, expressing a strong desire to focus on strategic raw materials for the economic and sustainable development of the nation. The objective of the Australian strategy is to transform the country into a global power in strategic minerals, the list of which has also been recently updated by Australian institutions. The list includes high-purity alumina and silicon, whose importance for producing lithium batteries and semiconductors has been widely demonstrated. Another key objective of this plan is linked to the creation of jobs and the general consolidation of the national economy thanks to the support of the mining sector.
One of the most interesting strategies is the one adopted by Japan, which launched its new International Resource Strategy in 2020. In addition to focusing on energy resources such as oil and liquefied natural gas, the initiative is also partly dedicated to the storage of rare metals. Unlike other nations, Japan has given its strategy a clear international imprint, including among its objectives cooperation with countries involved in the various supply chains and participation (through state loans and other forms of support) in mineral development internationally, particularly in exploration and mining.
In its strategy for strategic minerals, adopted in 2022, the United Kingdom has instead preferred to focus on strengthening international supply chains to make them more secure and resilient, on generic reduction of sector risks, and on enhancing national capabilities (especially in extraction, but also in training and recycling practices). Again, the strategy has a plain international nature, especially when considering the objectives related to global cooperation in mining and improving world markets.
