The EU's plan to return to the mine and save European industry

BrusselsThe European Union wants to stop depending on China and third countries in the field of rare earths, which are crucial for the clean technology industry. In this regard, Brussels presented a plan this Tuesday to accelerate the extraction of these materials and announced that it will finance 47 mining projects throughout the EU—none are located in Catalonia—which aim to ensure sufficient supplies of 17 critical minerals. "This is a historic moment for European sovereignty in industrial matters," said Stéphane Séjourné, Vice President of the EU Executive and Head of Industrial Strategy, at a press conference.

At this point, according to the European Commission itself, most critical materials are extracted, processed, and recycled in countries outside the European Union, especially China. This leads to a heavy dependence of the European bloc on allies it considers unreliable and affects important industrial sectors, such as the automotive industry, electric batteries, and renewable energy in general.

In this context, the Brussels roadmap sets ambitious targets for 2030: 10% of EU consumption of these materials must be mined within the EU, 40% must be processed in the EU, and at least 25% must be recycled. Furthermore, the European Commission is seeking to expand trade agreements with third countries to prevent more than 65% of the total mineral consumed in the European club from coming from a single member within five years.

Currently, however, the European Union is far from approaching the achievements set by BrusselsThe European Union depends 100% on imported lithium, 81% on cobalt, 96% on magnesium, and, among others, 75% on nickel. In some cases, they only import from one country. From China, for example, they buy all of the heavy ore, from Turkey 98% of the boron, and from South Africa 71% of the platinum.

That's why Brussels is now moving quickly to try to accelerate the exploitation of these types of mines, but it fears facing pushback from neighbors, who could see their territory directly affected, and from environmental organizations. However, the European Commission promises in the statement issued this Tuesday that the selected projects "remain subject to compliance with environmental regulations" of the European Union and, in addition, must have "the acceptance of public opinion and demonstrate their commitment to the local population." "In fact, this plan is essential for the decarbonization of our continent," the Vice President of the European Commission said at a press conference.

The State's mining projects

In this context, the Spanish government has already taken steps to identify which critical minerals can be found in the country. The Council of Ministers, at the request of the Ministry of Ecological Transition, has just approved the plan to address the exploration of critical minerals in the country and the recycling of waste containing them, thus promoting strategic autonomy in Spain and Europe.

The ministry has initiated the process (it is currently in public hearing) of this Mineral Raw Materials Action Plan for the period 2025-2029. Among other things, it includes the first Mining Exploration Program—currently without budget allocation—approved in democracy, and aims to identify the resources that can be found in the more than 1,000 ponds and waste dumps of mining projects that already exist in Spain and are either active or abandoned. The plan also seeks to facilitate the restoration of mining operations and improve their relationship with the environment, as well as the possibility of integrating renewable energy.

Among the list of minerals Europe needs are lithium, cobalt, and nickel. In Spain, the mineral-rich lands are located on the Cantabrian coast and in the vertical strip connecting León, Extremadura, and Andalusia. In the latter region alone, the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain has identified deposits of antimony, barite, lithium, and graphite, among others. In this regard, the European Commission will finance and promote seven mining projects across Spain that are already underway. None are located in the Catalan countries; the projects are located in Extremadura, Andalusia, Galicia, and Castilla-La Mancha. The intention is to extract materials such as lithium, copper, cobalt, and nickel.