Directors’ note:
Where can industry in the EU obtain raw materials in the future?

Photo: GTK

The economy of the EU faces major challenges.Many industries
directly rely on the availability of mineral raw materials. These industries provide direct employment for almost 30 million
people, which means that the availability of raw materials plays a key role for the economy of the EU. The share of China of the consumption of essential metals is already close to 50%, which naturally has an impact on global competition.

With the Raw Materials Initiative (RMI), the European Commission
launched measures for addressing this challenge. As the first principle, the Commission highlights the development co-operation policy, and an undisturbed availability of raw materials
important for the EU. At the same time, developing countries will be supported, and good governance will be promoted. This will also create a favourable atmosphere for European corporate investments.

The second principle set out in the initiative emphasises the seeking of Europe’s own raw material sources and using them in a sustainable way. The Fennoscandian shield area has one of the highest mineral potentials in Europe. In fact, to improve the self-sufficiency of Europe, more determined efforts should be made in geological research, finding mineral resources, and developing the search methods, as well as the mining and enrichment technologies.

The third principle of RMI emphasises the reduction of the consumption of primary raw materials, material effectiveness, and an optimal use of natural resources. In fact, the third principle set out in the initiative provides new opportunities for the mineral enrichment and recycling industries. According to the initiative, the use of recycled raw materials should be further increased.

The Commission’s Seventh and Eighth Framework Programmes allocate funding to research projects in which new innovations promote sustainable and eco-effective mineral production. The mining industry has a particularly significant role in remote areas, for the development of which regional development and cohesion funds can also be used.

The EU also relies on the availability of high-tech metals such as cobalt, niobium, rare earth elements, platinum and titanium. The required amount of metals is not necessarily large, but they have an essential significance in the development of state-of-the-art technology and advanced products.

GTK is co-ordinating the extensive ProMine project, which involves a total of 27 partners from 11 countries. The main objective of the project is to create a Europe-wide mineral database and to also estimate the mineral resources in the future. In addition, the project will evaluate the occurrence and amounts of high-tech metals, and develop mineral-based high-tech products. The objective is also to develop new eco-effective enrichment and production methods. This is the flagship project of EU’s mineral industry, the total costs of which will be about EUR 18 million.

We need new visibility for the European mining industry. We still have solid expertise in mining operations and upgrading. We also have potential for new moves and new mines.

Elias Ekdahl
Director General