EU: Several strategic projects have commenced under a new EU critical raw materials plan to ensure the supply for one year of demand of 17 strategic minerals, including bauxite and graphite. Spain’s El País newspaper has reported that the plan requires the EU to raise its minerals extraction to 10% of consumption and its processing and recycling to 40% and 25% respectively.
The European Commission (EC) noted Spain as a leading producer of minerals, including gypsum, among EU member states. 30,000 employees work in the extraction of €3.5bn-worth of minerals from Spanish mines annually. Nonetheless, the country lacks processing capacity, according to the EC. It said that ‘social resistance’ over possible environmental effects is the main obstacle to the development of critical minerals infrastructure.
