Potential Benefits and Constraints of Development of Critical Raw Materials’ Production in the EU: Analysis of Selected Case Studies

Abstract

Major benefits and constraints related to mineral extraction within the EU have been identified on the examples of selected critical raw materials’ deposits. Analyzed case studies include the following ore deposits: Myszków Mo-W-Cu (Poland), Juomasuo Au-Co (Finland), S. Pedro das Águias W-Sn (Portugal), Penouta Nb-Ta-Sn (Spain), Norra Kärr REEs (Sweden) and Trælen graphite (Norway). They represent different stages of development, from the early/grassroot exploration stage, through advanced exploration and active mining, up to reopening of abandoned mines, and refer to different problems and constraints related to the possibility of exploitation commencement. The multi-criteria analysis of the cases has included geological and economic factors as well as environmental, land use, social acceptance and infrastructure factors. These factors, in terms of cost and benefit analysis, have been considered at three levels: local, country and EU levels. The analyzed cases indicated the major obstacles that occur in different stages of deposit development and need to be overcome in order to enable a new deposit exploitation commencement. These are environmental (Juomasuo and Myszków), spatial (Juomasuo) as well as social constraints (Norra Kärr, Juomasuo). In the analyzed cases, the most important constraints related to future deposit extraction occur primarily at a local level, while some important benefits are identified mainly at the country and the EU levels. These major benefits are related to securing long-term supplies for the national industries and strategically important EU industry sectors.

Efficient Use of Critical Raw Materials for Optimal Resource Management in EU Countries

“…By 2050, the demand for rare earth used in permanent magnets, e.g., for electric vehicles or digital technologies, could be 10 times higher. This should be resolved in the context of growing global demand for raw materials due to population growth, industrialization, decarbonization of transport, energy systems, and other industrial sectors, increasing demand from developing countries, and new technological uses [3,12,27]. The World Bank forecasts that demand for metals and minerals will increase steeply with climate-related ambitions [28,29].…”

“…The European Union has been extracting, processing, and producing raw materials over the course of its whole existence. Many European mining sites boast modern and optimized mining technologies and resource-efficient production, and yet, the import dependency for many raw materials sourced outside the EU has rapidly increased over the last decades [13,20,27,30]. With the Raw Materials Initiative, which was launched in 2008 and consolidated in 2011 [10,20], the EU made steps to secure the global competitiveness of the manufacturing industries and accelerate the transition to a sustainable and resource-efficient society.…”

Territories of Contention: The Importance of Project Location in Mining-Related Disputes in Finland from the Geosystem Services Perspective

“…The mine project is located 8-10 km from PAs and leisure centers (Figure 4). The dispute mainly relates to the associated uranium and the controversial use of land, i.e., nature-based tourism vs. mining [27]. The Kitka River is located ca.…”

“…Therefore, some of the cases examined and described by [15] were selected for closer examination in this study: the Hannukainen iron-copper-gold, Juomasuo gold-cobalt, Rompas-Rajapalot gold-cobalt, Sakatti nickel-copper-PGE, Sokli phosphorite-niobium-rare earth element (REE), and Heinävesi graphite mine and mineral exploration projects (Figure 1). They have previously been studied, for example, by [23][24][25][26][27][28].…”

Towards sustainable development in the European Union: a critical raw materials perspective

“…Access to mineral resources remains crucial for individual economies, as it has a huge impact on their competitiveness and innovation (Smol & Kulczycka, 2019). Minerals, including critical raw materials, also contribute to the integration of sustainable development and the implementation of many policy initiatives, including the European Green Deal (Guzik et al, 2021). Critical raw materials can be defined as those of economic and strategic importance for the European economy, but the continuity of supply is high risk (Ferro & Bonollo, 2019;Karali & Shah, 2022).…”