"Europe facing harsh truths about its position in the global critical minerals race
Mining companies and industry stakeholders are unanimous about the role of over-regulation holding back Europe’s critical minerals value chain.
May 30, 2025
The
EIT RawMaterials Summit gathered over 1,000 representatives from the European mining sector, technology developers and EU policymakers. Credit: Claire Jenns.
Frustrations were high at a perceived lack of progress in securing Europe’s critical mineral value chains during the EIT RawMaterials Summit, held in Brussels from 13 to 15 May.
Over 1,000 representatives from the European mining sector, technology developers and EU policymakers gathered to deliberate the continent’s comparative stagnancy against its global competitors in securing critical raw materials (CRMs).
In his opening speech, EIT RawMaterials CEO Bernd Schäfer introduced the event’s theme ‘Race to 2030’, noting the countdown of fewer than 1,300 working days to reach the targets set by the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA).
The CRMA was one of the fastest laws to ever be adopted in the EU, from its proposal in March 2023 to its implementation in May 2024. Just under a year later in March 2025, the European Commission (EC) adopted a list of 47 strategic projects under the CRMA in a major step towards enhancing domestic raw material capacities.
Schäfer told attendees that “Europe has been asleep at the wheel. This is a race for resilience, technology, and industrial survival. It is a race we cannot afford to lose as we meet at a moment of global turbulence.”
Europe’s competitiveness and the need for urgency were underscored by speakers in almost every session across the summit’s agenda, and for good reason. The continent has between 80-100% import dependency on a range of critical minerals, creating extreme supply chain vulnerability amid an already heated geopolitical climate.
Schäfer highlighted the Russia-Ukraine conflict, disruptions in the Red Sea and escalations between India and Pakistan as key examples exacerbating supply chain fragility. Indeed, GlobalData’s ESG Sentiment Polls Q1 2025 survey found that geopolitical conflict has topped business concerns for first time in years.
“Meanwhile, the US, China, Japan and others are out-subsidising and outpacing us [Europe] in extraction, processing, innovation and control of strategic vehicles,” warned Schäfer. “This is no longer about market competition. It is about political leverage and security and that is why we cannot treat raw materials as a niche sector.”
China was an invisible presence at the summit, with its dominance over critical minerals and rare earth elements (REEs) underscored by many speakers. In the session ‘Geopolitical Dynamics in Securing Europe’s Defence Supply Chains’ on 14 May, director of DG Grow Joaquim Nunes de Almeida highlighted vulnerability in the
graphite market, as 77% of all production and 97% of global anode output is controlled by China.
“We have 11 strategic projects on
graphite, most of which, in order to be viable or bankable, have to show that they are competitive vis-a-vis the Chinese price, as this is what makes the market. What if China, once these projects start coming to fruition, floods the market with enormous amounts of graphite and tries to kill our projects?” de Almeida speculated.
Atlantic Copper CEO Macarena Gutiérrez echoed this concern within the metals sector in an interview with Mining Technology. “We are competing with the rest of the world, but mainly China, which has been growing in spending capacity for the last 25 years. We need to make sure we have access to primary concentrate in Europe and in a competitive way.”
But with the need for acceleration identified, what has been the cause of Europe’s slow-moving critical minerals development thus far?
Over-regulation and barriers to financing
It is widely acknowledged that the regulatory landscape in Europe is complex, being split between the EC, Council of the European Union, and the European Parliament, all with evolving policies and targets.
But the effects of this on CRM development are only now being recognised, particularly in limiting access to financing.
Allard Castelein, special representative for raw materials strategy at Netherlands’ Ministry of Economic Affairs, identified a disconnect between public and private partners as a key barrier to accelerating CRM projects. “This is a market situation that has emerged over a period of 35 or so years. My worry is that the urgency does not resonate with the governments and politicians, and there is no incentive for the private sector as there aren’t enough rules and regulations.”
The 47 strategic projects under the CRMA are funded by public and private sources, from financial institutions to regional and member state funds.
European Investment Bank (EIB) vice-president Nicola Beer pointed out that supportive partnerships are one of Europe’s strengths. “EIB, with its big balance sheet, has the possibility to be a patient financial partner. So we can provide risk mitigation through longstanding loans or other guaranteed financial products.”
During a panel titled CRMA Recycling Target: On Track or at Risk? on 15 May, European Aluminium director-general Paul Voss voiced one of the industry’s main frustrations with the Act: “There’s not really any money there. You hear a lot of unflattering comparisons with the US’ Inflation Reduction Act and how they pour money into problems while the EU tends to try and regulate problems.
“Money to help businesses and finance innovation progress in the sector would be useful,” he added.
Bureaucratic red tape vs. accelerating European CRMs
The prevailing message among attendees was that there are too many cooks in the kitchen holding back the rapid domestic exploration, extraction and production of CRMs that Europe desperately needs.
“We cannot have 10 years to get the permitting and development of a project,” Saft CEO Cedric Duclos stated. “Stop sprinkling money all around and pick the winners, because otherwise we disperse the effort and we are not going to build a resilient value chain. Stop over-regulating the industry to death, because this is what drags us down today.”
Also in attendance was Savannah Resources, which is developing the Barroso lithium
project in Portugal that has been designated as a strategic project under the CRMA. Company CEO Emanuel Proença told
Mining Technology that it “certainly took us a while to get our project fully licensed and it is true that Europe needs to be more pragmatic.
“But, policymakers and politicians are far more aware today that their role is to ensure there is an acceleration of the mining industry and that excess bureaucracy is taken out of the way,” he said.
Under the CRMA, permit-granting for extraction projects is capped at 27 months and strategic projects at two years. Only time will tell as to what impacts this will have on Europe’s CRM reserves and mining industry profits.
But not all businesses in the sector are wholly disadvantaged by over-regulation. Ella Cullen, CEO of Minespider, a supply chain traceability solutions provider, sees both sides of the picture. The company benefits from assisting miners operating in Europe with regulatory compliance but also faces
challenges as a start-up.
“When applying for grants for example, the amount of paperwork and bureaucracy is undeniably monstrous,” she explained. “But the world looks to Europe for regulation and this builds trust, particularly as the
public perception of the mining industry needs to improve.”
Frédéric Carencotte, founder of French REE recycling and refining company Carester, was also positive about the state of Europe’s regulatory landscape in his conversation with
Mining Technology. “The CRMA provides objectives and direction and we have experienced the benefits of this firsthand.”
In March, Carester
secured €216m ($245m) from the French government and Japanese investors for its rare earth recycling and refining industrial facility Caremag, in alignment with the CRMA’s directive for 25% of the EU’s annual demand to be met through recycling.
The EC has
stated that it will announce a new call for strategic project applications by the end of summer 2025, opening the door for developers looking to access the financial support and exposure provided by the Act for projects that will be operational beyond 2030.
European critical minerals at a crossroads
While industry players agree that the CRMA’s 2030 targets are out of reach, the Act has set an example of what can be achieved when the EU consolidates its efforts towards shared goals and lessens its bureaucratic rigidity.
In a promising sign of an upward trajectory, the EU’s
Competitiveness Compass economic roadmap has signposted the implementation of a joint purchasing platform for CRMs by the third quarter of 2025, to identify the needs of EU industries, aggregate demand, and coordinate joint purchases.
To continue developing new mining projects, Castelein was firm in urging the industry and governments not to hold back due to a lack of data or public approval in an “analysis paralysis situation [as] we do not have the time.”
Member of the European Parliament Hildegard Bentele emphasised that projects that will become operational after 2030 should also be brought into the support offered by the CRMA. “There are not many European mining companies around as we phased out our mining sector for 30 years. It is not an easy thing to rebuild but this shouldn’t be demotivating. It is Europe’s obligation.” "
Mining companies and industry stakeholders are unanimous about over-regulation holding back Europe’s critical minerals value chain.
www.mining-technology.com
They know exactly what it's all about and put the pressure on.
____
We are far from alone with our knowledge. Now it's all about the good of society and the ball WE are living on, as opposed to individual interests.
