About: mining

EU raw materials push aims to underpin Green Deal, digital ambitions

Increasing the EU’s domestic supply of critical raw materials and cutting external dependencies got top billing in a new European Commission strategy on Thursday (3 September), as the bloc started to get serious about its Green Deal and digital agenda.

EU climate transition needs mineral miners, not coal miners

The European Union needs to transform its coal-mining regions into the source of minerals for clean technology, such as cobalt and rare earths, if it is to meet its climate goals and curb import reliance, a senior official said on Monday.

Europe looks home for new mining opportunities

As EU policymakers worry about global tensions threatening raw material imports, one option could be getting more from their own backyard.

Northvolt ‘will source directly from the miners’ to ensure clean supply chain

A short supply chain “will make it possible for us to trace our materials” and ensure they come from responsible sources, said a senior executive at Northvolt, the Swedish startup aiming to supply Europe with green electric batteries.

The EU is creating a sustainability label for raw materials

An EU research group is creating a certification method for raw materials, to be completed by 2021. The project is part of a push to sustainably mine the metals needed for Europe’s clean energy transition. But critics say certification is not the answer.

Europe’s mining sector faces skilled workers shortage

Trade unions expressed concerns on Tuesday (20 November) about a shortage of skilled workers in the extraction industry, saying this is becoming a problem for Europe at a time of rising global demand for raw materials.

Urban mining: In search of Europe’s valuable waste

Each year Europe wastes millions of tonnes of valuable metals by landfilling or exporting them. How can policy measures increase the recovery of these materials?

Metals: Friend or foe of the green economy?

The green economy usually brings to mind traditional renewable materials such as wood, biomass, water and earth. Less likely poster children are the big metals that have formed the backbone of the industrial revolution – steel, copper, iron, tin and aluminium.

Raw power

Vanadium, borate, bismuth, gallium – they may sound like planets from a science fiction movie, but in fact they are some of the most critical elements of the European Union’s economy.  

Is deep-sea mining worth the risk?

There is no evidence that deep-sea mining will reduce our dependency on land-based mining. We need to end business as usual and act to reduce the demand for these raw materials by making the transition towards a circular economy, write a group of Greens/EFA MEPs.

French mining code reform ignores climate objectives

The long-awaited reform of France's mining code is about to get under way. But the new text pays very little heed to the country's environmental objectives. EURACTIV France reports.

Piketty: EU must demand more transparency from companies in Africa

The European Union should require companies operating in Africa to disclose the taxes they pay there more transparently, to ensure they contribute fairly to government revenues, French economist Thomas Piketty said on Thursday (10 September).

Afghanistan’s mineral deposits: A source of wealth and conflict

Afghanistan's vast untapped natural resources, valued at more than $1 trillion, are seen as the war-battered country's ticket to a self-reliant future, a possible trump card that could jumpstart the lagging economy as foreign aid ebbs.

How developing countries are paying a high price for the global mineral boom

A 200ft deep pit gapes where three years ago stood a mountain. Fields where small farmers planted rice and grew fruit are now an industrial site.

Parliament votes for tougher conflict minerals regulation

The European Parliament unexpectedly voted on Wednesday (20 April) in favour of a mandatory monitoring system for minerals originating from conflict zones. But negotiations with the Council and Commission will be tough. EURACTIV France reports. 

Conflict minerals: Will Europe be on the right side of history?

The European Parliament must strengthen the EU’s position on conflict minerals to protect the world’s most vulnerable citizens, write Lucy Graham and Michael Gibb. 

Battle lines drawn as EU Parliament votes on ‘conflict minerals’

The European Parliament will consider this week whether to follow the United States by bringing in tighter controls on minerals from war zones, but critics say the measures risk being watered down.

Germany ranked 5th in global human rights violations business index

Hardly any country in the world hosts as many companies accused of severe human rights violations as Germany, according to a recent survey by the University of Maastricht. EURACTIV Germany reports.

Parliament adopts relaxed measures on conflict minerals

MEPs from the Committee on International Trade have rejected a set of binding regulations for certain minerals extracted in conflict zones, in favour of a less ambitious system of self-certification, which would exclude some minerals entirely. EURACTIV France reports.

France demands greater transparency from extractive industries

The French parliament has adopted the first European directive to increase transparency in the extractive industries. Producers of wood, oil, gas and minerals will now have to declare payments to the states where they operate.

EU readies voluntary conflict minerals scheme

The EU's trade chief will present a voluntary scheme in March aimed at stemming the import of minerals from conflict zones and prevent their use to finance war and strife, EU officials said on Wednesday (5 February).

Greenland votes to allow uranium, rare earths mining

Greenland's parliament voted on Thursday (24 October) to end a decades-long prohibition on mining for radioactive materials like uranium, further opening up the country to investors from Australia and China eager to tap its vast mineral resources.

UK tried diluting EU law on mining transparency: MEP

The British government, influenced by mining company Rio Tinto, attempted to undermine an EU law that aims to bring greater transparency to the oil, gas, mining and logging sectors despite the government's public declarations that it supports more disclosure, the European lawmaker who led the negotiations said on Wednesday (10 April).