Op-Ed: Europe wants critical minerals, just not the mines

Mining

Aug 20

Europe has spent years designing a strategy to secure critical minerals, but its hardest problem may be one Brussels cannot legislate away: finding communities willing to host the mines and processing...

Source Link

Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.

Most Discussed

{"basename":"","ssrTDKData":{"titleTemplate":"%s - Tiger Brokers","title":"Tiger Brokers HK | Online Trading in stocks, bonds & ETFS","description":"Discover Tiger Brokers HK, an online trading platform for stocks&ETFs, options&futures, bonds and crypto. Open an account to enjoy low commission trading today!","keywords":"tiger trading,tiger security,tiger broker hk,tigers co ltd,tiger trade hk,tiger brokers hk,stock broker,securities broker,online brokerage,hong kong broker,hk broker,online stock trading,online trading platform,stock trading platforms,trading application,stock trading,stock trading hong kong,buying stocks in hong kong,tiger brokers","social":{"ogDescription":"Discover Tiger Brokers HK, an online trading platform for stocks&ETFs, options&futures, bonds and crypto. Open an account to enjoy low commission trading today!","ogImage":"https://c1.itigergrowtha.com/portal5/static/media/og-logo.0a0bd8dc.png","ogUrl":"https://www.gotigerhk.com/news/2661023648"},"companyName":"Tiger Brokers"},"pageData":{"isMobile":false,"isTiger":false,"isTTM":true,"region":"HKG","license":"TBHK","edition":"fundamental"},"isCrawlerRequest":true,"__swrFallback__":{"@#url:\"https://stock-news.skytigris.cn/v3/news\",params:#id:\"2661023648\",edition:\"fundamental\",auth_exemption:1,,,undefined,":{"share":"https://ttm.financial/m/news/2661023648?lang=en_US&edition=fundamental","thumbnail":"https://www.mining.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/jadar-protest.jpg","is_english":true,"pubTime":"2026-08-20 09:22","share_image_url":"https://static.laohu8.com/e9f99090a1c2ed51c021029395664489","id":"2661023648","market":"fut","top_or_hot":-1,"title":"Op-Ed: Europe wants critical minerals, just not the mines","media":"Mining","content":"<div>\n<p>Europe has spent years designing a strategy to secure critical minerals, but its hardest problem may be one Brussels cannot legislate away: finding communities willing to host the mines and processing...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://www.mining.com/op-ed-europe-wants-critical-minerals-just-not-the-mines/\">Source Link</a>\n\n</div>\n","source":"mining_highlight","html":"<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n<meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; charset=utf-8\" />\n<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0,minimum-scale=1.0,maximum-scale=1.0,user-scalable=no\"/>\n<meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no,email=no,address=no\" />\n<title>Op-Ed: Europe wants critical minerals, just not the mines</title>\n<style type=\"text/css\">\na,abbr,acronym,address,applet,article,aside,audio,b,big,blockquote,body,canvas,caption,center,cite,code,dd,del,details,dfn,div,dl,dt,\nem,embed,fieldset,figcaption,figure,footer,form,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,header,hgroup,html,i,iframe,img,ins,kbd,label,legend,li,mark,menu,nav,\nobject,ol,output,p,pre,q,ruby,s,samp,section,small,span,strike,strong,sub,summary,sup,table,tbody,td,tfoot,th,thead,time,tr,tt,u,ul,var,video{ font:inherit;margin:0;padding:0;vertical-align:baseline;border:0 }\nbody{ font-size:16px; line-height:1.5; color:#999; background:transparent; }\n.wrapper{ overflow:hidden;word-break:break-all;padding:10px; }\nh1,h2{ font-weight:normal; line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:.6em; }\nh3,h4,h5,h6{ line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:1em; }\nh1{ font-size:24px; }\nh2{ font-size:20px; }\nh3{ font-size:18px; }\nh4{ font-size:16px; }\nh5{ font-size:14px; }\nh6{ font-size:12px; }\np,ul,ol,blockquote,dl,table{ margin:1.2em 0; }\nul,ol{ margin-left:2em; }\nul{ list-style:disc; }\nol{ list-style:decimal; }\nli,li p{ margin:10px 0;}\nimg{ max-width:100%;display:block;margin:0 auto 1em; }\nblockquote{ color:#B5B2B1; border-left:3px solid #aaa; padding:1em; }\nstrong,b{font-weight:bold;}\nem,i{font-style:italic;}\ntable{ width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:1px;margin:1em 0;font-size:.9em; }\nth,td{ padding:5px;text-align:left;border:1px solid #aaa; }\nth{ font-weight:bold;background:#5d5d5d; }\n.symbol-link{font-weight:bold;}\n/* header{ border-bottom:1px solid #494756; } */\n.title{ margin:0 0 8px;line-height:1.3;color:#ddd; }\n.meta {color:#5e5c6d;font-size:13px;margin:0 0 .5em; }\na{text-decoration:none; color:#2a4b87;}\n.meta .head { display: inline-block; overflow: hidden}\n.head .h-thumb { width: 30px; height: 30px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-radius: 50%; float: left;}\n.head .h-content { margin: 0; padding: 0 0 0 9px; float: left;}\n.head .h-name {font-size: 13px; color: #eee; margin: 0;}\n.head .h-time {font-size: 11px; color: #7E829C; margin: 0;line-height: 11px;}\n.small {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.9); -webkit-transform: scale(0.9); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.smaller {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.8); -webkit-transform: scale(0.8); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.bt-text {font-size: 12px;margin: 1.5em 0 0 0}\n.bt-text p {margin: 0}\n</style>\n</head>\n<body>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"title\">\nOp-Ed: Europe wants critical minerals, just not the mines\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n2026-08-20 09:22 GMT+8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=https://www.mining.com/op-ed-europe-wants-critical-minerals-just-not-the-mines/><strong>Mining</strong></a>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<div>\n<p>Europe has spent years designing a strategy to secure critical minerals, but its hardest problem may be one Brussels cannot legislate away: finding communities willing to host the mines and processing...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://www.mining.com/op-ed-europe-wants-critical-minerals-just-not-the-mines/\">Source Link</a>\n\n</div>\n\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","isBrief":false,"type":0,"news_type":1,"symbol":"WEPN","symbol_name":"Nicholas Defense and Rare Earth Income ETF","start_time":0,"source_url":"https://www.mining.com/op-ed-europe-wants-critical-minerals-just-not-the-mines/","article_id":"2661023648","we_media_id":null,"thumbnails":["https://www.mining.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/jadar-protest.jpg"],"rights":{"source":"mining_highlight","url":"https://www.mining.com/op-ed-europe-wants-critical-minerals-just-not-the-mines/","rn_cache_url":null,"directOrigin":true},"url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=2661023648","pubTimestamp":1787188920,"columns":[],"sourceInfo":{"source_id":"mining_highlight","name":"MINING.COM"},"weMediaInfo":null,"summary":"Europe's challenge in securing critical minerals lies in finding communities willing to host necessary mines…","collect":0,"end_time":0,"defaultTopTitle":"mining.com","property":[],"viewcount":null,"language":"en","relate_stocks":{"WEPN":"Nicholas Defense and Rare Earth Income ETF","PWER":"Nomura Energy Transition ETF","CCSO":"Carbon Collective Climate Solutions U.S. Equity ETF","GUNR":"全球上游自然资源ETF-FlexShares","CTEC":"Global X CleanTech ETF","WDIG":"WisdomTree Efficient Rare Earth Plus Strategic Metals Fund","TURF":"T. Rowe Price Natural Resources ETF","CRIT":"Optica Rare Earths & Critical Materials ETF","EVMT":"Invesco Electric Vehicle Metals Commodity Strategy No K-1 ETF","BK4585":"ETF&股票定投概念","POW":"VistaShares Electrification Supercycle ETF","FTWO":"Strive Natural Resources and Security ETF","HALX":"Tuttle Capital Heavy Assets Low Obsolescence ETF","NSI":"NATIONAL SECURITY EMERGING MARKETS INDEX ETF","FMTL":"First Trust Indxx Critical Metals ETF","ZSB":"USCF SUSTAINABLE BATTERY METALS STRATEGY FUND","EART":"Global X Rare Earth & Critical Materials ETF","AKAF":"THE FRONTIER ECONOMIC FUND","IBAT":"IShares Energy Storage & Materials ETF","MVPS":"Amplify Thematic All-Stars ETF","BK4588":"碎股","GSFP":"Goldman Sachs Future Planet Equity ETF"},"translate_title":"专栏：欧洲想要关键矿产，而不是矿山","themeId":null,"isJumpTheme":false,"ttsUrl":null,"symbols_score_info":{"FTWO":1.5,"WEPN":1.5,"EART":1.5,"CRIT":1.5,"GUNR":0.9,"ZSB":1.5,"IBAT":1.5,"MVPS":1.5,"GSFP":1.5,"CCSO":1.5,"PWER":1.5,"NSI":1.5,"TURF":1.5,"AKAF":1.5,"WDIG":1.5,"EVMT":1.5,"CTEC":1.5,"FMTL":1.5,"POW":1.5,"HALX":1.5},"content_text":"Europe has spent years designing a strategy to secure critical minerals, but its hardest problem may be one Brussels cannot legislate away: finding communities willing to host the mines and processing plants needed to make that strategy work.\nOpposition to Serbia’s Jadar lithium project rose from 55.5% in mid-2024 to 63.5% by March 2025, according to the EU Institute for Security Studies. Serbia isn’t an EU member, but Brussels has designated Jadar a strategic project because of its potential importance to Europe’s lithium supply chain. Many of the people who would live alongside it want it stopped.\nThe EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act already sets ambitious benchmarks for 2030: 10% of strategic raw materials extracted domestically, 40% processed in the bloc and 25% recycled, while limiting dependence on any single foreign supplier to 65%. Setting those targets was the straightforward part. Finding somewhere to put the mine, smelter or tailings facility is considerably harder.\nThe problem isn’t simply permitting. It is social licence — the continuing acceptance of a project by the communities affected by it. Europe can shorten administrative timelines and subsidize investment, but neither guarantees that people will accept an industrial operation next door.\nTrust deficit\nThat resistance isn’t irrational. Mining consumes land and water, creates waste and can leave environmental damage long after production ends. Communities also have ample reason to scrutinize promises from mining companies rather than accept them on faith.\nBut that is precisely why treating Europe’s minerals problem primarily as an administrative bottleneck misses an important constraint.\nMuch of the debate about Europe’s materials gap focuses on slow permitting and decades of allowing extraction and processing to migrate to countries including Chile, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia and China. Both contributed to today’s dependence. Neither eliminates the political problem governments encounter when they try to bring those activities home.\nChina illustrates the contrast, although not as absolutely as it is sometimes portrayed. The country has experienced environmental protests and local opposition to industrial projects. The difference is institutional: China’s political system gives opponents fewer avenues to delay or stop projects the state considers strategically important.\nBeijing spent decades building the mines, refineries and smelters that helped establish its dominant position in several critical-mineral supply chains. Europe shouldn’t want China’s political model, and removing a community’s ability to challenge a project isn’t a policy worth importing. But the difference in how much institutional friction local opposition can generate helps explain why China could build mineral-processing capacity much faster.\nThe US offers a more useful comparison. American mines also face lawsuits, environmental challenges and opposition from local and Indigenous communities. Washington has responded by using federal financing, strategic authorities and efforts to accelerate permitting rather than eliminating legal challenges altogether.\nAmerica also has advantages Europe cannot easily reproduce: more sparsely populated mining regions and communities where resource extraction remains part of the local economy. Nevada has space that Saxony doesn’t.\nThat makes social licence particularly important for Europe.\nThe term is well established across the global mining industry, including Europe, but obtaining that licence varies enormously between jurisdictions. Research into European lithium projects has found little major opposition to Finland’s Keliber development, for example, while projects in France and Portugal have attracted substantially more controversy.\nFinland never abandoned mining to the same extent as much of Western Europe. Familiarity doesn’t guarantee acceptance, but it can influence how communities judge a new project. Trust is easier to establish where mining remains part of the economy than where the industry disappeared generations ago.\nMining companies also determine how much trust they deserve.\nRio Tinto’s destruction in 2020 of the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelters in Western Australia, despite their cultural significance to the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people, became a global example of how quickly an industry’s social licence can collapse. The fallout ultimately cost senior executives their jobs.\nThe lesson wasn’t that communities are unreasonable to distrust mining. It was that trust is an asset companies can build — and destroy.\nEurope therefore faces something more complicated than an image problem. Modern mines can be automated, remotely monitored and subjected to environmental standards unimaginable to previous generations, but none of that makes mining impact-free. New operations still consume land, use water and generate waste.\nThe contradiction is that Europe’s energy transition requires enormous quantities of materials while many Europeans remain reluctant to accept the industrial activity required to produce them.\nEurope wants the battery. It is much less comfortable with the mine behind it.\nNo substitute\nRecycling won’t resolve that contradiction soon enough.\nThe International Energy Agency expects manufacturing scrap to account for about two-thirds of available battery-recycling feedstock in 2030. Large volumes of end-of-life EV batteries won’t become available until later as today’s vehicle fleet ages, leaving recycling plants competing for limited material in the meantime.\nThe financial consequences are already visible. Battery recycler Ascend Elements filed for Chapter 11 protection in April 2026 after raising substantial private and public funding. Li-Cycle also ran into severe financial trouble after securing a $375-million US Department of Energy loan facility for its Rochester recycling hub.\nThose companies faced their own operational and financial problems, but the broader constraint remains: recycling capacity cannot recover metals from batteries that haven’t reached the end of their lives.\nThat makes the EU’s 25% recycling benchmark useful as a long-term objective, but recycling cannot substitute for primary mining quickly enough to solve Europe’s immediate supply problem.\nEurope still faces permitting delays, skills shortages, high costs and difficult project economics. Social opposition isn’t the only constraint, but it may be the one industrial policy is least equipped to solve. A government can change a permitting deadline. Changing how a community thinks about a mine takes years of credibility, consultation and demonstrated environmental performance.\nThat means local consent shouldn’t be treated as an inconvenience standing in the way of industrial policy. It is what allows industrial policy to survive contact with reality.\nEurope’s choice ultimately isn’t between mining and no mining. It is increasingly between mining more of the materials it consumes at home or relying on mines, refineries and communities somewhere else.\nEurope will get its lithium, copper and rare earths either from projects such as Jadar, Barroso and Beauvoir or through supply chains controlled elsewhere, often on somebody else’s terms.\nIt can’t have both the mine it refuses and the independence it wants.\n\n* Tobias Rossi is a founding partner of Atlas Strategy, a consulting firm specializing in geopolitics, business sustainability, and strategic intelligence. He has held prominent roles in the Office of the Secretary-General at the OECD, the Cabinet of UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences, and Forrester Research. He is a graduate of the London School of Economics.","kind":"highlight","is_publish_news":true,"is_publish_highlight":false,"is_publish_live":false,"is_publish_wemedia":false,"editions":null,"column":"","sentiment":"0","news_tag":"","news_rank":0,"isVideo":false,"video":null,"symbols":[],"gpt_button":0,"need_auth":false,"need_login_tip":false,"code":"91000000","status":"200"}}}