Changing public perception key to boosting critical minerals development

Claire Jenns

Wed, May 14, 2025, 10:18 AM 2 min read

Meeting request for captious minerals “requires a profound displacement successful cognition and much education”, Bernd Schäfer, CEO of EIT RawMaterials, said successful his opening code to the EIT RawMaterials Summit successful Brussels connected 14 May.

The lawsuit saw mining manufacture leaders and European authorities figures stitchery to sermon the relation of nationalist misconception successful the stagnancy of European captious minerals.

According to Anglo American’s radical caput of strategy, Paul Gait, nationalist perceptions of the mining assemblage are rated little than the baccy industry. “In Europe, mining should beryllium thought of arsenic as indispensable arsenic agriculture,” helium stated.

For Krzysztof Galos, Undersecretary of State and main nationalist geologist astatine the Ministry of Climate and Environment successful Poland, a deficiency of nationalist consciousness has gone truthful acold arsenic to stymie the implementation of the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA).

“This [poor nationalist awareness] is an under-appreciated contented compared to a deficiency of financing, for example. Changing the mindset of full societies regarding mining, from section to regional, is simply a large situation – but it indispensable beryllium done,” Galos said.

Efforts “can commencement from superior schoolhouse done acquisition programmes dedicated to geology, mining technologies and earthy materials”, helium added.

EIT RawMaterials, the world’s largest consortium successful the earthy materials sector, has established a suite of acquisition programmes crossed Europe, including the Raw Materials Academy. It besides coordinates the Higher Education Initiative, which aims to scope much than 150,000 younger learners crossed the continent by 2027.

Attendees concurred that improving consciousness of the important relation of mining and captious minerals could play a relation successful improving planetary practice and earthy materials diplomacy. Europe presently has 14 strategical partnerships with captious minerals-producing nations astir the world.

Speaking exclusively to Mining Technology, Savannah Resources CEO Emanuel Proença confirmed that nationalist cognition is simply a cardinal portion of the mining manufacture puzzle. The institution has 100% ownership of the Barroso lithium project successful Portugal, which has been designated arsenic a strategical task nether the CRMA and has boosted the nation’s emerging mining industry.

“Local partnerships and occupation instauration person gone a agelong mode successful presumption of improving the mode Barroso was perceived successful a portion that desperately needed an accidental to thrive again,” said Proença. “Everyone from policymakers to mining companies lend to telling amended stories and making projects a success.”

The EIT RawMaterials Summit is taking spot from 13–15 May successful Brussels, Belgium.