EU to secure access to 30 critical raw materials.

Europe could quickly become independent on some of the materials identified as critical. “For lithium needed for batteries and storage, we’re confident that we can be 80% self-sufficient by 2025,” EU commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said at a virtual conference this week.He noted that about 15 new battery cell plants, or gigafactories, were being built across Europe, including in Italy, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Sweden, which were expected to provide enough cells to power at least 6 million EVs in less than five years.EU members will face some obvious and longstanding difficulties along the way, including the tough environmental and social regulations deterring mining, FT.com analyst Alan Beattle wrote.He cited as an example the Norra Karr project in Sweden, Europe’s largest known rare earths deposit, which was declared off-limits to further exploration by the country’s supreme administrative court. The decision, Beattle noted, was triggered by potential environmental risks from the proposed operations and reversing that decision would be difficult QUOTE.
Strong future for cobalt demand into the future IMO.

https://www.mining.com/european-coalition-to-secure-access-to-30-critical-raw-materials/