Europe is in a hurry to take action – Finnish Minerals Group calls for debate on raw materials

Europe is at a crossroads where it will be determined whether it can reach the goals set in the European Union’s Critical Raw Materials Act.

Finnish Minerals Group is a member of Euromines, a European association of mining industries, according to which the EU must choose between two alternative paths for the mining industry.

The first of the two paths leads to dependency on third countries. This would entail abandoning European mining activities, which would increase imports, decrease the ESG compliance of the mining industry and undermine Europe’s strategic autonomy.

The alternative path leads to embracing 20–30 new strategic mining projects in Europe by 2030. This would enable building a sustainable and prosperous European mining industry that delivers on reinforced strategic autonomy, with ESG aligned with European values.

“Finland and Europe are at the forefront of sustainable mining practices and the development of cutting-edge mining technologies. As material needs and the global situation are changing, it is important to ensure that reliable production can be found nearby. The matter of raw materials is crucial for Europe, and Finnish Minerals Group hopes that the issue will also be highlighted in the public debate conducted in Finland in connection with the European Parliament election,” says Matti Hietanen, CEO of Finnish Minerals Group.

In the recently published Euromines Manifesto 2024–2029, the association advocates three ways to strengthen Europe’s raw materials supply:

1. Licence to operate: enabling and maintaining know-how and operations in the EU;
2. Growing and investing: ensuring competitiveness;
3. Being responsible: recognising operational excellence.

To reach the goals of the Critical Raw Materials Act, Euromines urges the EU to apply six steps in its policy to help the Union gradually advance the change it pursues. The Manifesto includes the following steps, among others:

• Ensuring competitive framework conditions. European and non-European operators need an efficient operating environment with regulatory predictability and affordable fossil-free electricity, among other things. It should be assessed whether the increasing regulation leads to better technologies or reduces competitiveness and displaces production outside the EU.
• Securing access to finance. The climate transition requires EUR 350 billion in annual investments until 2030. Both private and public investments must be stimulated. Guarantees of the profitability of the investments are needed to ensure that they do not end up as stranded assets in the future. The U.S. has already set an example of predictable state funding, and the EU should follow this example.
• Strengthening the EU’s industrial policy and implementing an EU-level ‘Industrial Deal’ that enables the emergence of a digitalised low-carbon industry in Europe. An effective industrial policy will ensure predictability and consistency in industry regulation, with a focus on enforcing existing legislation before introducing any new measures.

“The Euromines Manifesto clearly highlights what the EU must do to reach the industry-specific EU-level goals. We undersign the Manifesto’s objectives and consider these issues to be important also from Finnish Minerals Group’s perspective,” states Sini Eskonniemi, VP, Innovation and Technology Development, at Finnish Minerals Group.

Read more about the Euromines Manifesto 2024–2029

For more information

Sini Eskonniemi, VP, Innovation and Technology Development, Finnish Minerals Group
firstname.lastname(at)mineralsgroup.fi, +358 40 753 5509

The mission of Finnish Minerals Group is to responsibly maximise the value of Finnish minerals. We manage the State’s mining industry shareholdings and strive to develop the Finnish value chain of lithium-ion batteries. Through our work, we contribute to Europe moving towards electric transport and a more sustainable future. www.mineralsgroup.fi