Will the EU’s REsourceEU initiative reshape the rare earth and lithium mining landscape?

Caption: The EU has set clear targets for critical raw materials. In fact, even before the official launch of the REsourceEU initiative, the EU had already been intensively active in the field of critical raw materials. Regarding strategic cooperation on critical raw materials, on June 4 this year, the European Commission announced 13 strategic projects located outside the EU. Seven of these are situated in countries with which the EU maintains strategic partnerships along the raw materials value chain—namely Canada, Greenland, Kazakhstan, Norway, Serbia, Ukraine, and Zambia; the remaining six are located in Brazil, Madagascar, Malawi, New Caledonia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Ten of these projects involve strategic raw materials essential for electric vehicles, batteries, and battery energy storage systems—such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and graphite—while two others focus on rare earth element extraction. The European Commission estimates that launching operations for these 13 projects will require a total capital investment of €5.5 billion. Recently, the EU has accelerated its efforts toward international cooperation in the critical raw materials sector. On October 31, the G7—including the EU and led by Canada—announced 26 new projects, pledging to build new critical mineral supply chains to counter China’s dominant position in this field. Canadian Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, speaking as Chair of the G7, told reporters that the newly launched Critical Minerals Partnership sends an unequivocal signal worldwide: “We are serious about reducing excessive market concentration and overreliance on single sources.” Wilkinson stated that the G7 aims to establish a complete supply chain “from mine to magnet.” During the EU–AU Summit held at the end of November in Luanda, European and African leaders pledged to expand trade in renewable energy and critical raw materials. Shortly before that, the EU reached a trade agreement with South Africa at the G20 Summit, covering critical raw materials. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the agreement as a major step forward both in securing supplies of critical materials and in supporting South Africa’s economic development. Stefan Sauer, Executive Vice-President for Industrial Strategy at the European Commission, emphasized: “In an increasingly unstable geopolitical environment, Europe’s objective is to ensure the security of critical raw material supply chains and diversify their sources.” At the recently concluded Third EU–Central Asia Economic Forum, the EU signed multiple agreements with several Central Asian countries covering critical minerals, green energy, and digital transformation. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) also signed a new €3 million agreement with the EU to promote sustainable extraction of critical raw materials in Central Asia. Caption: EU–AU Summit While seeking external partnerships, the EU is also actively expanding domestic production and processing capacity for critical raw materials. On March 25, the European Commission published—for the first time—a list of 47 strategic projects aimed at significantly boosting the EU’s domestic capacity for strategic raw materials, strengthening European value chains, and diversifying supply sources. These 47 strategic projects cover 14 of the 17 strategic raw materials listed in the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act, including bauxite/alumina/aluminum, metallurgical-grade boron, cobalt, copper, gallium, germanium, and magnesium; battery-grade lithium, manganese, graphite, and nickel; platinum-group metals; rare earth elements for permanent magnets; and tungsten.

The U.S. is alarmed: To counter China’s dominance in critical minerals, America joins forces with allies to unveil new initiatives.

The MSP’s 15 members include: the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Australia, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Japan, South Korea, India, and the European Union. The MSP seeks to reduce global dependence on China-dominated critical mineral supply chains through global cooperation, establishing diversified and sustainable supply systems. This collaboration involves not only intergovernmental coordination but also participation from financial institutions and private mining companies—including BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Rio Tinto, and Anglo American. Some representative MSP-supported projects currently underway: • Kabanga Nickel Project in Tanzania: Designed to reduce global reliance on nickel supplies from China and Indonesia. • Electra Battery Materials Project in Canada: In August this year, the company received a $20 million U.S. government grant. In a statement, Electra said the funding will support construction of a cobalt sulfate refinery in Ontario, Canada—set to become North America’s sole lithium-ion battery materials refinery upon completion. • Cinovec Lithium Project in the Czech Republic: Supported by the EBRD as part of the MSP, this project aims to develop one of Europe’s largest hard-rock lithium deposits, helping secure EU autonomy in lithium supply. • Rare Earth Project in Turkey: Turkey discovered the world’s second-largest rare earth deposit in Eskişehir and plans to collaborate with MSP members to develop infrastructure and rare earth processing capabilities. • Dubbo Project by Australian Strategic Materials: In March 2024, the U.S. Export-Import Bank indicated its willingness to provide up to $600 million in debt financing for this rare earth and critical minerals project. Mineral Security Finance Network During the UN General Assembly, the MSP announced the establishment of a new finance network designed to advance critical mineral projects through information sharing and joint financing—particularly offering non-Chinese financing options for low-income countries. According to a Financial Times report dated September 23, Western countries are directing their development finance institutions and export credit agencies to partner with private enterprises to jointly advance critical mineral projects—and thereby break China’s monopoly in this sector. Fernandez told the Financial Times that the MSP is currently evaluating whether to extend support to another 30 critical mineral mining projects. Members of the MSP Finance Network include numerous development finance institutions (DFIs) and export credit agencies (ECAs) from MSP partner countries—such as the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM), Export Development Canada (EDC), Australia’s Export Finance Australia (EFA), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the UK’s British International Investment (BII), Japan’s Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Korea’s Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM), and Norway’s Eksfin. These institutions support financing and implementation of critical mineral projects through public–private partnerships. As the primary driver behind the MSP, the United States leverages its International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the Defense Production Act (DPA) to advance critical mineral projects globally. Over the past four years, the U.S. Department of Defense has invested nearly $1 billion in global rare earth projects and plans further investments in countries such as Canada and Australia.

Appian in Talks with EBRD, Others, on Critical Minerals Funds

16 hours ago

Appian Capital Advisory is in talks with the EBRD for critical minerals funds, following a $1 billion IFC joint venture. The firm aims to deploy $5 billion to $7 billion globally within 24 months, focusing on mining and processing assets.

reuters

2026-10-29

Appian in Talks with EBRD, Others, on Critical Minerals Funds

Appian in Talks with EBRD, Others, on Critical Minerals Funds

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