The European Commission is finalizing legislation affecting all 27 member states, designed to promote the exploitation of currently dormant mining sites within the bloc due to various reasons, including economic factors, environmental concerns, and local opposition.

On Tuesday, the Commission is set to announce a list identifying profitable and essential mineral deposits, with some located in Spain, likely amounting to fewer than ten mining operations.

More than fifty projects across the region are expected to be approved.

This regulatory framework will take precedence over national laws, mandating compliance from Spain.

The legislation will establish a process whereby any project promoter seeking to exploit strategic raw materials can directly petition the Commission for recognition as a strategic project.

This shifts the responsibility for authorization from national governments to supranational entities.

Currently, many projects face delays due to obstacles posed by local municipalities, autonomous communities, and even the central government, which often cite social pressures or concerns about financial and environmental viability.

The new regulations emphasize the importance of public acceptance for mining projects, requiring promoters to submit plans focused on gaining public approval, particularly from social partners, civil society, and regulatory bodies.

The legislation aligns with the European Union’s new security and defense strategy, aimed at reducing dependency on foreign countries for critical minerals.

The Commission has previously identified 17 strategic raw materials essential for green and digital transitions, defense, and space, highlighting the significant external dependencies in Europe’s resources.

Factors considered essential for categorizing raw materials as critical include their economic significance and supply risk, alongside import dependency and export restrictions.

According to the Ministry for Ecological Transition, while Europe and Spain are self-sufficient in construction minerals and most industrial minerals, they rely heavily on imports for other essential raw materials.

Currently, Europe produces 60% of the metals it consumes but depends almost entirely on imports of crucial raw materials.

Notably, materials such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and graphite are recognized as essential for battery performance and longevity.

Rare earth elements are critical for permanent magnets used in wind turbines and electric vehicle motors, while substantial quantities of copper and aluminum are needed for electrical grids, with copper being central to all electricity supply technologies.

China stands out as both a trading partner and systemic rival, being the leading global producer of 19 of the 34 raw materials essential to the EU. The Commission has observed that Europe could significantly reduce its import needs by developing its own deposits for minerals like bauxite, antimony, cobalt, lithium, graphite, and strontium.

The EU aims for member states to limit dependency on any critical raw material from a single country to no more than 65% by 2030. The Commission projects a sixfold increase in the demand for rare earths in the EU by 2030 and a sevenfold increase by 2050, with lithium demand anticipated to multiply twelvefold by 2030 and twenty-one times by 2050.

Spain holds deposits of feldspar, strontium, tungsten, antimony, and mechanical silicon, all recognized as critical materials.

The legislative initiative is intended to facilitate mining companies in overcoming administrative hurdles when obtaining permits for exploration, exploitation, and recycling.

To incentivize mining activity, a new system of financial guarantees will be established.

The last update to Spain’s mineral supply plan occurred in 1987, with the government acknowledging the absence of current sector planning, aside from a list of priority mineral resources from 2002.

A mining project involves several phases, often summarized in eight stages, including exploration, resource estimation, reserve estimation, and feasibility studies, before mining operations commence.

Existing regulations on critical raw materials, which came into effect last April, highlight the fragmentation among national governments that undermines the internal market.

To address this, the regulation establishes the European Council on Critical Raw Materials, which will provide non-binding resolutions for member states.

The Commission, supported by the Council, will identify projects aimed at initiating or expanding the extraction, processing, or recycling of strategic raw materials.

The Ministry for Ecological Transition has initiated a public consultation process for the 2025-2029 Mineral Raw Materials Action Plan, aiming to implement a democracy-driven exploration program and identify resources from over 1,000 tailings and waste sites across Spain.

This effort seeks to update regulations to streamline and enhance the restoration of closed mining sites.

Protests concerning environmental degradation historically attributed to mining operations have prompted local groups to mobilize against proposed projects in places like Cáceres and Salamanca.

The new EU regulations stipulate that national authorization processes must ensure that critical raw material projects meet environmental, social, and safety standards.

Spain’s extractive industry comprises about 2,700 active operations, including ten for metallic mining, 165 for industrial minerals, 439 for ornamental rock quarries, and around 2,100 for aggregates.

The sector employs approximately 29,000 people, generating annual revenues of around €3.5 billion, while its significance extends to local community stabilization.

When considering direct and indirect employment related to extraction and primary processing, total employment is estimated at about 90,000 workers.

The specific list of critical mineral deposit sites in Spain is still to be determined but may include potential projects in various regions.

In Extremadura, prospecting for lithium and tantalum is underway, while in Ciudad Real, research indicates a potential annual output of 2,100 tons of rare earth elements.

In Zamora and Galicia, there are also identified opportunities for exploiting rare earth deposits, enhancing the focus on Spain's role within the EU's resource strategy.