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A few days ago, the European Commission advertisement In social networks a survival kit of at least 72 hours in case of war or natural disaster. However, behind all this uncertainty, an even greater problem is hidden: fierce competition for strategic resources that will define the future of security in Europe.
Mineral crisis. In recent years, certain niche minerals have been affected by a combination of high demand, supply restrictions and international policies. The elements required for defense are also used in the aerospace sector and technology, so its shortage is causing a bottleneck for Europe in its prices, such as He explained Ellie Saklatvala, senior metal analyst of the British raw material consultant in Argus Media.
The most demanded. In your analysis For Financial Times, Saklatvala, has detailed That among the most critical is antimony, renio and hafnio, materials used to manufacture from bullets to combat aircraft components and advanced medical systems.
To these are added other metals, such as tungsten, titanium, chromium, niobium, cobalt, molybdenum and vanadium, which are used for the manufacture of weapons, missiles and technological equipment of high precision. In addition, minerals such as Gallium, Germanio and rare earths are important for the production of advanced electronic semiconductors and components.
A considerable increase in critics. The growing demand for these metals by the military industry, combined with scarcity, has caused a price escalation. According to Saklatavaa clear example is the antimony, a key mineral for hardening bullets and manufacturing firepro export controls Taxes by China.
This same pressure for supplies has affected the Rhenio, used in Jet turbines, and the hafnium, essential in the aerospace industry. In both cases, scarcity has caused That prices rise unexpectedly, affecting both the military industry and sectors such as aerospace and health.
A few dominate production. The control of these resources is not equally distributed in the world. China It has consolidated As the main producer and refining of many of these critical minerals, which has allowed him to obtain a considerable strategic advantage over other economic actors.
China Master the extraction and processing of key raw materials, which represents a challenge for nations that seek to reduce its dependence on this Asian giant. In addition, the domain has increased due to China’s strong investment in mining assets in Africa, Latin America and other regions rich in resources.
A few countries dominate the production of critical raw materials | Bloomberg
An answer from Europe. The EU has begun to implement strategies to diversify its supply sources and reduce China dependence. Through the “Critical raw materials law“, seeks to facilitate the financing of new mining and refining projects within Europe, such as the future Site of key elements in Extremadura.
In parallel, the European Commission has promoted the “Clean Industrial Pact“To consolidate the demand for critical materials at the regional level, although there is still a long way to reduce the dependence of China, which continues to control in some cases 100% of the necessary matters in Europe.
Forecasts. The growing competition for critical minerals highlights an unavoidable truth: Europe’s economic and technological security is at stake. The diversification of sources, strategic investments and regional collaboration are essential to ensure that the continent does not depend exclusively on global actors such as China.
However, everything will be to be seen since the demand for minerals will continue to grow before the last measure of the EU. In it, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has proposed an increase in military expenditure of the Member States by 1.5 points of GDP, which would result at additional 650,000 million euros in the next four years, According to the medium expansion.
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