EU running short of minerals for high-tech industry?

Fears that the EU will face a future shortage of some raw materials, especially those used to make products for the high tech industry, could lead to new EU measures to help ensure future access.

Supplies of tantalum produced by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), cobalt from Rwanda and platinum products from South Africa are all labelleled as “critical” in the first-ever EU report produced by the European Commission on raw minerals facing a supply threat.

Released on 17 June, the report forecasts a tripling of global demand by 2030 for minerals needed by high-tech industries.The low substitution of a mineral and its inability to be recycled make shortages more acute. Cobalt is used for the production of lithium-ion batteries and synthetic fuels, tantalum for micro-capacitors and medical technology and platinum for fuel cells and catalysts.

Others posted as “critical” include antimony, beryllium, fluorspar, gallium, germanium, graphite, indium, magnesium, niobium, rare earths and tungsten.

The results of the report are to be used in a forthcoming EU communication set to be released in autumn 2010 on strategies to ensure access to raw materials.

This could include suggestions to improve access to primary resources and improve the recycling of raw materials or products that contain raw materials as well as research on raw material substitutes.

During a recent meeting between the European Commission (EC) and African Union Commission AUC) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 8 June the EU agreed to develop AU-EU bilateral cooperation on raw materials and to elaborate initiatives on such as capacity building and transparency in the sector, also to develop geological knowledge and skills.

Find out more: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/raw-materials/critical/index_en.htm