Europe is broadening its critical-minerals investment strategy beyond mine development, with processing, refining and recycling accounting for most projects selected under the European Union’s latest Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) initiative.
Of the 46 Strategic Projects selected in October, only eight focus exclusively on extraction. A further 19 target recycling, 11 focus on processing and eight integrate multiple stages of the raw-material value chain.
The project portfolio reflects the importance of linking mineral production with downstream industrial capacity. Lithium extraction requires conversion facilities to produce battery-grade chemicals, rare-earth ores need separation infrastructure to supply magnet manufacturers, and copper scrap requires suitable smelting capacity to return to industrial applications.
Lithium refining investment advances in Germany
In Germany, AMG’s Bitterfeld facility has been designated by the European Commission as a European Lithium Refining and Recycling Hub.
AMG is engineering a 5,000-tonne-per-year plant at Bitterfeld that will process recycled lithium carbonate into technical-grade lithium hydroxide for further upgrading. The company has estimated the investment at approximately $50 million, with 20% supported by a German federal grant. The project adds lithium refining and recycling capacity to Europe’s industrial raw-material infrastructure, extending investment beyond the extraction of primary resources.
KGHM combines copper mining and recycling
Polish copper producer KGHM is pursuing investments in both primary extraction and secondary-material processing through its new EU Strategic Projects.
The portfolio includes development of the Retków-Grodziszcze copper deposit and the conversion of the Legnica smelter into an integrated recycling metallurgical plant. The combined approach connects newly mined copper with recovered material, allowing both streams to enter industrial supply chains through established processing infrastructure.
Primary production remains necessary as recycling expands
Recycling cannot fully replace mining when demand for raw materials is growing rapidly. During periods of market expansion, the volume of end-of-life products available for recovery may be insufficient to supply demand for new material, leaving primary mine development necessary.
Secondary supply can nevertheless help ease resource constraints over time, as recycling rates for key energy minerals are expected to increase materially over the coming decade.
Processing infrastructure also allows companies to diversify their feedstock. Refineries capable of accepting materials from different sources can respond to changing trade conditions, while recycling facilities recover value from products already circulating within Europe. Smelters that handle both primary and secondary materials can further reduce dependence on individual mines or suppliers.
Industrial infrastructure broadens mineral security requirements
Europe’s approach to mineral security increasingly encompasses the technologies and facilities connecting extraction with manufacturing. Alongside exploration geologists, mine engineers and concentrators, the sector requires hydrometallurgists, recycling engineers, scrap aggregators, chemical-processing plants, specialised furnaces and digital systems for tracking materials across successive uses. The expanding investment portfolio therefore covers the infrastructure needed to extract, process, refine and recover strategic materials, linking primary mining with downstream manufacturing and recycling operations.
