The European Commission has published a revised and extended list of Critical Raw Materials, based on threatened supply coupled with economic importance.
The 2014 list includes 13 of the 14 materials identified in the previous list of 2011, with only tantalum moving out of the list due to a lower supply risk.
Six new materials appear on the list: borates, chromium, coking coal, magnesite, phosphate rock and silicon metal bringing the number up to 20 raw materials which are now considered critical by the European Commission.
The other 14 raw materials are: antimony, beryllium, cobalt, fluorspar, gallium, germanium, indium, magnesium, natural graphite, niobium, platinum group metals, heavy rare earths, light rare earths and tungsten.
A list of the major producers of the critical materials reveals China is the most influential in terms of global supply. Several other countries have dominant supplies of specific raw materials, such as the USA (beryllium) and Brazil (niobium).
The report should help to incentivise the European production of critical raw materials and facilitate the launching of new mining and recycling activities. Furthermore, the list is being used by the Commission to help prioritise needs and actions.
For example, it serves as a supporting element when negotiating trade agreements, challenging trade distortion measures or promoting research and innovation. It can also serve as a source of information for companies who would wish to evaluate the criticality of their own supply of raw materials.
Raw materials are everywhere – a smartphone, for example, might contain up to 50 different metals, all of which help to give it its light weight and user-friendly small size.
