Making the supply of raw materials to German industry more resilient

At the BDI Raw Materials Congress in Berlin earlier this month, where Anglo American was a programme sponsor, Alison Atkinson, our Projects & Development Director, participated in a panel discussion themed Raw Materials Security – Milestones, Challenges and next Steps, as well as in a Focus Session on Women in Mining.

The Congress is the largest raw materials related event in Germany and was well attended by key political players and industry ﬁgures, including government, business leaders, and experts from the worlds of science, academia and civil society. The main theme of the event explored concrete ways to make the supply of raw materials to German industry more resilient.

Moderated by Nancy Lanzendörfer, a presenter from ntv, Alison joined a panel discussion with Hildegard Bentele, MEP, Member of the European Parliament and EU Critical Raw Materials Board Member, Thomas Schäfer, Chairman of the Sub-Saharan Africa Initiative of the German Economy and Chief Executive, Volkswagen Brand and Abigail Hunter, Director, International Affairs & Partnerships, SAFE Center for Critical Minerals Strategy to discuss the challenges and next steps of making raw material security a reality in Germany and Europe more widely.

Commenting on the role of the mining sector to achieve a resilient supply of critical raw materials in Europe and beyond, particularly as it is related to decarbonising the global economy and simultaneously digitalising the world, Alison notes: “There is no question that the mining sector has a critical role to play in the twin energy and digital transitions – but investment in the sector remains a challenge. Lead times on investment are long and the risk can be high, so patient capital is key.”

“We know that we cannot do it alone. The partnerships we build with our stakeholders – locally and globally – are critical in developing the mines the world needs to supply the critical metals and minerals for the future.”

Commenting on the importance of innovation and technology to achieve a resilient supply of critical materials in the future, Alison adds: “Innovation is helping to transform the industry, and technology is enabling us to build mines with a much smaller footprint efficiently and in line with circularity principles to ensure we are making the most of our resources across the value chain.”

“Anglo American’s FutureSmart Mining™ sees innovation in sustainability and technology working hand in hand to deliver improved outcomes and transform the nature of mining – how we source, mine, process, move and market our products – and how our stakeholders experience our business.”

“As we continue to develop the Sakatti mine in Finland and progress our early-stage exploration activities in the EU, I look forward to continuing these conversations and contributing to resilient supply chains around the world.”

Critical raw materials in the EU

Critical raw materials, including copper, nickel, cobalt and PGMs, are crucial to the future of Europe’s economy. They form a strong industrial base, underpinning the production of a broad range of goods and applications used in everyday life and modern technologies, including smartphones, electric vehicles, batteries, solar panels, and many more applications related to the green energy transition.

The EU is trying to find ways to decarbonise and grow its economy at the same time. To achieve this urgent goal, the European Commission has committed to work towards securing access to affordable, sustainable and secure raw materials to support the clean energy transition.

Anglo American in Europe

Germany is a country of importance for Anglo American within the EU, as a market for our current products, as a production location for Element 6 and as a prospective jurisdiction where we are exploring for copper. Furthermore, Germany is also a market for Crop Nutrients POLY4, given the size of the country’s agricultural land sector.

Elsewhere in Europe, we are developing the Sakatti project in Finland, a polymetallic orebody – with high metal concentrations of copper, nickel cobalt, PGMs, as well as gold and silver – aligned to Finland’s and the EU’s critical minerals priorities, while also participating in a number of key partnerships and initiatives to help secure a sustainable, reliable and resilient supply of critical raw materials to Europe.

In December 2024, Alison will be speaking in Brussels at the EU Raw Materials Week a nd at the European EnerGreenDeal Conference , so look out for more updates on our work in Europe soon.

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