The rapid growth of sectors such as electric mobility, technology, and renewable energy has significantly increased the importance of critical metals in the global economy. Elements like lithium, cobalt, molybdenum, and rare earth elements are now subject to intense international competition, triggering new policies and conflicts over their location and control.
In recent years, several countries and regions have promoted strategies to ensure self-sufficiency in obtaining these essential materials . However, the extraction and refining of critical metals is also generating intense debates about its environmental, social, and political impact, highlighting the complexity of this new energy and technological landscape.
Europe and the United States redefine their mining map
The European Union has intensified its efforts to reduce its dependence on foreign imports of critical metals, particularly in the face of China's growing dominance in the sector. The bloc, which consumes large quantities of molybdenum but produces very little of it, has focused on developing strategic deposits in its region. A prime example is the ambitious project in Greenland , where mining has been authorized in the Piiaaffik area. This development, spearheaded by Denmark with European support, could supply up to 25% of the EU's annual molybdenum demand and fully meet its defense requirements.
Mining alternatives and technological innovation in the United States
Beyond Greenland, countries like Italy have decided to relaunch their mining programs, reopening deposits and authorizing around a hundred new operations to search for lithium, rare earth elements, and other key components. This strategy aims to attract international investment and strengthen sovereignty over raw materials , especially in historically important mining regions such as the Alps, Sardinia, and Lombardy.
In the United States , concerns about the concentration of cobalt and nickel refining in Asia have led startups like Nth Cycle to develop cleaner, locally sourced technologies, such as electrowinning . This method allows some industrial and electronic waste to be transformed into sources of new metals, facilitating a circular economy and reducing the need for imports.
High social and environmental costs of extraction
However, the expansion of mining for critical metals is not without its costs . Some areas of the world experience a true paradox: although they accumulate underground mineral wealth, their populations face extreme poverty and violence. This is especially true in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) , the global epicenter of coltan and cobalt mining, but also the scene of decades of armed conflict and mass displacement. Several studies have pointed out how part of the global trade, driven by technological pressure and the green transition, ends up indirectly financing armed groups and exacerbating humanitarian crises.
Control of so-called conflict minerals is generating international tensions, and recent reports have called into question the European Union's responsibility in the supply chain, having detected coltan imports from areas controlled by militias. This situation raises questions about the sustainability of the green economy when it depends on finite resources and such politically and socially unstable environments.
In other locations, such as the Guadalquivir River basin in Andalusia or the city of Baotou in China, mining development linked to critical metals faces an environmental challenge. The reopening of historic mines is generating controversy, with reports warning of heavy metal spills and their long-term effects on the ecosystem and public health. Experience in Chinese regions like Baotou, the epicenter of the rare earth industry, demonstrates that economic growth achieved through mining can have serious consequences in terms of pollution and disease, highlighting the limitations of poorly regulated extraction models.
New scenarios in the geopolitical race and the seabed
Global pressure to access critical metals has led some governments to explore extreme alternatives, such as offshore mining. Recently, the US administration has pushed through regulations to allow the exploitation of resources on the ocean floor, bypassing UN multilateral agreements. This move has generated great concern among international organizations, which warn of the environmental risks and the legal and international governance challenges that a race to the deep sea would entail.
Infrastructure companies and multinational consortiums are already exploring technology to extract polymetallic nodules from the ocean floor, while others are calling for a global moratorium until the real impact on little-known ecosystems is better understood. At the same time, the United Nations and countries such as Switzerland, France, and Portugal have called for prioritizing recycling and the circular economy as an alternative to further extractions, to avoid irreversible damage to the environment.
In the coming years, the regulation and sustainable management of critical metals are likely to play a fundamental role in the energy and technological transition. Decision-making in this area will influence social justice, environmental protection, and political balance, and will be key to the future of industry and international relations in an increasingly interconnected and demanding world.