The European Commission has selected 46 new strategic projects across 16 Member States under the Critical Raw Materials Act. This includes two Spanish initiatives: the ABT Abenójar Tungsten project in Ciudad Real and Cobre San Rafael copper mining in A Coruña.
These projects must be operational by 2030 to meet EU targets for extracting 10%, processing 40%, and recycling 25% of annual raw material needs. Strategic status grants faster permit deadlines of 27 months for extraction and 50 months for processing tasks.
With 21,100 million euros in total investment needed, the Commission has already mobilised over 2,000 million euros in public funding. These efforts aim to secure industrial supply chains following export restrictions on rare earths announced by Beijing in 2023.