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© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Nontechnical Summary

The need for critical minerals for various technologies for commercial and defense use has led to a range of national policy interventions. However, many of these new laws to encourage mining, or protect local industries have not considered as scientific data on mineral reserves or the economic viability of setting specific targets. The EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act is a pivotal case in point that illustrates this challenge. We present a review of the range of laws and policies that have been set forth worldwide.

Technical Summary

Growing international conflict between countries that have large mineral production and processing capacity and those which are in demand of critical raw materials for new technologies has led to a proliferation of policies that promote resource nationalism or ‘friend-shoring’. We analyzed over 400 critical raw material policies to date that have been documented by the International Energy Agency's policy tracking tool and present the findings of the six most active jurisdictions. The EU's Critical Raw Materials Act which came into force in May 2024 stands out as the most significant legislative step taken thus far but needs better interface with environmental and social data on impacts and benefits. By analyzing the challenges faced by lithium mining projects across a range of technologies and geographic locations in Europe, we suggest the use of data generated from life cycle analyses, economic geological calculations, and ecosystem service valuation in improving the implementation of such policies and also mitigate social conflicts.

Social Media Summary

There are now more than 400 critical raw material policies worldwide, but they need to be predicated in economic and geological data to be effective.

Details

Title
Critical minerals policies need clearer interface with scientifically credible targets
Author
Thomas Nolan Hale 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Ali, Saleem H 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Christman, Patrice 3 ; Bleischwitz, Raimund 4   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Svobodova, Kamila 5   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Primmer, Eeva 6   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Pires Moutinho, Vera Lucia 7   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Kulczycka, Joanna 8   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 Geography and Spatial Sciences, University of Delaware College of Earth Ocean and Environment, Newark, DE, USA 
 Geography and Spatial Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA; The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia 
 Institute for Sustainable Resources, University College London, London, UK 
 Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres, Berlin, Germany 
 Department of Geography, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Praha-Suchdol, Czech Republic 
 Natural Resources, SYKE, Helsinki, Finland 
 Lisbon Polytechnic Institute Interdisciplinary Centre for Educational Studies, Lisbon, Portugal 
 Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland 
Section
Intelligence Briefing
Publication year
2025
Publication date
2025
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
e-ISSN
20594798
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3230357334
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.