MINEX Forum

Region: Italy

  • Reveille Resources Plans London’s Aquis Float to Revive Dormant Italian Uranium Deposits Abandoned After Chernoby

    Reveille Resources Plans London’s Aquis Float to Revive Dormant Italian Uranium Deposits Abandoned After Chernoby

    A company planning to mine uranium at two historical deposits in northern Italy is seeking to list on London’s small-cap Aquis exchange as soon as this week, aiming to capitalise on Europe’s renewed interest in nuclear energy and domestic critical mineral security.

    Reveille Resources, which will be operated by Ippolito Ingo Cattaneo alongside his father Andrea Cattaneo, is targeting two uranium deposits in Lombardy known as Novazza and Val Vedello, for which licence applications were submitted last year. Evidence of uranium at both locations was first identified as far back as 1912, with formal exploration beginning in the 1950s as part of Italy’s first nuclear energy programme. That exploration was suspended in the 1980s following the Chernobyl disaster, which triggered widespread public concern over nuclear energy across Europe.

    The company is now seeking to revive interest in the sites against a backdrop of European energy security concerns and growing government investment in small modular reactor technology. “Against a backdrop of increasing concerns regarding energy security and access to natural gas supplies from Russia and the Middle East, together with the growing recognition of nuclear energy as a source of low-carbon baseload electricity, European governments, including Italy, are demonstrating renewed interest in nuclear energy,” Reveille said, adding that there is increasing strategic focus on securing domestic and Western-aligned sources of critical and strategic minerals including uranium.

    The Cattaneo family is set to own approximately one-fifth of the company following its float, with other mining companies they are involved in also holding shares. New Jersey-based Yorkville Advisors Global, which has financed other energy-related companies including London-listed Fermi, is also participating. The company expects to be admitted to Aquis on Thursday.

  • Canada Grants Italy Priority Access to Critical Mineral Reserves as Carney and Meloni Deepen G7 Supply Chain Partnership

    Canada Grants Italy Priority Access to Critical Mineral Reserves as Carney and Meloni Deepen G7 Supply Chain Partnership

    Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has offered Italy priority access to Canada’s critical mineral reserves, with the two leaders using the G7 summit in Évian to expand bilateral cooperation spanning supply chains, defence procurement and energy at a moment when Western allies are accelerating efforts to secure strategic resource access.

    The meeting between Carney and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni builds on a year of growing bilateral engagement. Recent milestones include Italian energy company Eni’s nearly C$100 million investment to secure graphite from Nouveau Monde Graphite’s Matawinie project in Quebec, Italy’s entry into the Critical Minerals Production Alliance, and a series of trade and investment initiatives between the two countries.

    “Italy’s intention to collaborate with Canada to stockpile critical minerals will catalyze further partnerships between our countries in energy and industry,” the Canadian government said in a statement. Meloni thanked Carney for granting priority access, with the Italian government’s statement describing the move as helping to safeguard supply chains.

    The agreement reflects Canada’s broader strategy of positioning itself as a core strategic supplier of minerals essential to battery manufacturing, defence technologies and industrial production, as G7 nations work to reduce dependence on concentrated global supply chains dominated by China.

    Beyond minerals, the two leaders launched negotiations for Canada’s purchase of Leonardo M-346 advanced jet trainer aircraft from Italy, framing the proposed acquisition as advancing Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy through partnerships with trusted allies. Carney also highlighted plans for a new Defence, Security and Resilience Bank to finance long-term defence and security projects.

    Carney and Meloni also reaffirmed support for Ukraine, agreed on maintaining pressure on Russia and discussed Middle East developments.

  • Vatican Launches Global Initiative Urging Disinvestment from Mining Sector

    Vatican Launches Global Initiative Urging Disinvestment from Mining Sector

    The Vatican has launched a new international initiative encouraging investors to withdraw funding from the mining sector, marking an unprecedented move by the Catholic Church to target a specific industry on ethical grounds.

    Announced on Friday and supported by senior Church officials and around 40 faith-based organisations, the initiative aims to promote stronger environmental protection and fair labour practices within mining operations. Companies that fail to meet these expectations could face pressure through divestment.

    Cardinal Fabio Baggio said the expansion of mining activities in many parts of the world has led to significant social tensions and environmental damage. He described the initiative as a reflection of the Church’s commitment to human dignity and ethical responsibility.

    The move builds on previous Vatican guidance urging Catholics to divest from sectors such as fossil fuels and armaments, but represents the first time the Church has directly called for disinvestment from mining.

    Rev. Dario Bossi, one of the project’s coordinators, said the initiative invites Catholic institutions and broader faith communities to reconsider their investment strategies in response to the social and environmental impacts of mining. The Vatican has not disclosed which organisations are participating or identified specific companies that could be affected.

    The announcement comes at a time of rapidly increasing global demand for critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt and copper, driven by the transition to clean energy and digital technologies. According to the International Energy Agency, demand for these materials could triple by 2030 and quadruple by 2040.

    While parts of the mining industry have acknowledged the need for improved sustainability practices—through initiatives such as the International Council on Mining and Metals—the Vatican’s intervention highlights growing scrutiny from non-governmental actors.

    Cardinal Alvaro Ramazzini of Guatemala, who participated in the launch, emphasised that legal compliance alone is not sufficient, calling on governments and corporations to align their actions with broader principles of justice.

    The initiative adds a new ethical dimension to the global debate over responsible sourcing of minerals at a time when demand for these resources is accelerating.

  • Aurubis Upgrades Avellino Shaft Furnace to Boost Copper Wire Rod Production and Sustainability

    Aurubis Upgrades Avellino Shaft Furnace to Boost Copper Wire Rod Production and Sustainability

    Aurubis AG, one of the world’s largest copper recyclers and a leading provider of non-ferrous metals, has completed the modernization of its shaft furnace at the Avellino site in Italy. The €5 million investment marks a key milestone in enhancing the efficiency, sustainability, and long-term competitiveness of copper wire rod production.

    Copper wire, essential for data centers, renewable energy, electrification, and e-mobility, is a strategic material at the core of Europe’s energy transition. The modernization has increased production capacity at Avellino by nearly 20% while lowering energy use and reducing CO₂ emissions.

    The shaft furnace, central to wire rod production, operates by feeding copper cathodes and high-purity scrap from the top, where they are preheated by rising hot gases before melting at the bottom. This process maximizes energy efficiency and throughput.

    Upgrades included extending the furnace shaft, installing a new shell, modernizing the refractory lining, optimizing the charging system, and preparing the site for a future-ready burner and combustion setup. These improvements lay the foundation for further decarbonization and sustainable energy solutions.

    “Modernizing the shaft furnace provides the foundation for more energy-efficient and future-ready production in Avellino. At the same time, it strengthens our market position and ensures the long-term supply of strategically important copper wire rod for our customers,” said Bernardino Greco, Site Manager at Aurubis Avellino.

    Tim Kurth, Chief Operations Officer for Custom Smelting and Products, added: “The investment secures an advanced supply of copper wire, a key product for the major transformation trends, and plays a decisive role in strengthening Europe’s competitiveness.”

    Aurubis plans a second upgrade phase in August 2026, which will introduce a new natural gas combustion system expected to lower gas consumption by up to 10%. Once completed, the full production capacity increase will take effect.

    The Avellino site is also the first in Italy to begin the process of securing The Copper Mark certification, an independent assurance framework promoting responsible copper value chain practices.

  • Italy has offered Metinvest, owned by Rinat Akhmetov, the opportunity to rebuild a steel plant in Taranto.

    Italy has offered Metinvest, owned by Rinat Akhmetov, the opportunity to rebuild a steel plant in Taranto.

    The Metinvest mining and metallurgical group intends to build a plant in Piombino in the Italian region of Tuscany as one of the most technologically and environmentally advanced of its kind, which will become a pilot for our future investments of the company in Ukraine, Metinvest CEO Yuriy Ryzhenkov said in an interview with La Repubblica, one of Italy’s largest newspapers. According to him, the new plant in Piombino will produce “green steel.”

    The CEO said during a war the company devotes its greatest efforts to support the country on its path to victory. “For our Group, this means continuing to pay taxes, providing humanitarian aid and helping the Ukrainian army. Despite the loss of two steel mills, as well as the coking plant in Avdiivka, Metinvest remains the largest employer in Ukraine and the largest donor to the Ukrainian army. We have allocated significant funds to support the Ukrainian armed forces and provide humanitarian aid to Ukrainians,” the CEO said.

    Answering a question about the financial results for 2023, the company’s CEO said the net loss was $118 million, “but we have stabilised the business while cash flow is positive, which means we are back on the right track. And this is very important.”

    Regarding plans to build a plant in Piombino, Ryzhenkov said the group currently already owns two plants in Italy but intends to construct a third plant.

    “Metinvest committed to build a new green steel plant in Piombino as part of a programme agreement with the Italian Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy. This is the result of the cooperation of many institutions, including regional and municipal ones. We hope to finalise the agreement within the next three to four months and to have a precise action plan,” the CEO said.

    “If we finalise the programme agreement by the middle of this year, we could start the plant’s construction towards the end of 2024. The construction itself will take two to three years. In an ideal scenario, we should start production in Piombino in 2027,” Ryzhenkov said.

    He said Italy imports about 6 million tonnes of steel products. And thanks to the production that the company plans to launch, this deficit can be significantly reduced. The plant will become a pilot project for future company investments in Ukraine when the country begins to recover.

    Ryzhenkov also explained plans to build a plant in Italy were made long before the invasion. Then the idea was to use semi-finished products from Azovstal for further processing in Italy. Now there is no Azovstal, but in Ukraine we have iron ore enterprises producing high-quality iron ore, which can be used to make DRI/HBI (direct reduced iron). So now the idea is to build a plant that will use iron ore from Ukraine to produce steel in Italy.

    Responding to a question about the concerns of Italian manufacturers about a possible shortage of scrap due to the future construction of the plant in Piombino, the company’s CEO said in Italy there is no shortage of raw materials, there is competition, like in other countries. Raw materials can also be delivered by sea. And he emphasized that the steel plant in Piombino will receive raw materials from Ukraine.

    “At the moment, we are identifying a location for the construction of the DRI plant, and we know that we are not the only ones, other Italian steelmakers are doing the same. Some are considering building DRI plants outside of Italy, where gas prices are lower. In any case, Metinvest will contribute to this process by supplying raw materials to DRI plants to be built in Italy, just as we will supply them to our DRI plant, which may be built in Ukraine or somewhere else, from which raw materials will be supplied to the Piombino plant,” the CEO said.

    Touching on the topic of some Italian manufacturers purchasing cheaper Russian slabs, he pointed out that the holding in Italy produces coils as finished products, buys about 1 million tonnes of semi-finished products for the production of coils, but not a single ton is supplied from Russia.

    “We buy slabs both in Italy, from Adi in Taranto, and from other European producers such as ThyssenKrupp, Galati or U.S. Steel in Košice. And on the wider market, also in China and Brazil. And it all remains profitable,” Ryzhenkov said.

    He called on Italian manufacturers not to buy metal from Russia, since “it’s like shooting yourself in the foot.”

    Answering a question about Metinvest’s alleged intention to acquire the assets of the former Ilva company, Ryzhenkov said Italian Minister Urso asked the company to pay attention to the plant in Taranto and consider the possibility of restoring it.

    “We have set up a dedicated task force to analyse the situation and scenarios. We are providing our support by supplying raw materials to Taranto. In addition, we are supplying technical specialists to help optimise the use of our raw materials and purchase semi-finished products from Taranto. With this in mind, we are currently focusing on Piombino. But we are continuing to analyse ways in which Metinvest can do more to help the plant in Taranto, even if there are no announcements about this for the time being,” Ryzhenkov said.

    According to him, if by the end of the year the Italian government puts the former Ilva sites up for auction, then Metinvest’s participation will primarily depend on the results of due diligence, after which it will consider the terms of the tender, its restrictions and the level of government support.

    “In general, there are many things to verify before a group like Metinvest can say whether it is interested in an investment of this scale. At the moment, I can only confirm that we are analysing the situation, we can make proposals, but it is up to the government, as it is the one that has to create the conditions for taking further steps. We also know that some other groups in the industry are looking at the former Ilva plant, so we will see what happens next,” the CEO said.

    Metinvest consists of mining and metallurgical enterprises located in Ukraine, Europe and the United States. Its main shareholders are the SCM group (71.24%) and Smart Holding (23.76%), which jointly manage it.

    Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of the Metinvest group.