MINEX Forum

Website: Europe.com

  • Europe’s Green Energy Dream Collides With Local Fears at Czech Lithium Deposit Straddling German Border

    Europe’s Green Energy Dream Collides With Local Fears at Czech Lithium Deposit Straddling German Border

    In Cinovec, a small mountain town perched on the Czech-German border known for its clean air, pine forests and spa tourism, plans to extract one of Europe’s largest lithium deposits have opened a fault line between the promises of the green energy transition and the concerns of the communities expected to live with its consequences.

    The project is led by Geomet, the Czech subsidiary of London-listed European Metals Holdings, which argues that developing the deposit will bring jobs, investment and economic growth to a region that has long struggled to diversify beyond traditional industries. The Cinovec deposit has been confirmed as one of the largest hard-rock lithium resources in Europe, and its development is seen as strategically significant for the continent’s ambition to reduce dependence on imported battery materials, particularly from China.

    But for many residents, the prospect of industrial-scale mining in a landscape still bearing the scars of decades of coal extraction sits uneasily. The area around Cinovec is in the early stages of ecological recovery from the environmental damage wrought by its communist-era mining past, and locals fear that lithium extraction could set that recovery back — contaminating water sources, generating dust and noise, and undermining the region’s carefully rebuilt identity as a destination for health tourism and outdoor recreation. Tourism represents a significant share of the local economy, and business owners worry that the imagery of an active mine would deter the visitors on whom they depend.

    Geomet has maintained that the project will meet strict environmental standards and that modern mining techniques bear little resemblance to the open-cast coal operations that scarred the landscape in previous generations. The company points to the project’s classification as a strategic resource by both the European Union and the Czech government as evidence of its broader importance.

    The standoff at Cinovec is not unique. Across Europe, communities sitting above critical mineral deposits are grappling with the same fundamental tension: the green transition requires materials that must come from somewhere, and the places asked to provide them are not always willing to bear the costs that the broader project demands. The question of who benefits and who pays — and whether environmental pledges made at the planning stage can be trusted once extraction begins — remains unresolved at Cinovec as it does across the continent.

  • Environmental Groups Sound Alarm Over Closed-Door Meeting Between EU Commissioner and Mining Lobbyists on Water Protection Rules

    Environmental Groups Sound Alarm Over Closed-Door Meeting Between EU Commissioner and Mining Lobbyists on Water Protection Rules

    Environmental organisations have raised serious concerns after European Commissioner for Environment Jessika Roswall held a private meeting in Stockholm with a hand-picked group of industrial and mining industry lobbyists to discuss the future of the EU’s Water Framework Directive — the bloc’s primary legal instrument for protecting rivers, lakes and drinking water supplies — with no environmental or civil society representatives invited to attend.

    The Water Framework Directive underpins EU rules on clean drinking water, the health of freshwater ecosystems and climate resilience. Critics argue that any discussion of its future should be subject to open, transparent and inclusive consultation, rather than closed-door talks with an industry that has consistently lobbied to reduce regulatory constraints on extraction operations.

    The European Environmental Bureau condemned the format and framing of the meeting in stark terms. Athénaïs Georges, the organisation’s policy officer for biodiversity and water, said the Commission was “placing short-sighted and specific corporate interests above public and environmental protection” by convening with hand-picked participants while excluding wider civil society. She warned that reopening the directive risked “unleashing a Pandora’s box — jeopardising the health of current and future generations.”

    Diego Marin, the bureau’s senior policy officer for raw materials and resource justice, was equally direct: “Secret deals should not decide our water’s future. All mining projects have serious impacts on water, with pollution travelling far beyond the source and contaminating nature for decades — even permanently.”

    Environmental groups point to an already well-documented record of mining-related water contamination across Europe. Heavy metals, acid mine drainage and other hazardous substances from mining operations have been linked to the contamination of rivers and groundwater, the collapse of aquatic biodiversity and the emergence of ecological dead zones in multiple member states. The organisations argue that weakening the Water Framework Directive at the behest of mining industry interests would compound these harms at a continental scale, threatening public health, local livelihoods and the long-term resilience of freshwater ecosystems.

    The closed nature of the Stockholm meeting has drawn particular criticism at a moment when the EU is simultaneously accelerating its critical minerals agenda and facing mounting pressure from environmental and community groups concerned about the social and ecological costs of rapidly expanding European extraction.

  • Avrupa Minerals Cuts Reporting Frequency as Junior Explorer Focuses Resources on Copper-Gold Projects Across Europe

    Avrupa Minerals Cuts Reporting Frequency as Junior Explorer Focuses Resources on Copper-Gold Projects Across Europe

    Avrupa Minerals has announced it will shift from quarterly to semi-annual financial reporting, reducing its administrative compliance burden as the junior exploration company concentrates its limited resources on copper-zinc and gold projects across Finland, Portugal and Kosovo.

    The Canadian-listed company has confirmed its eligibility under Coordinated Blanket Order 51-933, a TSX Venture Exchange pilot framework that allows qualifying small-revenue venture issuers with a clean disclosure record to file financial statements and management discussion and analysis twice yearly rather than four times, while continuing to produce annual audited results. The change is intended to streamline administrative costs without affecting the company’s core exploration activities.

    Avrupa operates a project generator model, seeking joint venture partners to fund and advance early-stage assets while retaining meaningful interests. Its portfolio spans three European jurisdictions: a series of Finnish volcanogenic massive sulphide targets held through a partnership structure; a wholly owned Portuguese VMS project for which a mining licence application is pending; and a gold interest in Kosovo. The company’s strategy is focused exclusively on politically stable European countries, positioning it to attract partners cautious about jurisdictional risk.

    The most recent analyst rating on Avrupa Minerals stock is a Hold with a price target of C$0.07.

  • Zijin’s Serbian Copper-Gold Operation Posts €1.1 Billion Net Profit in 2025 as Revenues Surge 22%

    Zijin’s Serbian Copper-Gold Operation Posts €1.1 Billion Net Profit in 2025 as Revenues Surge 22%

    Srbija Zijin Mining, the Serbian arm of Chinese mining giant Zijin Mining Group, has reported a net profit exceeding €1.1 billion for 2025 — a 60% increase on the prior year and nearly four times the level recorded in 2021, when the Čukaru Peki mine first came into production.

    The company’s operating revenues reached 213.8 billion dinars in 2025, up more than 18% year-on-year, with the overwhelming majority — 210.9 billion dinars — generated through the sale of copper and gold ore concentrates to affiliated entities abroad. Total revenues climbed to 224 billion dinars, and with expenses growing at a slower pace, overall profitability surged by more than 22%.

    At the heart of the operation is the Čukaru Peki copper-gold mine, located six kilometres from the town of Bor in eastern Serbia, which processes three to four million tonnes of ore annually at average grades of 2.9% copper and 1.7 grams of gold per tonne. Zijin entered Serbia in January 2019 through its acquisition of Canadian company Nevsun Resources, which held ownership of the Čukaru Peki deposit — considered one of the richest ore bodies of its kind in Europe. The mine was formally commissioned in 2021.

    The company also holds five exploration licences across Serbia and retains 100% ownership of both the upper and lower zones of the Čukaru Peki deposit. Development of the Lower Zone is planned across three phases, with intensive construction scheduled to continue through to 2052, according to the annual report. Finalisation of studies and acquisition of trial permits are currently underway.

    Beyond its core mining operations, Srbija Zijin Mining acquired 930 hectares of land across 2,523 plots in 2025, paying €31.25 million in compensation, and took over a former Falkensteiner hotel in Novi Beograd through the acquisition of company Alba Invest. The company’s cash position nearly doubled, rising from 5.9 billion to 10.5 billion dinars, while total property, plant and equipment increased from 117 billion to 133 billion dinars. By the end of 2025, the company employed 1,369 people.

    Srbija Zijin Mining is wholly owned by Čukaru Peki, a Netherlands-registered entity, and forms part of Zijin Mining Group’s global portfolio, which spans 16 provincial-level regions within China and 21 projects across 15 countries, including the Kamoa-Kakula and Kolwezi copper mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Buriticá gold mine in Colombia.

  • Greenland Rejects Kvanefjeld Licence Renewal, Dealing Blow to Rare Earths Project

    Greenland Rejects Kvanefjeld Licence Renewal, Dealing Blow to Rare Earths Project

    Energy Transition Minerals (ASX: ETM) said on Tuesday that Greenland does not intend to renew the exploration licence for its Kvanefjeld rare earths project.

    The draft decision represents another setback for one of the territory’s largest undeveloped critical minerals projects, which would include a mine, concentrator and refinery.

    The move stems from Greenland’s 2021 Uranium Act, which effectively prohibits uranium prospecting, exploration and extraction, and is currently the subject of ongoing legal proceedings over its application to Kvanefjeld.

    ETM said similar licences have been renewed since the Act was introduced, raising concerns about regulatory consistency.

    “This draft position appears inconsistent with the historical treatment of the project,” the company said in an emailed statement, noting that Greenland had previously extended the licence even after the uranium legislation came into force and while legal disputes were ongoing.

    ETM said the decision risks sending a broader signal to investors at a sensitive time for Greenland, which is at the centre of increasing geopolitical competition over critical minerals supply. Western governments, including the US and Europe, are seeking to reduce their dependence on China.

    Mining is widely seen as a way for Greenland to diversify its economy, so policy changes that appear to alter the rules may increase concerns about regulatory stability and the long-term commitment to the sector, ETM said.

    The draft outcome also follows Greenland’s efforts to engage with industry at January’s PDAC convention in Canada earlier this year, adding to questions over the direction of policy.

    Shares in ETM fell 7.4 per cent to A$0.050 in Sydney during the first trading session after a halt last week, giving the company a market value of about A$118.7 million. The broader S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.5 per cent. Since the start of the year, the stock has lost half its value.

    Spain support

    The share price decline came despite ETM also securing foreign direct investment approval from the Spanish government for its proposed acquisition of the Penouta tin-tantalum mine.

    The approval removes a key regulatory obstacle, confirms that the investment meets national security requirements, and endorses the company’s financial strength and suitability to operate strategic assets in Spain, marking progress towards completing the deal.

  • Allied Critical Metals Intersects Significant Tungsten Mineralization at Borralha Project

    Allied Critical Metals Intersects Significant Tungsten Mineralization at Borralha Project

    Allied Critical Metals has reported a major drilling intersection at its Borralha Tungsten Project in northern Portugal, confirming over 200 metres of breccia-hosted tungsten mineralization at the newly defined Venise Breccia target.

    The discovery highlights a potentially extensive mineralized system, with visible wolframite identified alongside molybdenite and chalcopyrite within quartz-sulphide veining. These results are consistent with the company’s geological model and support the continuity of a historically recognised but previously underexplored breccia system.

    The Venise target is located approximately 400 metres from the Santa Helena Breccia deposit, which underpins the project’s current preliminary economic assessment. This proximity reinforces the potential for near-mine resource expansion and longer-term growth of the operation.

    The drilling forms part of a fully funded 20000 metre programme aimed at increasing the resource base, extending mine life, and scaling up the overall project. While the presence of visible mineralization is considered encouraging, the company emphasises that laboratory assay results will be required to confirm grade and economic viability.

    The findings also point to polymetallic potential, with associated molybdenum and copper mineralization suggesting similarities to other breccia-hosted systems in the district. This could further enhance the project’s strategic relevance as Europe seeks to strengthen its supply of critical minerals.

    The Venise Breccia is not yet included in the current resource estimate or mine plan, and further drilling is ongoing to determine the scale and continuity of mineralization. Nonetheless, early results support the company’s strategy of applying modern exploration techniques to historically identified targets.

    As exploration progresses, the Borralha Project is increasingly viewed as a potential district-scale tungsten system, with strategic importance for European and NATO-aligned supply chains amid rising global demand and strong tungsten pricing.

  • Medaro Mining Shifts Strategic Focus to Sweden to Tap EU Critical Minerals Demand

    Medaro Mining Shifts Strategic Focus to Sweden to Tap EU Critical Minerals Demand

    Medaro Mining is repositioning its operations toward Europe, with a strategic focus on Sweden as it seeks to capitalise on growing demand for critical minerals within the European Union.

    The move follows a comprehensive review of the company’s asset portfolio and aligns with the EU’s , which aims to strengthen domestic supply chains for key raw materials. Sweden has emerged as a favourable destination due to its established mining infrastructure and stable regulatory framework, making it an attractive hub for resource development.

    The company’s current exploration efforts are concentrated on the Bastnäs project, located in the Riddarhyttan-Bastnäs district. Ongoing fieldwork includes detailed surface mapping and systematic sampling campaigns designed to assess the mineral potential of the site. The results of these activities will play a decisive role in determining whether the project advances to the next phase of exploration, including test drilling.

    In parallel with its technical activities, Medaro is also increasing its engagement with investors through a targeted digital marketing initiative aimed at enhancing visibility across European and North American markets.

    Key project milestones include the conclusion of its investor communications programme in July 2026 and the expiration of exploration licences for Bastnäs 100 and 200 in February 2029, as granted by Swedish authorities. These deadlines establish a clear timeline for evaluating the project’s viability and securing further development.

    Market attention is currently focused on assay results from collected rock samples, which are expected to determine whether the project can support a larger-scale exploration programme. As Europe accelerates efforts to secure critical mineral supply chains, Medaro’s Swedish pivot reflects a broader industry shift toward resource development within stable and strategically aligned jurisdictions.

  • Spain Emerges as Europe’s Critical Minerals Frontier as EU Races to Break Free From Chinese Supply Dominance

    Spain Emerges as Europe’s Critical Minerals Frontier as EU Races to Break Free From Chinese Supply Dominance

    As global demand for digital technologies and electric mobility accelerates, the competition for critical minerals has intensified, placing Spain at the forefront of Europe’s resource strategy. With growing geopolitical tensions over supply chains, the European Union is increasingly looking inward, identifying Spain as a key player due to its significant geological potential.

    Historically, Spain’s mining sector has contributed substantially to the national economy, generating nearly 3.5 billion euros annually. Today, attention has shifted to the Variscan Massif, a vast mineral-rich belt stretching from Galicia to Andalusia. This region holds promising deposits of rare earth elements and critical minerals, essential for modern technologies yet notoriously difficult to extract due to their low concentrations.

    Experts highlight the geopolitical weight of these resources. With China dominating the rare earth market and supplying the majority of key materials such as magnesium to the EU, Europe’s dependence has raised strategic concerns. Recent warnings from the European Court of Auditors underline that progress in reducing this reliance remains insufficient.

    Against this backdrop, Spain is positioning itself as a cornerstone of Europe’s mineral independence. The country holds 15% of global strontium reserves and is the sole producer of this mineral within the EU. It is also the continent’s second-largest copper producer. Notably, 20 of the 34 raw materials classified as critical by Brussels have been identified in Spain, including lithium, cobalt, and nickel.

    To capitalise on this potential, the Spanish government approved the National Mining Exploration Program (2026–2030), allocating 182 million euros to assess and expand extractable resources. Simultaneously, the European Commission has endorsed a portfolio of strategic projects, seven of which are located in Spain, aimed at boosting domestic extraction, processing, and recycling capacities by 2030.

    However, the development of these projects faces strict regulatory, technical, and environmental requirements. Authorities stress that operations must be sustainable, economically viable, and beneficial at a cross-border level. Public concern over environmental impacts remains significant, with local communities and watchdog organisations increasingly scrutinising mining activities.

    In response, attention is also turning to innovative approaches such as recycling mining waste. Spain hosts over 21,000 mining ponds and dumps, presenting opportunities to recover valuable materials while reducing environmental harm. Research initiatives, including projects in the Río Tinto basin, are exploring methods to extract rare earth elements from mine drainage, offering a potential pathway toward more sustainable resource management.

    While still in early stages, these efforts reflect a broader shift toward balancing economic opportunity with environmental responsibility. As Europe seeks to secure its supply of critical minerals, Spain’s role is set to become increasingly pivotal in shaping the continent’s industrial and geopolitical future.

  • MinRex-Electrum Merger Clears Final Court Hurdle With April Completion on Track

    MinRex-Electrum Merger Clears Final Court Hurdle With April Completion on Track

    Canada-based, Serbia-focused explorer Electrum Discovery has received final court approval for its merger with Australian peer MinRex Resources, clearing the last major legal obstacle ahead of an expected closing date of around 9 April.

    The court order follows shareholder approval secured on 24 March, when 99.99% of Electrum’s shareholders voted in favour of the transaction. Under the terms of the deal, MinRex will acquire all issued and outstanding common shares in Electrum, with Electrum security holders receiving ordinary shares in the merged entity in exchange. Upon completion, Electrum’s security holders will hold 49% of the combined group, with MinRex shareholders controlling the remaining 51%.

    First announced in January, the merger is expected to create a gold-copper exploration group with a combined market capitalisation of approximately A$28 million ($19 million), bringing together Electrum’s Serbian asset portfolio with MinRex’s gold and base metals projects across approximately 438 square kilometres of tenements in Australia’s Lachlan Fold Belt.

    Electrum’s two Serbian projects add meaningful exploration upside to the combined entity. The Novo Tlamino gold-silver project in southern Serbia, situated on the border with North Macedonia, spans 521.8 square kilometres across seven mineral permits and carries an inferred mineral resource estimate of 670,000 ounces of gold equivalent, with a net present value of $101 million at an 8% discount rate. The copper-gold Timok East project in eastern Serbia covers 123 square kilometres across three exploration permits and is located in close proximity to Zijin Mining’s cluster of operating mines at Bor, Veliki Krivelj, Cukari Peki and Majdanpek — a neighbourhood that adds strategic context to the asset’s longer-term potential.

    MinRex is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, while Electrum trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

  • Poland’s KGHM Sits at the Heart of Europe’s Copper and Silver Supply as Global Demand Surges Toward a Critical Shortfall

    Poland’s KGHM Sits at the Heart of Europe’s Copper and Silver Supply as Global Demand Surges Toward a Critical Shortfall

    Thousands of metres below the flat plains of western Poland, in tunnels stretching for hundreds of kilometres under suffocating heat, workers at KGHM’s Polkowice-Sieroszowice mine are extracting what geologists increasingly describe as the metals of the future — copper and silver whose strategic importance to the global economy has never been greater.

    Poland supplies between 40% and 50% of Europe’s copper, making it the continent’s dominant producer. KGHM, the state-backed metals giant that operates three underground mines alongside local smelters and operations in the Americas, ranked eighth globally in copper extraction volume last year, behind BHP, Glencore and Rio Tinto. It is also the world’s second-largest silver producer. In 2025, the group generated more than 36 billion zlotys ($9.7 billion) in revenue, producing 710,000 tonnes of copper and 1,347 tonnes of silver.

    The timing of that output matters enormously. Global copper demand is forecast to rise by more than 40% by 2040, according to a 2025 UN report, driven by the accelerating electrification of transport, the buildout of renewable energy infrastructure and surging demand from artificial intelligence data centres and defence industries. An electric vehicle contains around 80 kilograms of copper compared with 20 kilograms in a conventional car, while a single wind turbine requires between four and ten tonnes per megawatt of installed capacity. The International Energy Agency projects that supply will lag 30% behind demand as early as 2035, a gap that could require 80 new mines and $250 billion in investment by 2030.

    At KGHM’s Glogow smelter, ore is melted in furnaces at 1,200 degrees Celsius before emerging as 99.99% pure copper plates, each weighing more than 100 kilograms, which are then shipped to buyers around the world. The process underscores the vertically integrated nature of Poland’s copper industry — from extraction through refining to export — a model that gives KGHM and Poland unusual strategic weight within the European supply chain.

    That weight is being felt at the geopolitical level. Copper now appears on the strategic critical metals lists of the European Union, the United States and China simultaneously. In July, US President Donald Trump announced a 50% tariff on copper, citing national security grounds and the metal’s centrality to Pentagon procurement. Prices surged 41.7% in 2025, hitting a record $14,527.50 per tonne in January of this year, and remain elevated at around $12,000 per tonne despite the Middle East conflict and global economic headwinds.

    KGHM vice president for finance Piotr Krzyzewski framed Poland’s position in explicitly continental terms: “It’s no longer about the security of our country alone, but the security of all of Europe.” The group’s known resources are estimated to sustain operations for at least 40 years, independent of new exploration and concession activity. Water consumption at the scale required for deep mining remains a vulnerability as climate change intensifies drought risk across Central Europe.