The European Union (EU) has adopted the European Critical Raw Materials Act. This opens the way for much more widespread mining in the EU. The aim of the Act is to triple current production of critical minerals. The target is for mining to produce “At least 10% of the EU’s annual production for extraction.”
Pollution
Mining is a polluting industry. There are frightening examples in Ireland. The mine at Tynagh in Co Galway closed 43 years ago. It became the most polluted former mine site in Europe. The Environmental Protection Agency judged it a ‘Class 1 Environmental Hazard.’ The exact cost of the cleanup is not known.
There is a risk of more Tynaghs. At present, approximately 25% of Ireland, North and South, is covered by exploration licences. These are the first step towards mining.
The Critical Minerals Act will increase the area. The Act writes of “The central importance of critical raw materials for the green and digital transitions, and for defence (my emphasis) and space applications.” ‘Defence’ means the increasing militarisation of the EU. The EU is neither under military attack, nor in danger of such.
The Act is about further restricting the ability to object. The wording is alarming: “Sometimes difficult access to funding, lengthy and complex permitting procedures and the lack of public acceptance as well as potential environmental concerns are major impediments to the development of critical raw materials projects.
“…Member States should apply streamlined and predictable permitting procedure to Strategic Projects. To that end, Strategic Projects should be given priority status at national level to ensure rapid administrative treatment and urgent treatment in all judicial and dispute resolution procedures relating to them. This Regulation should not prevent competent authorities from streamlining permitting for other projects on the critical raw materials value chain that are not Strategic Projects.
“… national competent authorities should ensure that applicants and project promoters have access to simple dispute settlement procedure and that Strategic Projects are granted urgent treatment in all judicial and dispute resolution procedures relating to the projects.”
All emphasis is mine. The meaning is easily summed up. Mining projects should be rammed through. That is against the communities on which they are to be imposed.
EU member states are not to be allowed to opt out of increasing critical mineral production. The Act says: “By 24 May 2025, each Member State shall draw up a national programme for general exploration targeted at critical raw materials and carrier minerals of critical raw materials.”
More, EU member states must assist mining companies: The Act lays down corporate welfare measures for these: “Member States shall make maps that show basic information on mineral occurrences containing critical raw materials gathered through the measures set out in the national programmes referred to in paragraph 1 publicly available on a free-access website… More detailed information, including processed geophysical and geochemical data at appropriate resolution and large-scale geological mapping, shall be made available upon request.”
Lobbying
Mind you, mining companies did spend on achieving this legislation. According to the most recent figures, they spent €24million in lobbying in the 10 years to 2023.
That was money well spent. The EU is keen to force through the development of mines. It is less keen on protecting the environment from pollution by mines. Former Sinn Féin MEP Chris McManus queried the Commission as to whether it was concerned about Tynagh. The Commission denied knowledge or responsibility: “It is for the relevant national authorities to ensure that the risks identified are acted upon, so these are managed and controlled.”
Unfortunately, many on the left support the EU. Often that is a reaction to much of the right being anti-EU. Militant Left opposes the EU for being a neo-Liberal project. Fundamentally, it is about maximizing power and profit for the European capitalist class.
Resistance
Attempts to expand mining have produced resistance. Militant Left is involved in the ‘Save Our Sperrins’ (SOS) Campaign in Counties Tyrone and Derry. We are also involved with the all-Ireland campaign, CAIM (Communities Against the Injustice of Mining). We believe mining should only take place if the mineral mined is socially necessary. Then the mine operation should be publicly owned and under workers’ control.
Only the minimum quantity necessary should be mined. Forming minerals takes millions and billions of years. In the next 30 years it is planned to mine more minerals than in all of human history. Their exhaustion under capitalism will bring us deeper into an already critical environmental crisis.
Where mines currently exist, in the immediate term we campaign to unionise the workers. We campaign for strong health and safety protection for the miners. We also campaign for the proper enforcement of environmental protection. Further, we believe existing mines should be nationalised under workers’ control.
Importantly, mining is not sustainable in the long-term. But capitalism only looks at the short-term.