Commission hosts the Minerals Security Partnership to advance on critical raw materials projects

Today, the Commission is hosting key meetings of the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP), which take place in Brussels as part of the 2024 Raw Materials Week.

Partners include Australia, Canada, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union, represented by the European Commission. The MSP is part of the EU's multilateral efforts to correct market imbalances on global raw materials markets and promote mutually beneficial and sustainable industrial projects. The MSP allows these like-minded countries to share information on critical raw material developments in third countries, identify investment opportunities and co-invest in mining, refining and recycling projects that respect high environmental, social and governance standards. It aims to drive forward projects and policies that will support secure and sustainable access to critical raw materials, such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, graphite, rare earth elements, and copper.

In the morning, the MSP Principals' meeting, organised by the Commission and co-chaired by the Republic of Korea and the United States, began with a focus on accelerating projects related to rare earths, which are essential components of the permanent magnets required for wind turbines or electric vehicles, and for which Europe holds very strong dependencies. Partners countries identified new opportunities for responsible mining, processing, and recycling of critical minerals among MSP Forum members.

This afternoon, the Forum of the Partnership, composed of the partners and selected mineral producing countries, is hosting a workshop, led by the European Commission, to address investment challenges and local value addition on the critical raw materials value chains.

In the coming months, MSP Forum members will share individual country presentations on specific projects with partners, the Finance Network of the Partnership, and in partnership with the Minerals Investment Network for Vital Energy Security and Transition (MINVEST).

The Forum will next meet in the margin of Mining Indaba in Cape Town, South Africa, on 4 February 2025.

A statement by MSP partners is available online.