Two mining companies, Sibanye-Stillwater and Anglo American, had their European operations secure a place in the EU’s critical minerals strategy this week.
On Thursday, Sibanye-Stillwater announced that its Finnish lithium mine and French EV battery operation had been classified “strategic projects” under the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), a piece of legislation designed to grow Europe’s domestic supply of the minerals required to decarbonise its energy and transport systems.
This recognition by EU officials is a step towards Sibanye’s goal of becoming a key player in Europe’s critical minerals industry and affirms the platinum group metals (PGM) miner’s “strategic investments and focus on regional ecosystem development”, said Sibanye CEO Neal Froneman.
The CRMA aims to ensure that 10% of EU extraction demand, 40% of processing demand and 25% of the EU's recycling demand for strategic raw materials comes from within the EU by 2030.
The 47 ‘strategic projects’ selected by the EU based on environmental, social and governance criteria and technical feasibility also include Anglo American’s Sakatti copper operation in Finland, which aims to produce 100,000 tonnes of copper equivalent a year.
Sakatti, which is set to begin production in the early 2030s, will benefit from more efficient processing of permit applications and more predictable development timelines, Anglo said on Tuesday.
Sibanye was “particularly proud that both of its projects in the European region have been selected under these conditions,” the company said.
Having secured a €500m green loan in August last year, the Finnish Keliber lithium project is set to produce Europe’s first battery-grade lithium hydroxide from its own ore from the first half of 2026.
Sibanye owns a 79.8% stake in the project, which will produce around 15,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium hydroxide a year for at least 18 years.
The French GalliCam project has also been recognised with a grant from the EU innovation fund and is set to complete the pre-feasibility stage this year.
The project positions Sibanye to contribute to the European and French EV battery industry by becoming one of Europe’s first precursor Cathode Active Material producers.
The latest EU designation comes one month after Sibanye announced that it would abandon its Rhyolite Ridge lithium-boron project in the US after a review of the project indicated that it did not meet the miner’s investment criteria under prevailing market conditions.
Sibanye had assured investors that it remained committed to the US market and its battery metals strategy. Still, under President Donald Trump, America’s approach to critical minerals stands in sharp contrast to that of the EU.
After pledging to “end the EV mandate from day one” during his campaign last year, Trump has threatened on more than one occasion to repeal key environmental policies such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and roll back US electrification targets.
The IRA brings down costs for PGM miners operating in the US by granting a 10% production credit for goods that use critical minerals — which, in the US context, includes platinum and palladium — allowing companies to claim back 10% of their production costs.
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