Raw materials are the bedrock of our modern way of life. They underpin prosperity, enable technological innovation and form the foundation for the energy transition, digitalisation and the expansion of modern infrastructure. What was long taken for granted has now, more than ever, become the focus of economic, social and geopolitical discussions. Against this backdrop, the MiningForum, as a leading international platform for dialogue between industry, academia, politics and the financial sector, takes on particular significance.
ISSUE 04/2026 // FOCUS OF THIS ISSUE: MiningForum 2026 – Raw Materials Momentum
CRMA – the “Green-Deal-Paradox”?
What has happened so far…The Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) represents the European Union’s key legislative framework for securing a resilient, sustainable and competitive supply of critical and strategic raw materials. Its objectives are to strengthen domestic extraction, processing and recycling capacities, diversify supply chains, accelerate permitting procedures for Strategic Projects, and reduce Europe’s strategic dependencies while maintaining high environmental standards. At the same time, the implementation of these objectives reveals a fundamental challenge …
Author: Ass. iur. Ivonne Arenz, Managing Director, Verband Bergbau, Geologie und Umwelt e.V. (VBGU), Berlin/Germany DOI: 10.66356/mrg.2026.04.01.ENCTGDP
Awareness Alone is not Enough – KSL Kupferschiefer Lausitz Caught Between the Need for Raw Material Security and Reality: “Mining with ESG” within the European Raw Materials Framework
KSL information room featuring rock samples and a wall graphic on Germany’s copper imports.The European Union’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) has highlighted the strategic importance of domestic raw materials projects. At the same time, a tension is evident in specific projects: whilst Europe calls for more resilient supply chains, strategic autonomy and raw materials security, individual projects on the ground are assessed primarily on the basis of environmental compatibility, energy integration, the circular economy, regional value creation and social acceptance. The Spremberg-Graustein-Schleife copper project by KSL Kupferschiefer Lausitz GmbH, Spremberg/Germany, in Lusatia is a prime example of this new evaluation framework …
Regional Capabilities and the Organization of Global Mining Value Chains – How Smaller Open Economies Contribute to Critical Raw Materials Supply Chains through Digital Intelligence, Certified Engineering, and Knowledge Infrastructure
The article examines the role of smaller open economies in global mining and critical raw materials value chains. Its central argument is that mining value chains may be global in reach, but their actual performance depends on the depth of regional industrial capability. Using Estonian company cases, the article analyses three pathways into mining-related value chains: digital intelligence, certified engineering capability and knowledge infrastructure. The cases show that smaller firms do not need to compete through scale. Instead, they can create significant value at narrow, but strategically critical niche interfaces.
Author: Birgit Linnamäe, PhD Candidate in Management, Estonian Business School; Strategy Advisor, Nordic Vision Group, Tallinn/Estonia DOI:10.66356/mrg.2026.04.03.ENRCOGM
Strategic Pathways to De-Risk and Decarbonize Rare-Earth Supply Chains – A Responsible Supply Lens on Building Resilient, Low-Emission Rare-Earth Value Chains by 2030
Projected rare-earth demand by application, 2030. Source: Beroe analysis; USGS; IEA [1, 2, 3].Rare-earth supply chains face a triple challenge: geographic concentration, high carbon intensity, and structural bottlenecks in the midstream. While demand from electric vehicles, wind energy, robotics, and defence is projected to reach approximately 100,000 t by 2030, the current supply architecture is not built to support this scale-up at speed. This article argues that rare-earth risk is not primarily a mining problem: the true point of control lies in the midstream: separation, metal and alloy conversion, and magnet manufacturing, where single-country concentration reaches an estimated 90 % or more. Diversification strategies that stop at mining, including popular “China+1” approaches, improve visibility but not control. Drawing on Beroe analysis and data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the International Energy Agency (IEA), Argus Media, and other industry sources, the article maps the policy landscape across Europe, the United States, India, and Japan, evaluates cleaner processing and circular feedstock as decarbonization levers, and sets out a 2030 roadmap in which competitiveness is defined jointly by cost, carbon, and resilience …
Developing Strategies to Reduce the Shortage of Skilled Labour, using Skilled Workers in the Mining Industry as an Example
Illustration of Social-Cognitive Career Theory.Supplying the economy with qualified skilled workers is a fundamental prerequisite for maintaining Germany’s position as a business location and ensuring stable economic growth to safeguard prosperity in the coming decades. A shortage of skilled workers has existed for several years, particularly at the level of skilled tradespeople, and this is set to intensify further in the coming years as a result of demographic change. One way of tackling the skills shortage is to minimise mismatches. To this end, a user model has been developed and validated using scientific methods. On the one hand, this model can be used directly by companies to develop strategies for securing their own supply of skilled workers. On the other hand, the model is used to derive recommendations for action for the individual partners in the dual vocational training system …
Authors: Dipl.-Ing. Toni Schmidt, TS BAU GmbH, Mülheim an der Ruhr/Germany Prof. Dr.-Ing. Carsten Drebenstedt, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Freiberg/Germany DOI:10.66356/mrg.2026.04.05.ENDSRSS
From Data to Decisions – where Digital Value is Truly Created
How a Proof of Concept becomes a Proof of Value
Operations remain the same – What decision should change?Digital technologies are now widely available in the mining sector. Nevertheless, many digitalisation initiatives fail to deliver the expected economic benefits. The reason often lies not in the technology itself, but in a lack of prioritisation, unclearly defined use cases and disconnects between data, insights, decisions and operational implementation. This paper demonstrates why a use case should always describe a better operational decision, at what point responsibility shifts from the technology provider to the operator, and how breaks in the digital value chain can be systematically identified. Only when insights are translated into changed behaviour does a Proof of Concept become a robust Proof of Value.
Review // Walter Frenz: Handbook Raw Materials Industry
Once again, Prof. Walter Frenz, Maitre en Droit Public and Professor of Mining, Environmental and European Law at RWTH Aachen University, has edited a comprehensive work, drawing on contributions from numerous authors (69!), at a time of great relevance to the subject of raw materials (published as early as 2025). He has titled it “Handbuch Rohstoffwirtschaft” (Handbook of the Raw Materials Industry). The title alone promises a comprehensive compendium, which is precisely what it is. Read more
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