Europe is a major global producer of industrial minerals,
with around 117m. tonnes extracted in the European Union in
2007. The industry makes an estimated direct contribution of
€13,000m. ($17,460m.) to the European GDP (IMA Europe),
although the value added by downstream industrial consumers of
these commodities is much larger.
The EU is responsible for one third of world feldspar and
perlite production, yet has little or no production of certain
other industrial minerals. Table 1 compares EU production of a
wide range of industrial minerals with the total world
production in 2007.
Over the past five years production trends showed a decrease or
no change for 14 of the 23 commodities listed in Table 1; but
change was within ±10% for the majority of minerals.
Production of feldspar, however, was up by 57% – largely
due to increased production from Italy, the second largest
producer in the world (21%) after Turkey.
Production of lithium minerals in Portugal, the sole producing
country in the EU, increased by 42% in five years. Strontium
mineral production in Spain, the main European producer, more
than doubled between 2003 and 2005; however post-2005
production declined, and its 2007 tonnage (at 143,000 tpa) was
below that produced in 2003.
The most dramatic falls in production were of barytes, bromine,
fluorspar and graphite.
Graphite production continued to fall, from 35,000 to 15,000
tpa, due to declining production in the Czech Republic and
operations closing in Germany and Romania.
Barytes production, also in long-term decline, fell from
411,000 tpa in 2003 to 279,000 tpa in 2007, through the
cumulative effect of reduced output in all producing countries
apart from Slovakia.
Bromine production declined from 25,600 tpa to an estimated 100
tpa when the bromine plant on Anglesey, Wales, closed after 51
years. This operation extracted bromine from sea water but
closed due to a significantly reduced market for its product,
dibromoethane, which was used in leaded petrol. Meanwhile,
production in Germany and France is believed to have ceased at
the same time.
| Figure 1. Net imports for a selection of
industrial minerals as a percentage of apparent
consumption for the EU in 2007. |
 |
|
Source: European Mineral
Statistics, British Geological Survey
|
Imports & supply security
Although concerns over energy minerals and metals have
attracted more headlines recently, security of supply of
industrial minerals also presents a challenge to European
producers and consumers alike.
Europe is a major trading region and imports are vital for
complete or partial supply of a wide range of industrial
mineral commodities. Figure 1 can only be considered as a rough
guide to import needs.
Owing to the nature of trade and production statistics, which
do not always provide the level of detail necessary to examine
the market for different chemical and physical properties of
industrial minerals (defined by their end-use), an adequate
supply for certain applications may be masked by a shortfall
for other uses.
A similar limitation arises when natural and artificial
products are not separated by their trade codes, as is the case
with gypsum. Of the commodities listed in Table 1, where trade
figures can be obtained, the EU is a net importer of the
majority. The EU is a net exporter of sulphur and titanium
oxides.
Substantial quantities of industrial minerals are, at present,
imported from countries with rapidly emerging economies,
including Brazil, Russia, India and China (so-called BRIC
countries).
Trends suggest that supplies from BRIC and similar countries
may become increasingly constrained as domestic consumption
rises, driven by growth and demand from indigenous
manufacturing companies. The situation may eventually represent
an opportunity for European mineral producers, through exports
to emerging economies outside Europe as well as increased
demand from European consuming industries that are concerned
about security of supply.
However, in the short-term, the general pattern remains one of
retrenchment and closure in the face of low-cost imports from
the BRIC countries and elsewhere. Fluorspar and kaolin are good
examples of major European industrial minerals which, as a
result of market globalisation, conform to this pattern.
| Table 1. EU production of industrial minerals
in 2007 (‘000s tonnes). Some of these data are
estimated. Source: European Mineral Statistics
2003–07, BGS. |
 |
|
Source: British
Geological Survey
|
Fluorspar
With its 2007 production levels estimated at 3.2m. tpa, China
dominates the world fluorspar market (estimated to be 5.7m.
tpa). During the period 2003–07, Chinese exports of
fluorspar fell from 952,000 to 536,000 tpa, with year-on-year
reductions in both >97% and <97% calcium fluoride. In
this same period, Chinese imports grew tenfold from 4,000 to
34,000 tpa.
Meanwhile, EU net imports of fluorspar increased by 95,000 tpa
while the region’s imports from China fell by 55,000 tpa
owing to increased demand from the domestic industry.
In January 2008 IM reported a reduction in the
Chinese fluorspar tonnage allocated for export, indicating that
this trend – accompanied by rising prices – seems
likely to continue (see IM January ’08, p.9).
With an annual consumption of 1m. tonnes, Europe will need to
find other fluorspar sources to satisfy demand.
Increased imports from various countries, particularly Mexico,
Namibia and South Africa, have been important in maintaining
supply, together with increased intra-EU trade. EU production
of fluorspar fell during this time span, ceasing altogether in
France and Italy.
The example of the French fluorochemical sector illustrates
this industry’s dependence on indigenous production of its
main raw material. French production of fluorspar supported an
important downstream fluorochemical industry, with the raw
material produced almost entirely from a single company, the
Société Générale de Recherches et
d’Exploitations Minières (Sogerem), which operated
three mines. Following a gradual decline in production, the
company announced the closure of its fluorspar operations in
June 2006, with the loss of around 80 jobs.
The competitiveness of France’s downstream fluorochemical
industry was highly dependent on indigenous fluorspar
production and subsequently, less than a year later, the major
chemical producer, the Arkema Group, announced the closure of
its fluorochemical operations with the loss of around 226
jobs.
Kaolin
The EU, with an annual production of over 5m. tpa, is
the second largest producer of kaolin after the USA, which
produced 7.3m. tonnes in 2007 – yet it does not produce
sufficient tonnages to meet present demand.
Although production in many European countries has increased,
this is still less than the fall in the UK’s output. As
the economies of developing countries grow, so too does their
use of paper. China, which is an increasingly significant
exporter of kaolin, also imports large quantities to produce
paper for domestic consumption.
Kaolin production in Brazil increased by 60% over the last
decade, exerting competitive pressure on the UK hydrous kaolin
operations at Lee Moor, in Devon, which were scheduled to close
in 2007. Sibelco, which already owns several neighbouring
quarries, agreed to lease the quarry from the existing owner,
Imerys, which has retained staff at the site to operate a
calcining heat treatment plant.
Brazilian exports of kaolin increased from 1m. to 2.4m. tonnes
over ten years, and 40% per cent of this material was imported
by the EU. At present, imports from Brazil contribute around
15% of EU apparent consumption. Brazil exports almost no
manufactured kaolin products.
EU trade policy
In 2006, the European Commission proposed a programme
for the competitiveness of the EU1. In Global
Europe: Competing in the world it was stated that the EU
should show a commitment to opening up the markets in emerging
countries, which account for an increasing share of global
trade. This approach has already shown benefits in terms of
development and combating poverty. European industry should
have access to energy, raw materials and metals resources which
should not be restricted other than for environmental or
security reasons.
The EU is endeavouring to work more closely with China, its
largest trading partner, through the transition caused by its
rapid growth, and is considering the China factor in EU
policymaking. The EU and China have agreed to review their 1985
trade and economic cooperation agreement in order to establish
a balanced partnership.
In the present agreement both parties grant each other favoured
treatment in various matters pertaining to trade and, amongst
many other points, it includes development of economic
cooperation in industry and mining.
The Commission hopes to reduce discriminatory and restrictive
practices within the internal markets of other countries with
the aim of opening them up to European suppliers. It is also
keen to ensure that the trade defence instruments of partners
are transparent and compliant with international rules.
Critical minerals
A mineral commodity may be defined as ‘critical’ if
there is high risk of disruption to supply and the impact of
the loss of supply would have a serious impact on an industry.
During the world wars there were concerns related to supply of
critical mineral and metal resources.
From the 1970s to the 1990s these were of interest for
political reasons partly related to the Soviet Union, and
partly because the apartheid-governed South Africa dominated
the supply of certain strategic metals. Other experts had
concerns that resources would be used up. The geoscience
agencies of several countries worked together to gather
information on the major sources of strategic mineral raw
materials and published detailed inventory information.
Industrial minerals included in these studies are lithium
minerals, natural graphite, phosphate rock and rare earth
oxides, although the issue of criticality is generally of less
concern with respect to industrial minerals as, compared to
metals, many are easier to substitute.
The topic of critical minerals is of renewed interest in many
countries and in many industrial sectors, in response to the
rapid economic growth of the BRIC countries accompanied by the
recent unprecedented high mineral commodity prices. In the case
of Europe, this is also connected with high import
dependence.
Many new studies of critical minerals are being undertaken
worldwide, including the US Geological Survey report on
Minerals, Critical Minerals and the US Economy.
Current and looming supply issues related to rare earths
provide a good illustration of some of these issues.
Rare earths
World production of rare earths is not well known as many
countries do not report their data, but it is clear that China
is the leading producer of rare earth minerals, possibly
producing 90–95%. Second-generation thermal barrier
coatings in aerospace applications are rare earth doped, and
although the UK industry considers rare earths not to be
critical at present, they may be in a few years’
time.
Renewable energy technologies also require rare earths in
permanent magnets and superconductors. Increasing use is also
anticipated in the other sectors, which include catalytic
converters, petroleum refining catalysts, alloys, ceramics, and
rare earth phosphors in audiovisual, computing, lighting and
telecommunication manufacture.
The 2007 Roskill report, The economics of rare earths and
yttrium, forecasts an annual growth in world demand of
8-11%, compared to Chinese consumption of rare earths
increasing at a rate of 25% per annum during 2004–07, and
predicts that within 5–10 years China may only be meeting
domestic demand.
The Chinese government adjusted export duties twice in 2007
with the aim of controlling the quantities of rare earth oxides
and metals being exported. Higher export duties were introduced
and import taxes cancelled at the start of 2008 in order to
encourage the development of rare earth-consuming industries
and to conserve the country’s natural resources. Although
other operations are likely to reopen to meet the global demand
at increased prices, none of these is in Europe.
EU non-energy raw materials policy
In June 2007, the Commission (DG Enterprise and
Industry) published a working document on the competitiveness
of the EU non-energy extractive industry. This analysed the
availability of non-energy raw materials within the EU and
examined the different drivers of a competitive extractive
industry in Europe.
In light of concerns regarding increased raw materials costs
and security of supply, the DG Enterprise and Industry
undertook a public consultation of future non-energy raw
materials policy. This initiative was directly relevant to the
European industrial minerals sector. The aim was to examine the
various factors that affect the EU’s long-term,
sustainable supply of raw materials. The results of the survey
were published on their website and contributed to the
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament
and the Council, The raw materials initiatives –
meeting our critical needs for growth and jobs in
Europe.
This Communication, published in November 2008, proposes that
the EU agrees:
• on an integrated raw materials strategy to ensure
access to raw materials with undistorted conditions from other
producing countries;
• to facilitate sustainable supply of minerals within
Europe;
• to reduce consumption of primary raw materials through
resource efficiency, use of secondary raw materials, reuse and
recycling.
The Commission has proposed the launch of a European Raw
Material Initiative which requires engagement from the EC,
member states and industry. There are 10 points in this
Initiative, including diplomatic engagement with resource-rich
countries, identifying and challenging trade distortions,
promotion of sustainable access to raw materials in policy,
improving regulation on access to land, and promoting all
aspects of resource efficiency.
In an initiative linked to this topic, EuroGeoSurveys, an
association representing 33 European geological survey
organisations, held a series of workshops for a wide range of
stakeholders to assess what raw materials information is
available and where gaps need to be filled in order to provide
a knowledge base that would inform and advise policy
makers.
The Commission is encouraging greater networking between the
national geological surveys to facilitate the exchange and use
of data. The Communication also recommends that geological
surveys should have greater involvement in land-use planning
and has proposed a platform for exchange of best practice.
| Figure 2. Decoupling resource use from
economic growth and environmental impact. Redrawn with
permission2. |
 |
Environmental challenges
In common with the global mining industry, the European
industrial minerals sector faces a number of environmental
challenges over the coming decades.
Designations and land-use
Over 26,000 protected areas are included in the Natura
2000 environmental designation network (approximately 850,000
km2), comprising more than 20% of total EU territory. The
number and area of environmental and landscape designations is
likely to continue to grow into the future as competition from
other forms of land-use (including minerals extraction)
intensifies. Minerals can only be worked where they occur, and
conflict with environmental designations is inevitable.
In a relatively small, densely-populated area such as Europe, a
robust and equitable spatial planning system is essential in
ensuring a balance between the need to protect the environment
and the needs of the economy for mineral raw materials.
Sustainable development & resource
efficiency
Any new European strategy on the sustainable use of
mineral resources is likely to encompass the concept of
resource efficiency, which aims to decouple economic
growth from resource consumption (Figure 2).
The overall effect of increasing eco-efficiency (the
gap between economic growth and resource use) is to reduce
impact on the environment. This is likely to be achieved by
increased energy efficiency, greater use of renewable raw
materials and energy, smarter use of non-renewable resources
and greater levels of re-use and recycling.
The industrial minerals sector faces particular issues with
regard to smarter use and re-use/recycling. The sheer
diversity of specifications and end-uses is both a challenge
and an opportunity for the industry to address the issue of
smarter resource use. Calculating the whole life
environmental impact of industrial mineral raw materials used
in manufacturing relative to other process inputs will be a
starting point for this process.
The fact that many industrial minerals are valued for their
physical and/or chemical properties means that opportunities
for substitution and/or recycling are variable and often
complex. Their intrinsic properties are often destroyed in use
and thus, unlike aggregates and metals, are not available for
recycling.
In general it is more difficult to recycle minerals, such as
fertilisers, which are valued for their chemical properties. A
major exception is waste glass where all the ingredients –
ie. silica-soda ash-lime – are reusable as glass when
processed by crushing, cleaning, remelting and moulding.
For some industrial minerals, large tonnages of alternatives
are available. Desulphogypsum derived from the removal of
sulphur dioxide from coal-fired power stations has entirely
replaced natural gypsum in plasterboard manufacture.
However, the process requires large quantities of high purity
limestone, thus the demand for one industrial mineral has been
transferred to another.
Carbon footprint
The drive to mitigate climate change, through reducing carbon
dioxide emissions to the atmosphere, is one of the biggest
challenges facing the global mining industry. Extraction,
processing and transport of minerals are responsible for
significant levels of anthropogenic CO2 emissions.
The response of industry, policy makers and regulators to this
challenge is in its infancy but growing rapidly. The impact of
this response on the future of the European industrial minerals
sector is difficult to predict.
Initiatives such as carbon trading are intended to promote
efficient use of resources, although ultimately these schemes
will only be effective if they are enacted on a global
scale.
A major portion of recent climate change policy debate has
centred on the impact of regional schemes (such as in the EU)
on the relative competitiveness of trading blocks. Schemes
should minimise negative economic impacts that might render EU
industry uncompetitive with the consequent externalisation of
carbon dioxide emissions to other trading blocks such as the
BRIC countries.
Coupled with concerns over security of supply, another impact
of climate change mitigation might be a trend towards more
localisation of supply of industrial minerals. The carbon
footprint associated with international and inter-continental
transport of industrial mineral products may, in the long term,
lead to increased levels of local supply. This might be driven
by regulatory initiatives such as eco-labelling of products, as
well as more strategic concerns regarding supply
vulnerability.
Future considerations
The EU is a particularly important producer of bentonite,
feldspar, kaolin, natural gypsum, perlite and salt. There is,
however, a high level of dependence on imports of a number of
other commodities, including barytes, fluorspar, graphite and
rare earth compounds.
Concerns regarding security of supply for certain critical
industrial minerals are growing, driven mainly by high levels
of economic growth in the BRIC countries. The industrial
minerals sector also faces major environmental challenges in
the coming decades, including competition for land, the need to
improve resource efficiency and the need to reduce its carbon
footprint.
The Commission is currently examining the influence of these
and other issues on the EU’s long-term, sustainable supply
of raw materials. One point of concern is the need for an
adequate EU knowledge base on non-energy raw materials in order
to monitor and forecast strategic policy and market
developments. At present there are areas with little or no
reliable data, including, for example, the consumption of
mineral commodities (including those used in imported
manufactured goods), recycling, and carbon footprints.
It is vital that policy is based on sound information in order
to avoid subsequent problems. The importance of good quality,
consistent and relevant data for measuring and understanding
economic and environmental impacts cannot be understated.
Although lower prices towards the end of 2008 eased concerns
somewhat, this is a long-term problem that needs to be
addressed now.
Contributors: Linda Hetherington and Andrew
Bloodworth, British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham,
UK. This article is published with the permission of the
executive director of the British Geological Survey
(NERC).
1 Global Europe: Competing in the world http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/lvb/r11022.htm
2
http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:52005SC1684:EN:NOT.
Commission staff working document - Annexes to the
Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European
Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the
Committee of the Regions - Thematic Strategy on the sustainable
use of natural resources {COM(2005 670 final} /* SEC/2005/0670
*/