The E-Waste Database

🌱 What was planned? Despite largescale international and EU opposition, Norway’s parliament approved plans for commercial-scale deep-sea mining on its continental shelf in January 2024. Norway was the “first country in the world” to do so. The plan was to allow companies to apply to mine for minerals and metals in 280,000 sq km (108,000 sq miles) of its waters as of next year. This is notably “an area bigger than the size of the UK”. The planned mining area is located along the mid-Atlantic ridge, at around 700 to 4000 meters below the water surface. The area is north of the Arctic Circle, between the Svalbard archipelago and Greenland. Here, the mining industry was looking to harvest cobalt, copper, zinc, and other rare earths from sulfide deposits and manganese crusts. 🌱 Why does Norway want to extract seabed minerals? In the deep-sea, there are minerals and metals – such as cobalt, lithium, and scandium – that are used in batteries and renewable energy technologies. While these are also found on land, the supplies “are concentrated in a small number of countries” and China has a lot of influence on this market. This is seen as a possible risk to the supply. Norway's government has estimated that the “sulfide ore deposits on its seabed [mostly] contain around 4% to 6% copper” and “3% zinc and less than 1% cobalt”. Yet, scientists have warned that the number of samples taken to date is “not sufficient to make assumptions about the huge prospective mining area”. 🌱 How have companies responded? At least three Norwegian seabed mineral startups had intended to bid in the first licensing round. That said, over 50 international companies – including Apple, BMW, Google, and Microsoft – have publicly said that they will not source deep-sea mining minerals or components made of these. Additionally, many manufacturers intend to move away from using cobalt and nickel in their batteries or plan to use more effective mineral and metals recycling in the future. 🌱 Why was the project paused? Norway’s Socialist Left (SV) Party refused to support the government’s budget unless the first licensing round set for the first half of 2025 was cancelled. As the result of an agreement signed on 1 December 2024, the government has now temporarily halted the licensing process for deep-sea mining. The government has, however, said that the preparatory work for the mining – including mapping the environmental impacts, carrying out an environmental impact assessment, and creating regulations – would still continue. As the Norwegians are set to vote in September 2025, the temporary stop means that the plans to start deep-sea mining cannot begin again before the end of the current government’s term. 🌱 Why is WWF suing the Norwegian government? WWF is suing the Norwegian government over its plans to permit deep-sea mining. It brought the case at a district court in Oslo on the grounds that the government has failed to properly investigate the consequences. WWF says “that the impact assessment which lawmakers used for their decision doesn't contain enough information to evaluate the consequences of mining on the marine environment”. In its impact statement, the Norwegian government has admitted that there is no environmental data for 99% of the relevant seabed area. WWF has said that it is expecting a verdict in the case in January 2025. Both sides have already said they are ready to appeal, if they do not get the outcome they are wishing for. Read more about the mining halt here: - https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/norway-stop-deep-sea-mining-says-party-supporting-minority-government-2024-12-01/ - https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9wlj8l8kr7o - https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/dec/02/norway-deep-sea-mining-mine-arctic - https://www.dw.com/en/norway-suspends-deep-sea-mining-plans/a-70857614

🌱 What are the concerns? The demand for minerals critical to the energy transition is expected to rise considerably, as governments phase out fossil fuels and move to triple the capacity of global renewable energy by 2030. In light of this, the extraction of critical minerals is also expected to triple by 2030. Notably, “the extraction and processing of [critical] minerals often takes place in developing countries, far from public scrutiny and without consent from local communities, which can be left with the burden of pollution but little economic benefit”. At COP29, several experts therefore expressed their concerns that the environmental degradation and “violation of communities being experienced in fossil fuels exploration could be replicated as transition to renewable energy intensifies”. 🌱 What role does the energy sector play? The energy sector is “crucial in tackling the impacts of climate change”. Therefore, it is also important “to ensure the transition to renewable energy does not replicate the impacts of fossil fuels”. This means that the extraction of minerals for the energy transition optimally “must ensure that there is prosperity, poverty elimination and drive sustainable development”. As a lot of critical raw minerals are sourced from the African continent, there is also “a need to ensure there are benefits accruing from minerals instead of shipping them out of the African continent only for finished products to be shipped in”. To make this possible, countries in Africa however need there to be a “technology transfer as well as resources in order to [be] actively involved in the transition process”. 🌱 What are the hopes? At COP29, several stakeholders pushed for more transparency in critical mineral supply chains. They argued that local environments need to be better protected and that economies can be improved along the way. Notably, the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres even said that: “For developing countries rich in those resources, this is a huge opportunity: to generate prosperity, eliminate poverty and to drive sustainable development.” 🌱 Why is the UN calling for more traceability? The efforts to create a binding global treaty on the traceability of critical minerals started at the recent UN Biodiversity Conference in Cali, Colombia. The goal is to have the treaty ready for signing by the next UN climate talks in Belém, Brazil in November 2025. At COP29, António Guterres again called for stricter rules to be enacted globally for parties involved in the critical mineral value chain. He said that the UN “will also take forward the recommended global traceability, transparency and accountability framework for the entire mineral value chain”. He added that “[t]his will help to drive responsible production, safeguarding human rights and the environment”. Read more about the talks here: - https://www.undp.org/policy-centre/governance/events/strategic-engagement-dialogue-critical-minerals - https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/11/1156881 - https://www.un.org/zh/node/224173 - https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/push-for-traceability-of-critical-minerals-gains-traction-at-cop29/ - https://blueprint.ng/experts-warn-against-community-violations-during-mineral-exploration-for-renewable-energy/ - https://www.seforall.org/news/seforall-and-the-africa-europe-foundation-launch-partnership-on-critical-transition-minerals - https://www.esi-africa.com/africa/africa-and-europe-to-unite-around-mining-critical-minerals/

🌱 What investments are flowing into the EU? According to S&P Global, the amount of “private equity and venture capital investments” going towards the EU's mining and metals industry are increasing. From January to October 2024, the “private equity deal value in metals and mining companies amounted to $4.19 billion”. This is notably “nearly double the $2.23 billion amassed in 2023 and more than seven times the $580 million reached in 2022”. 🌱 How much funding is going into steel? According to S&P Global, “[t]he largest private equity transactions in the EU mining sector are funding rounds for steel, diversified mining and aluminum companies”. In the largest deal made in 2024, a group of investors – including Microsoft Corp.'s M12 and Just Climate LLP – invested $4.1 billion in the Swedish steelmaker, H2GS AB. In the second-largest deal of 2024, Bpifrance Investissement SAS led a $37.2 million investment in the French mining company, Vulkam SAS – which specializes in the mining of critical and strategic materials (such as copper, hafnium, and nickel). Under the third-largest deal of 2024, Otium Capital invested $8.6 million in the French-headquartered alumina refining company, IB2 SAS. 🌱 What role does the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act play? The EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) came into force on 23 May 2024. It sets out 51 materials that are deemed as “strategic” or “critical” for the EU. The act also puts into place specific minimum targets for the EU’s annual consumption of the listed materials. By 2030, 10% must be locally extracted, 40% must be processed within the EU, and 25% must come from recycling. According to S&P Global, the introduction of the CRMA has led to a rapid increase in the deployment of private capital into the mining sector since 2023. The act has created public financing for projects and other mechanisms and incentives that mining companies and private investors can benefit from. This has led to the growth of the sector. It has also reduced the dependency of the EU on Chinese material imports. 🌱 What is happening to investments in China? According to S&P Global, “private equity-backed investments in China's metals and mining sector have plunged to less than $100 million”. From January to October 2024, $50 million were invested in China's mining industry. This was notably only “about 7.7% of the [total] $650 million the [Chinese] sector received in 2023 and only 4.5% of the $1.10 billion amassed in 2022”. The decrease in investments is a part of the larger three-year decline in US private capital deployments into China. Read more about the investments here: - https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/eu-mining-sector-sees-private-equity-investment-boom-86286945 - https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/sharp-drop-in-private-equity-metals-and-mining-sector-deals-in-2024-85749521 - https://www.euractiv.com/section/economy-jobs/news/eus-critical-raw-materials-act-will-need-better-financial-support-say-industry-experts/ - https://www.mining.com/private-equity-deals-in-mining-sector-experience-large-drop-off-in-2024-sp/ - https://www.ft.com/content/2984ae03-df15-420b-89cc-9ad8337014a9 - https://www.wsj.com/finance/commodities-futures/europe-to-ramp-up-lithium-mining-to-cut-chinas-market-grip-6179790e - https://www.ebrd.com/news/2024/ebrd-and-eu-to-mobilise-up-to-100-million-for-critical-raw-materials-investments.html - https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/sectors/raw-materials/eip/raw-materials-commitment/mining-regions-eu_en - https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/sectors/raw-materials/eip/raw-materials-commitment_en