Experts are warning of supply risks to critical minor metals such as antimony, cobalt or rare earth elements. Rather than recommending stockpiling the materials as is the case in the US, the group, chaired by the European Comission, are recommending that Europe should support mining exploration and improve recycling of critical minor metals. In contrast, the US has kept a strategic reserve of some minor metals, like cobalt, for years.
Many of these critical minerals are contained in mobile phones, particularly batteries.
14 minerals have been labelled as having “critical” supplies and the report warns of potential shortages over the decades to come. The 14 critical minerals are: antimony, beryllium, cobalt, fluorspar, gallium, germanium, graphite, indium, magnesium, niobium, the platinum group metals, rare earths, tantalum and tungsten.
The reason that many of these minerals are at risk is because of demand for the development of new technologies such as mobile phones batteries, fuel cells and wind power generation. The demand for these materials is therefore only likely to increse more as technology improves.
Experts are recommending policies be put in place to improve access to primary resources by promoting exploration, making recycling more efficient and it is also advocating trade-related initiatives to protect investments in raw materials abroad. They warn that the problem is compounded by a lack of substitutes and low recycling rates.
Making sure you recycle all your old mobiles will surely help in the conservation of these precious materials.