Business Opportunity: Spain is rich in rare earth and untapped minerals

The world is in a severe supply crisis. High demand for commodities and rare earths has saturated the market, a fact that can become big business for countries or territories that have undeveloped mineral and rare earth reserves, as in the case of Spain.

according to estimates Europe has to import 90% of these raw materials, which has led to an almost unprecedented rise in prices. In this context, countries like Spain misses an opportunity to make a great dealconsidering the important reserves of minerals and rare earths that the country has.

But what exactly are rare earths and why are they big business? This is commonly referred to as a group of 17 chemical elements used to make technological products or weapons. Some of the best known are ytterbium and terbium, which allow for greater storage in batteries thanks to their high conductivity.

Rare earths have been declared critical raw materials due to their importance for world industry and are suffering most from the consequences of the international supply crisis. Consequently, their prices multiply, which could mean a lot in Spain…

The big deal in raw materials that Spain wastes

Based on expert data10% of the world’s tungsten reserves lie between Salamanca and Galiciaan indispensable mineral for the manufacture of cutting tools in the manufacturing industry, X-ray generators or even the manufacture of turbines for aircraft engines.

In addition, Spain has significant reserves of uranium, magnesium or cobalt, which could make the country a benchmark in the big commodities business in the midst of a supply crisis. In this sense, an expert is consulted 20 minutes notes that “Soria and Navarre have magnesium reserves that could solve the problem of European demand peaks”.

However, due to either judicial or administrative actions, Spain has been missing out on great business opportunities in recent months. Although some projects have emerged focused on extracting these minerals, environmental risks have been the main obstacle to their implementation.

In this context, what could be the solution to react quickly and enter the big business with raw materials in good time? The experts argue that there is a need to “mobilize ourselves so that everyone who meets the sustainability requirements is committed to ensuring that all the means and resources are made available so that the permit for this deposit or exploitation does not come out in ten years, which is what is happening today when not in two”.

The global supply crisis creating serious problems

In reality, the current global supply crisis is a combination of several factors that have created an unprecedented situation. In short, one could say that global logistics have collapsed, threatening the continuity of factory production due to the lack of raw materials or components, and consequently creating shortages of certain products in retail chains.

This crisis does not only affect rare earths, but also other important raw materials for the Spanish production fabric. Using the construction industry as an example from August to October, the price of wood increased by 125% and the price of stone increased by 68%according to CNC.

As explained by various experts in a recent report by ENTREPRENEURS, the truth is that this problem could continue until more than half of this year 2022. Faced with this situation, companies have to adapt and look for other alternatives, such as B. the exploitation of these raw materials in their own countries. In that sense, Spain could be the European benchmark in this great deal.