2025-11-10 20:08
publication
2025-11-10 20:08
German Minister of Economy Katherina Reiche announced on Monday that a special government raw materials fund will support projects related to the extraction of copper, gold, lithium and rare earth metals in Germany, Canada and Australia. The goal is to reduce the German economy's dependence on raw materials from China.
Reiche, quoted by Bild, announced that the fund is to invest EUR 150 million this year in a lithium mining project in the Upper Rhine Plain. Private investors are expected to provide EUR 1.9 billion for this purpose.
At the same time, the German government intends to engage in gold and copper mining projects in Canada. In this case, we are also talking about EUR 150 million of support from government funds. The total value of the project is expected to be over EUR 500 million.
The ministry, led by Reiche, also plans to allocate EUR 100 million for the extraction of rare earth elements in Australia.
“We are facing the difficult situation related to China and we are investing,” said the CDU politician, describing the intentions of her ministry.
The raw materials fund in the Ministry of Economy was established in 2024. The federal government plans to initially allocate one billion euros for it, the financing budget for one project usually ranges from 50 to 150 million euros.
The Ministry of Economy explained that the aim of the fund is to diversify the supply of raw materials to strengthen the security of supplies. The idea is to increase the supply of raw materials faster and enable German companies to access them thanks to the state's early participation in specific projects.
According to data cited by “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”, China currently controls almost 70 percent. mining of rare earth metals in the world.
The largest recipient of rare earth metals in Germany is the automotive industry. These raw materials are needed for the production of power systems, including: on brakes, power steering, window regulators, seat adjustments and wipers. The average car contains up to 70 such systems.
The machinery, chemical, electronics and semiconductor industries cannot do without raw materials mined in China. Rare earth metals are found in refrigerators, computers, smartphones, as well as in advanced military equipment, fighter jets and submarines.
German companies are afraid of disruptions on the market and the extension of controls on the export of rare earth elements by the authorities in Beijing. Therefore, they try to diversify supply sources or stock critical supplies. The largest German arms company, Rheinmetall, announced that it had a stock of raw materials for five years.
From Berlin Mateusz Obremski (PAP)
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