Secure the access to raw materials represents a critical issue for European ambition to deliver the CRM act and the Green Deal, to perform the energy and digital twin transition. As future demand of primary critical raw materials will continue to be largely met by importations, the EU needs to diversify its supply chain and engage strategic partnerships with resources-rich third countries covering extraction, processing and refining such as African countries.
In this context, the AfricaMaVal project aims to develop an EU-Africa partnership ensuring a responsible sourcing of mineral resources for the European industry while granting a sustainable local co-development in the best Environmental, Social and Governance conditions and leading to a long-terms business environment for European and African companies. The consortium, created with partners coming both from Africa and Europe, is made of experienced organizations and networks deeply anchored and involved in the raw material domain with a specific expertise and knowledge of African culture, organisations, difficulties and resources.
The mineral, financial, environmental, social, institutional and economical aspects will be studied along with all the value chains, including the ASSM activities, to the project completion to reach its operational targets:
- Building an EU and Africa business network on the whole CRM value chains.
- Developing a strategy on the integration of identified and emerging EU and African raw materials value chains for the energy and digital transition.
- Assessing responsible investment opportunities.
The AfricaMaVal project has conduct ten case studies in African countries and an evaluation of 100 investment opportunities, a wide dissemination within Europe and Africa to promote responsible sourcing and will implement a sustainable organisation after the completion of the project.
AfricaMaVal offers an opportunity to systematically identify mining, processing and/or refining projects, potential pockets of liquidity for these projects and infrastructure debottlenecking opportunities to develop the supply chain. To develop projects along the value chain by building partnerships between project promoters, services and equipment providers, European offtakers and financing parties. To provide project promoters with the tools to successfully develop their project, through capacity building exercises around relevant international Environmental Social and Governance standards and detailed explanation around minimum requirements and typical assessment exercises undertaken by funding parties when considering a potential funding opportunity.
The Extended Critical Raw Materials or ECRMs are the 30 Critical Raw Materials included on the Fourth CRM List (September 2020) except for cooking coal and natural rubber. And the following commodities: Copper, Nickel, Tin and Manganese.
AfricaMaVal as a project is due to be implemented over 3.5 years starting in June 2022.
In practical terms, AfricaMaVal will provide (see table attached).
