A lot is happening under the hood of the iconic Italian industries that brilliantly promote the fascination of the “made in Italy”. A resurgence of mining.
Among others, Italy is back on the map for hunters of lithium and cobalt. Mines in Piedmont (North West) and Lazio (Center). Mining is drawing investors’ attention. This is driven by the demand for raw materials for electric batteries. Request to reopen closed sites and start new explorations are increasing. In Italy there are 120 sites, reports Il sole 24 Ore, Italy’s daily business newspaper. Of these, 94 are active but only 75 operational and mainly distributed in Piedmont, the island of Sardinia, in Tuscany and, in the south, in Sicily.
Remarkably and unknown to international observers, this industry’s output exceeding 10 million tons represents 10% of Europe’s output. Italy is the third producer in the world and the second in Europe of feldspar, used widely in the glass and ceramics industries, according to Assorisorse, a section of Italy’s industrial association, Confindustria. Energy accumulators require lithium and cobalt, manganese and rare earths. Australian "Altamin Limited" is focusing on cobalt, silver, nickel and copper in Piedmont and has renewed the exploration license.
According to Fabio Granizio, a geologist interviewed by Il Sole, «Italy is the only European country that does not exploit internal resources … Italy has one of the most advanced environmental legislation in the world" a solid platform on which to build a new wave of mining coherent with third millennium standards.
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NEWEST Editorial, January 13 2023
