According to a report presented Wednesday by the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (Ispra) there are a total of 76 mines still active in Italy, 22 relating to materials on the EU's list of 34 Critical Raw Materials. In 20 of these, feldspar, an essential mineral for the ceramic industry is mined, and in 2, fluorspar (in the municipalities of Bracciano and Silius), which has wide use in the steel, aluminum, glass, electronics and refrigeration industries. In particular, the fluorspar mine in Genna Tres Montis (South Sardinia), which will return to full production when renovation work is completed, will represent one of the most important in Europe. Of the 91 other fluorspar mines active in the past, some very important ones – to be reevaluated with current prices quadrupled since 1990 – are located in the Bergamo, Brescia and Trentino areas, in addition to those in Sardinia and Lazio. Feldspar and fluorspar, then, are the only critical raw materials being mined in Italy to date, but current research permits, data on past active mines and data on past and recent research document the potential presence of several critical and strategic raw materials such as lithium, discovered in significant quantities in Tuscan-Lazio-Campania geothermal fluids, and as several other minerals from which metals essential for the decarbonized development model, green tech, digital transition and independence from third countries are produced. Mining of metalliferous minerals, which account for most of the critical materials, is currently nonexistent. Critical Raw Materials metals are not, as yet, mined in Italy, and the country is totally dependent on foreign markets for their supply. In light of new exploration techniques and market price trends, many of the known deposits should be reevaluated.
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