Moreno highlights the weight of Andalusian mining at the sixth edition of the Mining and Minerals Hall
Andalucía accounts for 90% of the value of metal mining production in Spain, with 479 active operations and around 8,000 direct jobs. The Mining and Minerals Hall congress is being held at Fibes, in Sevilla.
Andalucía reúne el 90% del valor de la producción de minería metálica de España. Son 479 explotaciones activas que dan en torno a 8.000 empleos directos y una producción superior a los 1.200 millones de euros, según los datos que ha expuesto el presidente de la Junta, Juanma Moreno, en la inauguración del Mining and Minerals Hall.
A congress on metals at Fibes
The Palacio de Exposiciones y Congresos de Sevilla (Fibes) hosts the sixth edition of the Mining and Minerals Hall, which the Junta presents as the largest congress in Europe dedicated to metals. There it will be possible to learn about the two Andalusian projects declared strategic by the European Union in 2025: CirCular, by Atlantic Copper, in Huelva, and Las Cruces, in Sevilla.
Second largest copper producer in Europe
The region is the second largest copper producer in Europe and leads world primary production of strontium, with 43% of the total. Moreno has stressed the value of copper for the energy transition.
In the Andalusian subsoil, indications of 22 of the 34 critical raw materials needed by the European Union have been identified. To study them, 70 research permits have been activated in the eight provinces. Andalucía has four large metal mines in operation and another three that will soon begin activity with all permits. In the last four years, those of San Dionisio, Masa Valverde and the future Los Frailes de Aznalcóllar mine have been authorised.
Autonomy from third countries
Moreno has argued that Andalusian mining is experiencing "a more than brilliant stage at a key moment for the European Union to gain autonomy in a strategic field". In his view, dependence on third countries is responsible for the current inflationary crisis, and Europe has "sufficient resources, capacities, talent and innovation" to open "a unique window of opportunity for self-development". He has also placed that autonomy in renewables, with initiatives such as the Valle Andaluz del Hidrógeno Verde, and has made sustainability an "inalienable criterion".
