Faster approval for mining projects: &#8 • Table.Briefings

Oberberghauptmann Bernhard Cramer, supreme miner in the Free State of Saxony and head of the Saxon Mining Authority.

In order to strengthen domestic raw materials extraction, the EU is focusing on faster approval procedures with the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA). Bernhard Cramer has been head of the Saxon Mining Authority in Freiberg since 2011. In this interview, he reports on how the authority is prepared for the new rules.

Mr. Cramer, the EU Commission recently announced the first strategic raw materials projects. Will the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) give a boost to mining in Europe?
The CRMA will not lead to a significant increase in mining in Europe in quantitative terms. These strategic raw materials projects are about giving a few individual projects a certain special status. But the real value for mining in this law does not lie in the shorter approval procedures. It lies in the overriding public interest that is attributed to strategic projects.

Faster approval for mining projects: ‘We are not sure whether the regulations are fit for purpose.’

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