Critical raw materials law decree, the role of ISPRA
Approved on 20 June in the Council of Ministers, the Legislative Decree on the management of critical raw materials which adapts the national system to the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2024/1252 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024. The Legislative Decree introduces urgent provisions to ensure a safe and sustainable supply of critical raw materials.
ISPRA is entrusted with the implementation of the national exploration program referred to in art. 19 of the EU Regulation which provides:
- mapping of minerals on an appropriate scale;
- geochemical campaigns, also to establish the chemical composition of soils, sediments and rocks;
- geognostic investigations, including geophysical investigations;
- processing of data collected through general exploration, also through the development of predictive maps
The program must be developed by March 2025 and will see the exposure of the first exploration results by May 2025, followed by annual reports on the progress as required by the EU Regulation. By the end of July 2024, the database containing the preliminary mining data currently available will be presented by ISPRA.
ISPRA is part of the Technical Committee for raw and strategic materials and also has the supervisory and control functions on research projects for critical and strategic raw materials.
A specific rule has also been included on extractive waste, already cataloged in the national inventory of extractive waste storage facilities entrusted to ISPRA by Legislative Decree 117/08 and the subject of a specific PNRR RepowerEU intervention, in order to allow their treatment as sources of critical raw materials of secondary origin.