Many companies are trying to break the Chinese monopoly on rare earth minerals. Poles are not staying behind thanks to the cooperation of KGHM and LW Bogdanka.
These companies have signed a letter of intent on joint extraction of raw materials needed for the energy transition. In some cases, as much as 95 percent of the supply of critical raw materials for renewable energy comes from China.
„We are joining forces today,” said KGHM President Tomasz Zdzikot. „We are one of the world’s most global companies. We have assets all over the world. We do this to ensure the security of the country’s raw materials. All our products are on the list of critical raw materials in Poland, the EU or the USA,” he added, mentioning for example copper, molybdenum, silver and gold.
„We are interested in other raw materials from critical categories. We truly appreciate Bogdanka’s work on its strategy,” Zdzikot said.
„The goal of the strategy is to have multiple types of raw materials, and we agree on this. We have our core business, but we are open to other raw materials. We decided to combine these efforts, looking for business opportunities and opportunities to better fit into the strategic needs of the country. For us, this is another step on the way to implementing the strategy announced in May this year,” said Kasjan Wyligala, president of LW Bogdanka. „We want to become a multi-resource company. In addition to the extraction of thermal coal, we are considering the extraction of raw materials needed for the energy transition. We now have a global partner, KGHM, who will help us better implement this strategy, ” he added, recalling that his company’s strategy is to extract 11 raw materials from the critical list, and KGHM will help to reach them.
The European Union has adopted a directive on critical raw materials aimed at diversifying the supply of these types of raw materials and reducing dependence on major suppliers with China on top of the list.
Wojciech Jakóbik