The European Commission has granted five Finnish projects strategic status under the Critical Raw Materials Regulation. A total of 46 European projects were granted the status on October 9.
The Finnish projects comprise Arctial’s processing project in Kokkola and Kruunupyy, Sokli’s mining project in Savukoski, Suhanko’s mining project in Ranua, Umicore’s CoNiKo project in Kokkola, and FinnCobalt’s Hautalampi mining project in Outokumpu.
The status is intended to help strengthen Europe’s supply of critical raw materials and reduce dependence on imports. Among other things, the projects are given priority in certain permitting processes, but must continue to meet applicable environmental requirements.
The EU’s target is that domestic extraction, processing and recycling should by 2030 correspond to 10, 40 and 25 percent, respectively, of the Union’s demand.
Finland had ten applicant projects in this year’s round. In 2025, six Finnish projects were granted strategic status.
FinnCobalt is owned by NGM-listed Eurobattery Minerals. The Viscaria mine in Sweden has also been classified as having strategic status.
