Algeria could be a major supplier of rare earth metals to Europe in search of strategic reserves. Mouloud Issaad explains why.
Seeking to break out of its dependence on China’s quasi-monopoly in the area of rare metals – necessary, in particular, for the technological industries – France and Europe are moving towards the diversification of their partners. Signed by Emmanuel Macron and his counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune, at the end of August in Algeria, the Algiers declaration indicated that France and Algeria “intend to promote a revival of their economic exchanges and encourage the development of partnerships between their companies as well as research for innovation”. “These efforts will focus primarily on the sectors of the future: digital technology, renewable energies, rare metals, health, agriculture, and tourism”, it is mentioned. This desire for partnership coincides with the new orientations of the European Union which announced, Wednesday, September 14, that it was going to constitute “strategic reserves” to avoid disruptions in the supply of raw materials “critical” for its industry, in particular, the rare earth and lithium whose
During her State of Europe address, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, explained that “the rare earth needs of the European Union will increase fivefold by 2030”. “The problem is that currently, a single country controls almost the entire market, nearly 90% of rare earth and 60% of lithium are processed in China,” she warned.
Are Algerian deposits part of the solution? What would be the real mining potential of the country? Do we know the Algerian potential in rare earth and metals? Elements of response with the specialist Mouloud Issaad, a doctor in mining geology and lecturer in the geology department of the Houari-Boumédiène University of Sciences and Technologies in Algiers.
Mouloud Issaad: It is essential to set the right definitions from the start so as not to fall into approximations, given that a lot of false information is already circulating. You should also know that many terms used in the mining industry have a double definition, straddling geology and mining economics. Thus, the term rare earths refers to fifteen chemical elements called lanthanides to which scandium and yttrium are added. For geologists, these elements are very interesting because they make it possible to better study magmatic rocks and their evolution, the famous spectrum of rare earths. As technological advances have been made, many industrial applications have been discovered in various fields, from ceramics to advanced electronics.
Contrary to popular belief, rare earth are not that rare. In fact, it is possible to find them in many environments with higher concentrations than many common metals such as zinc, tin or even gold. However, rare earth very rarely form economically profitable deposits and remain in trace form most of the time. Added to this, the refining of rare earth (extraction and separation) has long been a real technical challenge, since it is a group of elements with fairly similar properties.
Finally, the term rare metals obey both an economic and a geological definition. These are a number of chemical elements, including the rare earth, with different chemical properties but which have in common a low production compared to other metals such as iron, aluminum or copper. . In Europe and the United States, this term tends to be replaced by the term critical metals, which encompasses a set of elements essential to the proper functioning of industries in developed countries but whose supply chain remains subject to possible tensions. both on supply and on demand.
Media in France and Algeria put forward the figure of 20% of the world’s rare earth reserves on Algerian territory. What is it exactly? Why has this figure often come to the fore in recent years?
In the field of mining exploration, information is hierarchical and its reliability obeys a very precise codification, a standard. As regards the resources (overall quantity) and reserves (part of the resources which are recoverable and profitable) in metallic ores, we can cite the most widely used standards, namely the Australian JORC standard, the Canadian standard 43-101 and the South African Samcodes. In Algeria, given that exploration has long been carried out in collaboration with companies from the Eastern bloc, it is the Soviet then Russian standard that prevails in old work. However, there is an Algerian standard promulgated in 2005 which is consistent with what is done elsewhere. These standards are intended to simplify the exchange of
With regard to the world reserves of rare earth, they would amount to 126.674 million tons (Mt), of which 55.22 Mt is held by China alone (United States Geological Survey, 2015). For resources, this figure reaches a high hypothesis of 375 Mt, of which 63% would be Chinese. Even if it is difficult to have access to certified and realistic data, it is possible to conclude that Chinese resources predominate in world resources.
In terms of production, I will simplify things by saying that the share of Chinese production increased from 21% in 1985 to 88% in 2014, with a peak of 97% in 2011. This situation is the result of the will of China to impose itself on the rare earth market by taking advantage of its own resources but also by betting heavily on refining while fully assuming the environmental impact of this industry.
In our country, the current effervescence around its resources originates from the press conference of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune with his French counterpart, President Emmanuel Macron, a conference where the exchange dealt with the question of cooperation in research and l industry, especially rare metals, note rare metals and non-rare earth. According to my own research, this figure of 20% appeared in 2015 on the front page of a national daily newspaper. Having personally tried to source this information, I realized that there was no reference document mentioning this figure. Ditto for the official declarations of the executives responsible for the mining sector. None gave that number. The news is dominated by relevant projects known to all,
In the world of mining geologists (academic and industrial), rare earth are seen more as targets to be prospected than deposits to be exploited. Announcing such a figure without giving the precise source is in total contradiction with the transparency required by the development of mining projects. No company will shell out tens of millions of dollars on mere guesswork. Please note that I am speaking here, I repeat, of rare earth and not of rare metals in general. Indeed, for certain so-called strategic metals, such as tin, wolfram, beryllium, tantalum or niobium, Algeria, particularly in the Hoggar, harbors very interesting resources which could lead to very attractive projects. mining. In my opinion, it is towards this type of metal, said critics, that our priorities should be. The profitable reserves known in the world give only 17 years of production of tin, 18 for zinc and 36 for wolfram and Algeria contains many deposits of this type. This is why we must target all the strategic and critical metals and not focus solely on lithium or rare earth.
Where are the studies, academic or those of the mining sector, on these deposits?
Mining research in Algeria is made up of two players, public companies headed by the Office of Geological and Mining Research (formerly Sonarem) and researchers from the country’s various universities. Since the 2001 mining law, certain mining exploration projects have been carried out by foreign junior companies in collaboration with the public sector, such as the Oued-Amizour project.
In the northeast of Algeria, in Tébessa, academic work carried out by a colleague from the University of Ouargla has dealt with the question of rare earth associated with phosphate rocks. This is academic work, which needs to be completed for an economic evaluation.
According to the Geological Service Agency of Algeria (ASGA), “many prospecting and research campaigns have been carried out by the Geological and Mining Research Office (ORGM) in Hoggar for various metal chemical elements, such as gold, uranium, copper, etc., whereas, for the rare earth, they were timid”. As the work is at the preliminary stage, it would be imprudent to speak of deposits or reserves.
However, a number of very interesting clues have been brought to light by academic work and research carried out by the ORGM. I will cite the case of carbonatites mineralized in rare earth. Indeed, more than half of the rare earth deposits in the world correspond to this type of rock.
At the current stage of things, it is impossible to say anything about rare earth resources given the scarcity of exploration work. Nevertheless, a number of clues have been discovered on the ground, it is up to us to transform the trial by setting realistic objectives and giving us the means necessary for our ambitions.
With regard to other rare metals, numerous academic works (doctoral theses and scientific articles) and exploration campaigns (ex-Sonarem research reports) have revealed deposits of economic interest. Thus, current data give tin and wolfram reserves of 8.20 Mt corresponding to several deposits and about twenty deposits [average deposits].
Does Algeria have the means to explore and exploit these minerals?
The development of the country’s mineral wealth is above all a question of clearly established political will. At the time when China wanted to give itself a central place in the chessboard of rare metals, it produced only a very small part of it.
It is therefore a question of giving oneself the means of its policy, means which go well beyond the question of the financing of mining exploration. Thus, it is up to the government to define its vision of things by deciding on the role it will have to play in reviving the mining sector. Either the State, through public companies, will be responsible for the exploration and development of deposits; or, conversely, the mining administration will further facilitate access to concessions for private Algerian companies to carry out exploration work at their own expense, but by giving them the assurance of being able to profit from a possible discovery. In this case, the collaboration between private Algerian companies and foreign exploration juniors should be possible,
The geologist that I am is convinced that it is time to cede the act of prospecting to private Algerian actors by removing all barriers, according to the famous expression “first come, first served”. In this case, the State will focus its efforts on regulation, but above all on operating partnerships within the framework of major structuring mining projects such as the Tébessa integrated phosphate project or Gara-Djebilet iron. Finally, it is essential to improve the attractiveness of the country in order to attract foreign investors to finance exploration campaigns but also to benefit from the know-how of exploration juniors from countries with a mining tradition such as Canada or Australia.
What are the environmental risks of exploiting these deposits?
Since research on rare earths in Algeria is only at the preliminary stage, I prefer to answer this question by dealing with the whole mining activity. You should know that the exploitation of a metal deposit is done in several stages and that each stage presents a different environmental risk. However, mining waste (debris of rocks and metallic minerals of no economic interest) is the main challenge to be faced when managing the impacts of this activity. Due to their composition and quantity, which amounts to tens of millions of tons, mining waste is what makes this industry unique. And that is why saying that a mining project presents no environmental risk is a misunderstanding of the issue. Conversely, and especially in the case of Algeria, to systematically oppose environmental risk to all mining projects is to shoot oneself in the foot given the country’s potential. For several more decades, Algeria will need to exploit its natural resources to ensure economic development. The role of authorities, civil society, and researchers will be to minimize the environmental impact of the mining industry as much as possible, while favoring the rise of value chains so that wealth benefits the country and not factories located several thousand kilometers, in Europe or Asia. is shooting itself in the foot given the country’s potential. For several more decades, Algeria will need to exploit its natural resources to ensure economic development. The role of authorities, civil society, and researchers will be to minimize the environmental impact of the mining industry as much as possible, while favoring the rise of value chains so that wealth benefits the country and not factories located several thousand kilometers, in Europe or Asia. is shooting itself in the foot given the country’s potential. For several more decades, Algeria will need to exploit its natural resources to ensure economic development. The role of authorities, civil society, and researchers will be to minimize the environmental impact of the mining industry as much as possible, while favoring the rise of value chains so that wealth benefits the country and not factories located several thousand kilometers, in Europe or Asia.
What gains to reap for Algeria?
Let it be said, the mining industry in Algeria is not intended to replace oil revenue. If the gas from the Sahara can provide us with a certain comfort for several more decades, our minerals will only be useful if we work to make them a launching pad for our industry. For example, the price per tonne of phosphate fertilizer is almost three times that of raw phosphate. The same is true for iron ore and steel. To end on a positive note, note that it is in this logic that the two main mining projects of the moment are thought out, namely the integrated phosphate project in Tébessa as well as that of Gara-Djebilet in Tindouf. The challenge will be to involve private actors in this dynamic by providing them with a favorable and stable business climate.
